Master10
India: Miscellaneous GK Module

General Facts, Superlatives & Important National Days

Static general knowledge covers essential geographic superlatives, central research institutions, national awards, and significant commemorative dates across India. India's highest civilian honor is the Bharat Ratna, instituted in 1954 alongside the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri awards. Major geographic superlatives include the Thar Desert (largest desert), Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir (largest freshwater lake), and Chilika Lake in Odisha (largest coastal lagoon). Important national days commemorate pivotal events and leaders, such as National Science Day on February 28 (celebrating the landmark Raman Effect announcement), National Youth Day on January 12 (Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary), and Good Governance Day on December 25.

Key Concepts & Examination Highlights

  • The Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was first conferred in 1954 to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, and C.V. Raman.
  • Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir, fed by the Jhelum River, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in South Asia formed by tectonic activity.
  • National Science Day is celebrated every year on February 28 to mark Sir C.V. Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect in 1928.
  • The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for valiant acts of bravery in the presence of the enemy.
  • National Youth Day is celebrated on January 12 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
  • Good Governance Day is observed on December 25 in honor of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary.
  • National Voters' Day is celebrated on January 25 to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (established on January 25, 1950).
  • National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas) is celebrated on October 31 to honor Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary and his role in national integration.
  • Constitution Day (Samvidhan Diwas) is observed on November 26 to commemorate the formal adoption of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.
  • Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, posthumously awarded for his valor during the Battle of Badgam in 1947.
  • Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi) in 1987 and Nelson Mandela in 1990 are the only two non-Indian foreign nationals awarded the Bharat Ratna.
  • The Jnanpith Award, instituted in 1961, is India's highest literary honor, first awarded in 1965 to Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup for his poetry collection Otakkuzhal.
  • National Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21, commemorating Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 1947 address to probationers referring to civil servants as the 'steel frame of India'.
  • National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on April 24 to mark the coming into force of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992, in 1993.
  • National Statistics Day is celebrated on June 29 to honor the birth anniversary of Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
  • National Handloom Day is observed on August 7 to commemorate the launch of the historic Swadeshi Movement in 1905 at Calcutta Town Hall.
  • National Sports Day (Rashtriya Khel Divas) is celebrated on August 29 to mark the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
  • National Farmers' Day (Kisan Diwas) is celebrated on December 23 in honor of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
  • National Mathematics Day is celebrated on December 22 to honor the birth anniversary of mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.
  • National Consumer Rights Day is observed on December 24 to mark the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
  • Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day) is celebrated on January 9 to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa to Mumbai in 1915.
  • National Girl Child Day is celebrated annually on January 24 to promote gender equality and girls' empowerment.
  • National Technology Day is celebrated on May 11 to mark the successful Pokhran-II nuclear tests conducted under Operation Shakti in 1998.
  • Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed on July 26 to commemorate the success of Operation Vijay against Pakistani infiltrators in 1999.
  • Armed Forces Flag Day is observed on December 7 to honour the martyrs and personnel of the Indian Armed Forces.
  • The first non-synchronous population census in India was conducted under British Viceroy Lord Mayo in 1872.
  • The first complete, synchronous decennial census of India was conducted under Viceroy Lord Ripon in 1881 by Census Commissioner W. W. Plowden.
  • The Census of India 2011 was the 15th National Census of India and the 7th Census conducted after independence, with C. Chandramouli as the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
  • The official motto of the 2011 Census of India was 'Our Census, Our Future' (हमारी जनगणना, हमारा भविष्य).
  • According to Census 2011, the total population of India stood at 1,210,854,977 (1.21 billion), accounting for 17.5 percent of the world's population.
  • The decadal population growth rate of India during 2001-2011 was 17.7 percent (compared to 21.54 percent during 1991-2001).
  • The year 1921 is known as the 'Year of the Great Demographic Divide' in Indian census history because it was the only census year with negative population growth (-0.31 percent).
  • The overall sex ratio of India according to Census 2011 was 943 females per 1,000 males (an improvement from 933 in 2001).
  • The Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years) in India declined to 918 girls per 1,000 boys in Census 2011, compared to 927 in Census 2001.
  • The national literacy rate of India in Census 2011 was recorded at 74.04 percent (82.14 percent for males and 65.46 percent for females).
  • The population density of India in Census 2011 was 382 persons per square kilometer (up from 325 in 2001).
  • The urban population proportion in India rose to 31.16 percent in Census 2011, while the rural population constituted 68.84 percent.
  • Goa is the most urbanized state in India with 62.2 percent urban population, followed by Mizoram (52.1 percent) and Tamil Nadu (48.4 percent).
  • Himachal Pradesh is the least urbanized state in India, with 90.0 percent of its population living in rural areas (Census 2011).
  • Scheduled Castes (SC) constituted 16.6 percent (201.4 million) of India's total population in Census 2011, with Punjab having the highest percentage of SC population (31.9 percent).
  • Scheduled Tribes (ST) constituted 8.6 percent (104.3 million) of India's population in Census 2011, with Lakshadweep (94.8 percent) and Mizoram (94.4 percent) having the highest tribal percentages.
  • Madhya Pradesh has the largest total Scheduled Tribe population in terms of absolute numbers among all Indian states.
  • Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Puducherry have no officially notified Scheduled Tribe populations.
  • The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
  • The Census Act, 1948, provides the statutory legal framework for conducting population censuses and guarantees total confidentiality of individual census data.
  • The Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin published by the RGI provides periodic annual estimates of Birth Rate, Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR).
  • India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) declined to 2.0 children per woman according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5, 2019-21), dropping below the replacement level of 2.1.
  • Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), established under the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
  • NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was established on January 1, 2015, replacing the 65-year-old Planning Commission.
  • The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio Chairperson of NITI Aayog, with a nominated Vice-Chairperson holding the rank of Cabinet Minister.
Curriculum & Reference Sources: India A Reference Annual (Publications Division), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence.

Sample Solved Questions & Concept Explanations

8 Verified Concept Questions
Q1.EASY

What is the state bird of Delhi?

Q2.EASY

Which city is known as the 'Pink City' of India?

Q3.MEDIUM

The Statue of Unity in Kevadia (Gujarat), the world's tallest statue (182 m), honors which leader?

Q4.MEDIUM

Which is the cleanest city in India according to the annual Swachh Survekshan awards for consecutive years?

Q5.MEDIUM

In which Indian state or Union Territory is Jim Corbett National Park (established 1936 as Hailey NP) located?

Q6.MEDIUM

In which Indian state or Union Territory is Kaziranga National Park located?

Q7.MEDIUM

In which Indian state or Union Territory is Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) located?

Q8.MEDIUM

In which Indian state or Union Territory is Sundarbans National Park located?