15 amazing things to know this 15th August

Every country has a story behind it and a long list of amazing facts that make it distinct from other countries. India, as is well known, is the largest democracy in the world and the country with the second largest population, second only to China. Here are some interesting facts about India that are not so well known.

1. The name `India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the first inhabitants of India.
2. North Korea, South Korea, Bahrain and Republic of the Congo share their independence day with India.
3. India is the world's largest producer of tea, milk and mangoes and also the second largest producer of wheat and rice, the world's major food staples.
4. "Chess" and "Snakes and Ladders" were invented in India.
5. India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.
6. The world's largest road network is in India-over 1.9 million miles of roads cover the country.
7. Cherrapunji (Meghalaya) is the wettest spot on earth. It receives at least 425 inches of rain every year, which is over 5 times more than the tropical rain forests of South America!
8. With around 155,618 post offices and over 566,000 employees, India has the largest postal network in the world.
9. India Railways is the single largest civilian employer in the world, with over a million employees.
10. State Bank of India has the maximum number of branches in the world, with the number being over 15,000 and counting.
11. The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, who also explained the Pythagorean Theorem.
12. India is one of only three countries that makes supercomputers (the US and Japan are the other two).
13. Navi Mumbai, a planned satellite township of Mumbai, was developed in 1972 and is the largest planned township on the planet.
14. India produces more movies than any other country in the world and Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world.
15. There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.

Vande Mataram ! Jai Hind !!