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1. After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. Aryans spoke and imported Sanskrit into India, which is the mother of all European languages. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation.
2. The world's first university was established in Takshashila in 700 BC
3. The value of 'pi' (() was first calculated by Budhyana in the 6th century and also propounded the Pythagorean Theorem.
4. Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.
5. The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, including Egypt and Mesopotamia.
6. India is the world’s largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage.
7. It is traditional to wear white, not black, to a funeral in India. Widows will often wear white in contrast to the colorful clothes of married or single women.
8. Raziya Sultana (1205-1240) was the first woman leader of India. She was considered a great leader, though she ruled for only three years before being murdered.
9. Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.
10. Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.
11. The official name of India is the Republic of India. The name “India” derives from the River Indus, which most likely is derived from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning “river.” The official Sanskrit name of India is Bharat, after the legendary king in the epic Mahabharata.
12. Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India.
13. Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498.
14. With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world. However, it is not unusual for a letter to take two weeks to travel just 30 miles.
15. India is the birthplace of chess.^l The original word for “chess” is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers.
16. The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
17. India has one of the world’s highest rates of abortion.
18. Gujarat has more than 8 lakh NRI accounts with total NRI deposits for Rs 17,486 crore. NRI deposit worth Rs 8,390.15 crore is distributed by these for districts,,,Jan., 2007
19. In 2005, $24 billion came into the country as remittances, out of which nearly 45 per cent was from the Gulf countries. Indians in the US have so far invested $5.2 billions in India.
20. Some 70,000 students from India come to the US for academic studies each year
21. Heart disease after 40 years of age was higher among Indians as compared to the rest of the world. More than
    60 million Indians were expected to suffer from this disease by 2010.
22. India is the world's largest mango producer, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the world's output
23. With 800 movies per year, India's film industry overshadows Hollywood.
24. India consumes a fifth of the world's gold output
25. India has the third-largest investor base in the world