General Knowledge — Static (RRB)

National symbols of India:

• National flag: Tricolour (saffron, white, green) with 24-spoke Ashoka Chakra. Designed by Pingali Venkayya. Adopted July 22, 1947.
• National emblem: Lion Capital of Ashoka (Sarnath). Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" ("Truth alone triumphs"), from Mundaka Upanishad.
• National anthem: "Jana Gana Mana" by Rabindranath Tagore. Adopted Jan 24, 1950. Plays in 52 seconds.
• National song: "Vande Mataram" by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (from Anandamath, 1882).
• National calendar: Saka (started 78 CE, year 0). Chaitra is the first month.
• National animal: Royal Bengal Tiger (since 1973, replacing lion).
• National bird: Peacock.
• National flower: Lotus.
• National tree: Banyan.
• National fruit: Mango.
• National river: Ganga.
• National aquatic animal: Ganges River Dolphin.
• National heritage animal: Indian Elephant.

Major civilian awards (in order):

1. Bharat Ratna (highest civilian award; instituted 1954).
2. Padma Vibhushan.
3. Padma Bhushan.
4. Padma Shri.

Bharat Ratna recipients (notable):

• First: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, C. V. Raman (1954).
• Famous: Mother Teresa (1980), Sachin Tendulkar (2014 — first sportsperson), A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• 2024 awardees: Lal Krishna Advani, M.S. Swaminathan, Karpoori Thakur (posthumous), Choudhary Charan Singh (posthumous), P.V. Narasimha Rao (posthumous).

Gallantry awards (peace + war):

• Param Vir Chakra (PVC, highest wartime gallantry).
• Maha Vir Chakra (MVC).
• Vir Chakra (VrC).
• Ashoka Chakra (highest peacetime gallantry).
• Kirti Chakra.
• Shaurya Chakra.

Indian classical dances (8 recognized by Sangeet Natak Akademi):

• Bharatanatyam — Tamil Nadu.
• Kathak — North India (UP).
• Kathakali — Kerala (story-play, elaborate makeup).
• Kuchipudi — Andhra Pradesh.
• Odissi — Odisha.
• Manipuri — Manipur.
• Mohiniyattam — Kerala (graceful, female).
• Sattriya — Assam.

Folk dances by state:

• Punjab: Bhangra (men), Giddha (women).
• Gujarat: Garba, Dandiya.
• Rajasthan: Ghoomar, Kalbeliya.
• Maharashtra: Lavani.
• West Bengal: Gambhira.
• Andhra Pradesh: Kuchipudi (classical), Lambadi.
• Assam: Bihu.
• Bihar: Jat-Jatin.
• Goa: Dekhni.

Major festivals:

• Diwali (Festival of Lights) — Hindu, north India.
• Holi (Festival of Colours).
• Dussehra / Vijayadashami.
• Onam (Kerala, harvest).
• Pongal (Tamil Nadu, harvest).
• Bihu (Assam — 3 times a year).
• Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha (Muslim).
• Christmas, Easter, Good Friday (Christian).
• Gurpurab (Sikh).
• Mahavir Jayanti (Jain).
• Buddha Purnima (Buddhist).
• Kumbh Mela: largest religious gathering on Earth; held every 12 years rotating between Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik.

Indian superlatives:

• Largest state by area: Rajasthan.
• Smallest state: Goa.
• Largest UT: Ladakh.
• Smallest UT: Lakshadweep.
• Most populous state: Uttar Pradesh.
• Least populous state: Sikkim.
• Highest peak (in India): Kanchenjunga (8586 m, Sikkim).
• Longest river (within India): Ganga (~2525 km).
• Longest river (including Indian portion of Brahmaputra): Brahmaputra (~2900 km).
• Largest lake: Wular (J&K), freshwater.
• Largest brackish lake: Chilika (Odisha).
• Largest desert: Thar.
• Largest delta: Sundarbans (Ganga-Brahmaputra).
• Largest National Park: Hemis (Ladakh).
• Largest dam: Tehri (Uttarakhand).
• Tallest statue: Statue of Unity (Sardar Patel, 182 m, Gujarat).
• Longest road: NH 44 (Srinagar to Kanyakumari, ~3745 km).
• Longest tunnel: Atal Tunnel (Manali-Leh, 9.02 km).
• Longest bridge: Bhupen Hazarika Setu (9.15 km, on Brahmaputra in Assam).
• Longest railway platform: Hubballi Junction (Karnataka, 1507 m).
• Highest railway bridge: Chenab Bridge (J&K, 359 m).
• Highest motorable road: Umling La Pass (Ladakh, 5883 m).
• Wettest place: Mawsynram (Meghalaya).
• Driest place: Rajasthan (parts of Jaisalmer).
• Coldest place inhabited: Dras (Ladakh).
• Hottest place: Phalodi (Rajasthan), recorded 51°C (2016).

Indian firsts:

• First woman PM: Indira Gandhi (1966).
• First woman President: Pratibha Patil (2007).
• First woman Chief Justice: never (none yet as of 2026). First woman SC judge: Fathima Beevi (1989).
• First woman CM: Sucheta Kripalani (UP, 1963).
• First woman IPS: Kiran Bedi (1972).
• First woman astronaut (Indian-origin): Kalpana Chawla. First Indian astronaut: Rakesh Sharma (1984).
• First Indian Olympic medal (individual): K.D. Jadhav (1952, bronze in wrestling).
• First Indian Olympic gold (individual): Abhinav Bindra (2008, shooting).
• First Asian games hosted by India: 1951 in Delhi.
• First cricket World Cup win: 1983 (Kapil Dev's team).
• First T20 World Cup: 2007 (M.S. Dhoni's team).

Nobel laureates of India:

• Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913) — first Indian.
• C. V. Raman (Physics, 1930) — Raman effect.
• Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979).
• Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998).
• V. S. Naipaul (Literature, 2001) — Indian-origin Trinidadian.
• R. K. Pachauri (Peace, 2007 — for IPCC).
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (Chemistry, 2009) — for ribosome.
• Kailash Satyarthi (Peace, 2014) — child rights.
• Abhijit Banerjee (Economics, 2019).

Indian musical instruments:

• Sitar, Tabla, Sarod, Sarangi, Veena, Mridangam, Tanpura, Shehnai, Bansuri.
• Famous players: Ravi Shankar (sitar), Zakir Hussain (tabla), Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), Bismillah Khan (shehnai).