Important Days & Observances — National Calendar

Why This Chapter Matters

You have read twenty-four chapters. You have taken notes, made your own shortcuts, maybe argued with a friend about whether the Narmada flows east or west. This chapter is not for learning anything new. It is for the last seven days before your Group D exam, when your job changes from understanding to recalling fast, under pressure, with a proctor watching the clock.

Everything here is compressed on purpose. No explanations, no analogies, just the fact in the form the question paper will ask it. Read this chapter twice in the final week: once slowly on day one, ticking off anything you hesitate on and going back to the relevant chapter for that one topic only; then once fast on the morning before your exam, treating it as a warm-up lap. Do not try to memorise this chapter cold in one sitting. Use it the way a cricketer uses throwdowns before an innings, not the way you would study a new syllabus.

History — One-Line Facts

• The Indus Valley Civilisation flourished around 2500 BCE, with major sites at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal (dockyard), and Dholavira.
• Mohenjo-daro means "mound of the dead" and lies on the Indus river in present-day Pakistan.
• Gautam Buddha was born at Lumbini, attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon at Sarnath, and died at Kushinagar.
• Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, was a contemporary of Buddha in the 6th century BCE.
• Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire around 322 BCE with help from Chanakya (Kautilya).
• Ashoka fought the Kalinga War in 261 BCE, after which he adopted Buddhism and non-violence.
• The Gupta period (4th–6th century CE) is called the Golden Age of ancient India for advances in mathematics, astronomy, and art.
• Aryabhata, a Gupta-era scholar, proposed that the earth rotates on its axis and calculated the value of pi.
• Harshavardhana ruled North India in the 7th century CE from his capital at Kannauj.
• The Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) had five dynasties: Slave, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi.
• Qutb-ud-din Aibak founded the Slave Dynasty and began building the Qutub Minar.
• Alauddin Khilji introduced market and price control reforms and repelled Mongol invasions.
• The Mughal Empire began with Babur's victory at the First Battle of Panipat (1526) over Ibrahim Lodi.
• Akbar introduced Din-i-Ilahi and the Mansabdari system, and won the Battle of Haldighati against Rana Pratap in 1576.
• The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, completed around 1653.
• Aurangzeb was the last major Mughal emperor; the empire weakened sharply after his death in 1707.
• The British East India Company won the Battle of Plassey (1757) against Siraj-ud-Daulah, gaining a foothold in Bengal.
• The Battle of Buxar (1764) confirmed British control and led to the Diwani rights over Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.
• The Revolt of 1857 began at Meerut and had leaders like Mangal Pandey, Rani Lakshmibai, and Bahadur Shah Zafar.
• The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A.O. Hume; W.C. Bonnerjee was its first president.
• The Partition of Bengal (1905) by Lord Curzon triggered the Swadeshi Movement.
• Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and led the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) including the Dandi March, and Quit India Movement (1942).
• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar under General Dyer.
• Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) and gave the slogan "Jai Hind".
• India got independence on 15 August 1947; partition created India and Pakistan.
• The Indian Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
• Exam trap: Do not confuse the date of adoption (26 November 1949) with the date of enforcement (26 January 1950). Both are frequently tested separately.

Geography — One-Line Facts

• India lies in the Northern and Eastern Hemisphere; the Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 Indian states.
• India's total land area is roughly 3.28 million sq km, the 7th largest country in the world.
• India shares land borders with 7 countries: Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan.
• The Himalayas are divided into three parallel ranges: Himadri (Greater Himalayas), Himachal (Lesser Himalayas), and Shivalik (Outer Himalayas).
• Kanchenjunga, in Sikkim, is India's highest peak and the world's third highest.
• The Indo-Gangetic Plain is one of the most fertile and densely populated regions on earth, formed by the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra river systems.
• The Thar Desert lies mainly in Rajasthan and is India's largest desert.
• Peninsular Plateau is one of the oldest landmasses on earth, made of ancient crystalline rocks.
• The Western Ghats run along India's west coast and are a UNESCO-recognised biodiversity hotspot; the Eastern Ghats are more discontinuous.
• India has a coastline of about 7,516 km, touching states from Gujarat to West Bengal and the islands.
• Monsoon winds bring most of India's annual rainfall, arriving from the southwest between June and September.
• The Ganga is India's longest river within the country, originating from the Gangotri glacier.
• The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet (as Tsangpo) and enters India through Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Narmada and Tapi are the two major west-flowing rivers of India, both draining into the Arabian Sea.
• Exam trap: Most Indian rivers flow east into the Bay of Bengal. Narmada and Tapi are the classic exceptions tested repeatedly.
• India has two major island groups: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Bay of Bengal) and the Lakshadweep Islands (Arabian Sea).
• Chilika Lake in Odisha is India's largest coastal lagoon and an important bird habitat.

Polity — One-Line Facts

• The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution in the world.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly.
• The Preamble declares India a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic; "Socialist" and "Secular" were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976).
• Fundamental Rights are covered in Part III (Articles 12–35); Directive Principles of State Policy are in Part IV.
• Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment and are listed in Article 51A.
• India has a parliamentary system of government, borrowed largely from the British model.
• The President of India is the constitutional head of state, elected indirectly by an electoral college.
• The Prime Minister is the real executive head, appointed by the President and responsible to the Lok Sabha.
• Parliament is bicameral: Lok Sabha (House of the People, directly elected) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States, mostly indirectly elected).
• A money bill can only originate in the Lok Sabha.
• The Supreme Court is the highest court, headed by the Chief Justice of India; it has original, appellate, and advisory jurisdiction.
• Article 32 gives citizens the right to move the Supreme Court directly for enforcement of Fundamental Rights; Ambedkar called it the "heart and soul" of the Constitution.
• India follows a quasi-federal structure, meaning strong central powers exist alongside state governments.
• The Election Commission of India is a constitutional body that conducts free and fair elections; it is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner.
• Panchayati Raj was given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment; urban local bodies by the 74th Amendment, both in 1992.
• Exam trap: Do not mix up the 73rd (rural, Panchayati Raj) and 74th (urban, Municipalities) amendments; questions frequently swap them.

Economy — One-Line Facts

• India follows a mixed economy, combining private enterprise with public sector planning.
• NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 as the government's policy think tank.
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product) measures the total value of goods and services produced within a country in a year.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), founded in 1935, is India's central bank and regulates monetary policy.
• Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks.
• Inflation is measured mainly through the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
• India's currency, the Rupee, is issued by the RBI; coins are minted by the Government of India.
• The Union Budget is presented every year, typically on 1 February, by the Finance Minister.
• Disinvestment means the government selling its stake in public sector companies to raise revenue.
• The agricultural sector employs the largest share of India's workforce, though it contributes a smaller share to GDP than services.
• GST (Goods and Services Tax), launched on 1 July 2017, unified most indirect taxes into a single tax structure.
• The Five-Year Plans ran from 1951 to 2017, guiding India's planned economic development before NITI Aayog took over.

General Science — Physics One-Liners

• SI unit of force is the Newton (N); 1 N = 1 kg·m/s².
• Newton's First Law (inertia): an object stays at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by an external force.
• Newton's Third Law: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
• Sound cannot travel through a vacuum because it needs a medium; light can travel through a vacuum.
• Speed of light in vacuum is approximately 3 × 10⁸ m/s, the fastest speed in the universe.
• Ohm's Law states V = IR, linking voltage, current, and resistance.
• A transformer changes AC voltage levels and works on the principle of electromagnetic induction, discovered by Michael Faraday.
• Convex lenses converge light and are used to correct hypermetropia (farsightedness); concave lenses diverge light and correct myopia (nearsightedness).
• Archimedes' Principle explains why objects float: buoyant force equals the weight of fluid displaced.
• Pascal's Law states pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted equally in all directions; it is the basis of hydraulic lifts.

General Science — Chemistry One-Liners

• Water (H₂O) is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen; it has its maximum density at 4°C.
• The periodic table arranges elements by increasing atomic number; Dmitri Mendeleev made the earliest widely used version.
• pH measures acidity or alkalinity on a 0–14 scale; 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, above 7 is basic.
• Rusting of iron is an oxidation reaction that needs both oxygen and moisture.
• Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), used in cooking and as a mild antacid.
• LPG (cooking gas) is mainly a mixture of butane and propane.
• Diamond and graphite are both pure forms of carbon but differ completely in structure and properties.
• Noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon) rarely react because their outer electron shells are full.
• Photosynthesis is a chemical process, not merely biological, converting carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen using sunlight.

General Science — Biology One-Liners

• The human body has 206 bones in adulthood (a newborn has around 270, many fuse with growth).
• The heart has four chambers: two atria and two ventricles, and pumps blood through a closed circulatory system.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen using haemoglobin; white blood cells fight infection; platelets help clotting.
• The liver is the largest internal organ and detoxifies the blood; the kidneys filter waste to form urine.
• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) carries genetic information and was described as a double helix by Watson and Crick in 1953.
• Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy; Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in children.
• The nervous system has two parts: central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (nerves).
• Insulin, produced by the pancreas, regulates blood sugar; its deficiency causes diabetes.
• Exam trap: Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness, not scurvy — a very commonly confused pair in one-mark questions.

Computer Awareness — One-Liners

• CPU (Central Processing Unit) is called the "brain" of the computer; it has an ALU and a Control Unit.
• RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile, temporary memory; ROM (Read Only Memory) is non-volatile and permanent.
• 1 Byte = 8 Bits; storage grows as KB, MB, GB, TB in that order.
• An operating system manages hardware and software resources; examples include Windows, Linux, and Android.
• URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, the address of a resource on the internet.
• LAN (Local Area Network) covers a small area like an office; WAN (Wide Area Network) spans cities or countries, and the internet is the largest WAN.
• A virus is malicious software that can replicate and spread, damaging files or systems.
• HTML is used to structure web pages; it stands for HyperText Markup Language.
• Email uses protocols like SMTP for sending and POP3/IMAP for receiving.
• Cloud computing means storing and accessing data over the internet instead of a local hard drive.

Static GK — One-Liners

• India's national flag has three colours: saffron, white, and green, with a 24-spoke Ashoka Chakra in navy blue at the centre.
• The national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana," was written by Rabindranath Tagore; the national song, "Vande Mataram," was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
• The national emblem is adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, with the motto "Satyameva Jayate."
• The national animal is the Bengal Tiger; the national bird is the Peacock.
• New Delhi is the capital of India; the Rupee is the national currency.
• India's national game has no official constitutional status, though hockey is widely regarded as historically dominant, with multiple Olympic golds.
• The Constitution designates Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union, alongside English for official purposes.
• Republic Day is celebrated on 26 January; Independence Day on 15 August; Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October.

SI Units at a Glance

Quantity	SI Unit	Symbol
Length	Metre	m
Mass	Kilogram	kg
Time	Second	s
Electric current	Ampere	A
Temperature	Kelvin	K
Amount of substance	Mole	mol
Luminous intensity	Candela	cd
Force	Newton	N
Energy/Work	Joule	J
Power	Watt	W
Pressure	Pascal	Pa
Frequency	Hertz	Hz
Electric charge	Coulomb	C
Electric resistance	Ohm	Ω

Important Dates in Indian History

Year	Event
1526	First Battle of Panipat, Mughal Empire begins
1757	Battle of Plassey
1857	Revolt of 1857
1885	Indian National Congress founded
1905	Partition of Bengal
1919	Jallianwala Bagh massacre
1920	Non-Cooperation Movement begins
1930	Dandi March / Civil Disobedience Movement
1942	Quit India Movement
1947	Independence and Partition
1949	Constitution adopted (26 November)
1950	Constitution enforced, Republic Day (26 January)

Major Rivers and Origins

River	Origin	Falls Into
Ganga	Gangotri Glacier (Uttarakhand)	Bay of Bengal
Yamuna	Yamunotri Glacier (Uttarakhand)	Merges with Ganga at Prayagraj
Brahmaputra	Angsi Glacier, Tibet (as Tsangpo)	Bay of Bengal
Indus	Near Mansarovar, Tibet	Arabian Sea (Pakistan)
Narmada	Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh	Arabian Sea
Tapi	Satpura Range, Madhya Pradesh	Arabian Sea
Godavari	Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra	Bay of Bengal
Krishna	Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra	Bay of Bengal
Kaveri	Talakaveri, Karnataka	Bay of Bengal

Human Body Organ Systems Summary

System	Main Organs	Primary Function
Circulatory	Heart, blood vessels, blood	Transport oxygen and nutrients
Respiratory	Lungs, trachea, diaphragm	Gas exchange (oxygen/carbon dioxide)
Digestive	Stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas	Break down food, absorb nutrients
Nervous	Brain, spinal cord, nerves	Control and coordination
Skeletal	Bones, joints	Support and protection
Muscular	Skeletal, smooth, cardiac muscles	Movement
Excretory	Kidneys, ureters, bladder	Remove waste, balance fluids
Endocrine	Pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands	Hormone regulation
Reproductive	Testes/ovaries and associated organs	Reproduction

Government Schemes Quick List

Scheme	Focus Area
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana	Financial inclusion, bank accounts for all
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana	Affordable housing
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan	Sanitation and cleanliness
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana	LPG connections for poor households
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao	Girl child welfare and education
Ayushman Bharat	Health insurance for economically weaker sections
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana	Crop insurance for farmers
Skill India Mission	Vocational training and employability
Digital India	Digital infrastructure and e-governance
Atal Pension Yojana	Pension security for unorganised sector workers

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• The Constituent Assembly took nearly 3 years (1946–1949) to draft the Constitution.
• B.N. Rau was the constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly.
• Panipat hosted three major historical battles: 1526, 1556, and 1761.
• The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was fought between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali.
• Vasco da Gama reached Calicut (India) by sea route in 1498.
• The Simon Commission (1928) was boycotted because it had no Indian members.
• Poona Pact (1932) was signed between Gandhi and Ambedkar over separate electorates for depressed classes.
• Cripps Mission (1942) failed to satisfy Indian demands for full self-government.
• The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) proposed a federal structure that eventually led to independence talks.
• India's highest civilian award is the Bharat Ratna.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is called the "Iron Man of India" for integrating princely states.
• Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir, was abrogated in August 2019.
• UNESCO headquarters is in Paris; India has multiple World Heritage Sites including the Taj Mahal and Sun Temple, Konark.
• Green Revolution in India, associated with M.S. Swaminathan, boosted foodgrain production from the 1960s.
• White Revolution (Operation Flood), led by Verghese Kurien, made India the largest milk producer.
• ISRO, founded in 1969, is India's space agency; Chandrayaan-3 achieved a successful moon landing near the lunar south pole in 2023.

Important Indian Committees and Commissions

Body	Purpose
Finance Commission	Recommends distribution of tax revenue between Centre and states, formed every 5 years
Law Commission	Advises the government on legal reforms
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)	Conducts recruitment for All India Services and central civil services
Central Vigilance Commission	Monitors corruption in central government bodies
National Human Rights Commission	Investigates human rights violations
Central Information Commission	Oversees implementation of the Right to Information Act

World Geography Essentials

• The seven continents are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
• Asia is the largest continent by both area and population; Australia is the smallest continent.
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean on earth.
• The Sahara Desert, in Africa, is the largest hot desert in the world.
• Mount Everest, on the Nepal-China border, is the highest mountain peak on earth.
• The Nile, in Africa, is generally regarded as the longest river in the world; the Amazon, in South America, carries the largest volume of water.
• The Equator passes through countries including Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia, and divides the earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
• Russia is the largest country in the world by area; the Vatican City is the smallest.

Indian Freedom Fighters and Their Contributions

Name	Known For
Mahatma Gandhi	Non-violent mass movements: Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, Quit India
Jawaharlal Nehru	First Prime Minister of independent India
Subhas Chandra Bose	Founded the Indian National Army, "Jai Hind" slogan
Bhagat Singh	Revolutionary activity, executed in 1931
Rani Lakshmibai	Led resistance in the Revolt of 1857 from Jhansi
Lala Lajpat Rai	Part of the "Lal-Bal-Pal" trio, injured during a protest against the Simon Commission
Sarojini Naidu	Poet and freedom fighter, first Indian woman President of the Indian National Congress
Chandrashekhar Azad	Revolutionary leader, vowed never to be captured alive

Indian States and Their Capitals (Selected)

State	Capital
Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow
Bihar	Patna
West Bengal	Kolkata
Maharashtra	Mumbai
Rajasthan	Jaipur
Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal
Tamil Nadu	Chennai
Karnataka	Bengaluru
Gujarat	Gandhinagar
Odisha	Bhubaneswar
Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram
Punjab	Chandigarh
Assam	Dispur
Telangana	Hyderabad

Awards and Honours

• Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award, given for exceptional service in any field.
• Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri form the next tier of civilian awards, in descending order of rank.
• Param Vir Chakra is India's highest wartime gallantry award.
• Ashoka Chakra is the highest peacetime gallantry award.
• The Nobel Prize is awarded annually in categories including Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economics; Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian (and first Asian) to win a Nobel Prize, for Literature in 1913.
• C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for the Raman Effect, the scattering of light.

Additional Physics and Chemistry Notes

• Sound travels fastest through solids, slower through liquids, and slowest through gases, because particles are packed closest in solids.
• Density is mass divided by volume; a substance floats in water if its density is less than that of water.
• An element is a pure substance made of only one type of atom; a compound forms when two or more elements chemically combine in fixed proportions.
• Hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium salts and does not lather easily with soap.
• Vinegar contains acetic acid; curd (yogurt) contains lactic acid, both common examples of natural acids.
• The atomic number of an element equals the number of protons in its nucleus; the mass number equals protons plus neutrons.

Additional Biology Notes

• Photosynthesis occurs mainly in the chloroplasts of plant cells, using the green pigment chlorophyll to capture sunlight.
• Respiration in cells releases energy from glucose and is the opposite process to photosynthesis in terms of gas exchange.
• The human skeleton provides support, protects internal organs, and works with muscles to allow movement.
• Antibiotics treat bacterial infections but are ineffective against viruses, a distinction often tested directly.
• Vaccines work by training the immune system to recognise a pathogen without causing the actual disease.

Read this chapter as a checklist, not a textbook. Every line you cannot recall instantly is a five-minute revisit to the source chapter, not a reason to panic.