30 things INDIAN should knew

1. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. It is the most precise and therefore suitable language for computer software. (A report in Forbes magazine, July 1987).

2. Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries before British rule in India, i.e. during the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth and was looking for a route to India when he discovered America by mistake. India has fed the greed of almost every powerful nation or ruler (that/who looked upon it, during those times) and is poised to be at the top of the world in all aspects.

3. India is the Largest democracy in the world, the 7th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).

4. Despite the global meltdown that impacted most emerging market economies, India’s GDP growth of 7.45 percent to 11.90 percent for the current year would make the country the second-fastest growing economy of the world.

5. India has the largest number of biomass gasifier systems in the world producing over 656 mega watts (MW) of power; and still has the potential of producing over 30000 mega watts of power.

6. India was the first country to be accorded the status of a Pioneer Investor in 1987 and was allocated an exclusive area in the central Indian Ocean by the UN for exploration and utilisation of resources.

7. Export of cars grew by 57 per cent in 2008-09 at 3.3 lakh units. Two-wheeler exports crossed the million-mark on a growth of 22.5 per cent in 2008-09.

8. India has the maximum number of post offices in the world!

9. India signed a ground breaking civil nuclear deal with US in 2008 thus facilitating fuel supply for its nuclear reactors. The deal offers potential for a paradigm shift in India’s global role. The importance of the deal does not lie merely in the transfer of nuclear energy. Its importance is psychological. It opens the door to a new era of trust and cooperation between India and the US.

10. India has the largest number of news channel in the world. It is the fastest growing telecom market in the world and has the lowest call rates on earth.

11. India is the 3rd largest producer of solar photovoltaic cells in the world producing 2.12 MW of power. India is the world’s 4th largest wind power user.

12. India is the 9th largest solar thermal power generating country in terms of million units per sq. m. It will have 20 million solar lights installed by 2022 which will save 1 billion litres of kerosene every year.

13. India has jumped five places to become the world’s 11th biggest exporter of commercial services in 2005, and inched one step ahead to the 29th rank among the largest merchandise exporters, according to the latest statistics by World Trade Organisation.

14. The Indian Software Industry has grown from a mere US $ 150 million in 1991-92 to a staggering US $ 5.7 billion in 1999-2000. No other Indian industry has performed so well against the global competition.

15. India is the world’s largest, oldest, continuous civilization.

16. India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history.

17. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.

18. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.

19. India is the second largest English speaking nation in the world.

20. India is the only country other than the USA and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.

21. GM of Hewlett Packard, Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckinsey & Stanchart, founder and creator of Hotmail, creator of Pentium chip are all Indians.

22. On 28 April 2008, a world record was set when India’s Polar rocket successfully placed ten satellites, including the country’s remote sensing satellite, into orbit in a single mission.

23. India is the world’s second largest producer of small cars. It is the largest newspaper market in the world.

24. World’s largest electronic ID program is underway in India.

25. Bollywood with about 400 films every year is the largest centre of film production in the world.

26. India is the largest producer of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper, in the world. It also has the world’s largest cattle population (281 million). It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish.

27. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NREGA, an Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005 is the largest ever – public employment programme visualized in human history.

28. The Mid-day Meal Scheme is the popular name for school meal programme in India, is the largest school lunch programme in the world, covering 12 million children.

29. Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, is the apex governing body for cricket in India is the richest body in world cricket.

30. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people!