Ideas for better world: 20 amazing facts about India and the world

India:

1. Only 10% of families in India own a car. If your car is worth more than ₹10 lakh, chances are high that you are among India’s richest 5%. As per Niti Aayog, out of 1000 people, only 22 people in India own a car, while it’s 980 in US, 850 in UK. New Zealand has 774, Australia 740, Canada 662, Japan 591, and China has 164 motor vehicles per 1000 people.

2. Only 8% of Indians have a graduation degree

As per the latest 2011 Census, about 8.15% (98.6 million) of Indians are graduates, with the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Delhi topping the list with 25% and 23% of their population being graduates respectively. Therefore, if you are a graduate, you are among 8% Indians.

3. Every year more than 50,000 Indians die because of snake bites

As per a WHO report, every year more than 10 lakh people in India suffer from snake bites and out of which approximately 50,000 die. Lack of medical facilities in rural India is the main reason of such high fatality figure. The worst thing is that India contributes almost 50% of snake bite deaths in the world.

4. In the year 1750, that’s almost 270 + years back, the literacy rate in the Netherlands was approx 85% and UK, it was 54%, while it’s assumed that in India it was less than 5%. Even today, India’s literacy rate is only 77%. The Bible played an important role in education spreading in Europe and another reason could be rapid industrialization of these countries.

5. Indians live approximately 14 years less than Australians. The approximate life expectancy in India and Australia is 70 years and 84 years respectively. Reason for higher life expectancy in Australia: Better medical care, less pollution and could be less stress.

6. Prayagraj (Allahabad) city has a population of 10 lakhs (1 million) but on February 9, 2013, there were 2 Crore (20 million) people who took holy dip in Ganga river on the occasion of Kumbh Mela. This was the biggest human congregation in the history

7. As of now, India is the 2nd most populous country in the world. During the population census in India, if by mistake 100 crore people are left out, India would still be the 2nd most populous country. India’s current population is estimated to be 140 Crore ( 1.4 billion) followed by the United States with 33 Crore ( 0.33 billion) population.

8. The first General Election conducted in India was in 1920. Only a limited number of persons were granted the right to vote on the basis of certain high qualifications, like, the ownership of property, or payment of income tax, or payment of municipal tax, or the holding of land.

9. Hindi language as a medium of education was first time adopted in India in 1881. Before that, Urdu was used and, much before that, Persian was an educational language in most part of India. Hindi was confined to only Delhi and the Meerut belt. You would hardly find Hindi books which are more than 150 years old. (earlier books are in dialect of Hindi like Awadhi and Braj Bhasha)

10. India was eligible to play the Football World Cup in 1950 as one slot was given to Asia, but the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that the team would not attend the World Cup, citing "disagreements over team selection, and insufficient practice time." That was the only opportunity India had got in the last 72 years

11. The number of Olympic medals is an indicator of the economic prosperity of a country (few exceptions exist). Countries with higher per capita income are able to spend money on sports infrastructure, training, exposure and incentives. The Indian government spent close to ₹7 crore on the 4-year-training and equipment of Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra (before the Olympics). This includes his more than 1 year overseas training, foreign coach and 40 lakh worth of javelin throwing machine.

World:

12. The invention of polythene bag was done with the idea of protecting nature.

The polythene bag, which is proving to be one of biggest ecological challenges, was invented in 1965 with the purpose of saving the planet as scientists were worried about cutting of trees for making paper bags. The one-piece polyethylene shopping bag is patented by the Swedish company Celloplast. Designed by engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin.

By 2011, 10 lakh (1 million) plastic bags were consumed every minute. Bangladesh was the first country in the world to implement a ban on thin plastic bags in 2002. From July 2022, India has also banned single-use plastic which includes thin polythene bags.

13. Coca Cola was initially used to treat headaches

In May 1886, Coca-Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton, a pharmacist in the United States. The drink was originally marketed as a tonic for most common ailments, based on the fact that it contained cocaine from the coca leaf and caffeine-rich extracts of the kola nut. The cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola’s formula in1903. At that point of time, Cocaine was not banned in the US.

14. South Korea is the only country in the world which was an OECD Development Assistance recipient and within 5 decades it became a donor. The OECD is ‘Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’, it is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.

15. British Colombia doesn’t belong to either Britain or Colombia. It’s a province of Canada. Earlier some of it’s part was called “Columbia”, after the Columbia River, other part was called “New Caledonia” .To avoid confusion with Colombia in South America and the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, Queen Victoria named the area British Columbia when it became a British colony in 1858. In 1871, British Colombia became a province of Canada.

16. Singapore was merged with Malaysia in 1963. Malaysia got rid of Singapore after 2 years due to widespread poverty in Singapore and ethnic issues.

17. How many countries are in the world might be a simple question, but the answer is quite complicated. As per the United Nations, the count is 195, the US recognises 196, Wikipedia says 206, while as per FIFA there are 211 member countries. The reason for such a difference in count is that many claim they are independent, but there is no consensus.

18. There are approximately 170 Crore (1.7 billion) websites created in the last 20 years but only 10% are active.

19. In the United States, during a job interview, it’s illegal to ask national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, disabilities, arrest and conviction record, race, gender, or pregnancy status. This is done to avoid any discrimination.

20. After any aircraft crash, you might hear that a black box is being searched to know the reason of the accident. By the way, the black box is orange in color.

Facts compiled by Manoj Tripathi, Author of bestseller non-fiction book “Power of Ignored Skills”

Disclaimer: This article is personal view of the author. Data is approximation and needs authentication.

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