Census 2011

• First Census: 1872, under Viceroy Lord Mayo.
• Decadal Census Start: 1881, under Viceroy Lord Ripon, with a 10-year interval.
• First Census Commissioner of India: W.C. Plowden.
• 2011 Census:
  • 15th census overall.
  • 7th census since India's independence (from 1951).
  • 14th decadal census.
  • Commissioner: C. Chandramouli.
  • Motto: "Our Census, Our Future."
  • India's Population: 121.09 crore (second globally at the time, now first).
  • Decadal Growth (2001-2011): 17.7%.
  • Gender Distribution:
    • Males: 51.47%
    • Females: 48.53%
• "Great Divide" Year: 1921. During the 1911-1921 decade, population decreased due to famine and epidemics.

Key Demographic Data (2011 Census)

Category	Rank 1 (State)	Value/Detail	Rank Last/Lowest (State)	Value/Detail
Area	Rajasthan		Goa
Area (UT)	Ladakh		Lakshadweep
Population (States)	Uttar Pradesh	16.51% of India's population	Sikkim	0.05%
	Maharashtra	(2nd)	Mizoram	(2nd lowest)
	Bihar	(3rd)	Arunachal Pradesh	(3rd lowest)
	West Bengal	(4th)	Goa	(4th lowest)
Decadal Growth Rate	Meghalaya	27.9%	Nagaland	-0.6% (only state with negative growth)
Population Density	Bihar	1106 people/km²	Arunachal Pradesh	17 people/km²
India's Pop. Density	382 people/km²
Population/Density (UTs)	Delhi	(Highest for both)	Lakshadweep (Lowest Population)
Sex Ratio (India)	943 females/1000 males
Sex Ratio (States)	Kerala	1084 females/1000 males (>1000)	Haryana	879 females/1000 males
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 yrs)	Arunachal Pradesh	972	Haryana	834
Literacy Rate (India)	73% (Male 80.09%, Female 64.60%)
Literacy Rate (States)	Kerala	94%	Bihar	61.80%
Rural Population (% of state)	Himachal Pradesh	90%
Urban Population (% of state)	Goa	62.2%
Urban Population (Numbers)	Maharashtra	5.08 crore
SC Population (Numbers)	Uttar Pradesh	~5.25 crore
SC Population (Percentage)	Punjab	31.9% of state population
ST Population (Numbers)	Madhya Pradesh	~1.5 crore
ST Population (Percentage)	Mizoram	94% of state population

Current Affairs (September, October, November)

• India-Thailand Maitree Exercise: 14th edition held in Umroi, Meghalaya.
• SCO Summit 2025: Held in Tianjin.
• 25th Commonwealth Senior Weightlifting Championship: Held in Ahmedabad. China secured the top position; India ranked 11th.
• Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025: Awarded to Educate Girls (Rajasthan), the first non-governmental organization recipient.
• TIME's CEO of the Year 2025: Awarded to Neil Mohan (YouTube head).
• World's Highest War Memorial: Constructed by India near the Galwan LAC.
• UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List: Diwali included as the 16th item (Garba dance was included previously).
• India's First Indigenous Microprocessor: Vikram 32.
• Book "Mother Valley Comes to Me": Associated with Arundhati Roy.
• Thailand's New Prime Minister: Anutin Charnavirakul.
• Cancer Vaccine (Enteromix): An mRNA-based cancer vaccine unveiled by Russia.
• India's 15th Vice President: C.P. Radhakrishnan (defeated V. Sudarshan Reddy).
• PETA India's Person of the Year 2025: Raveena Tandon.
• Pravra: Launched by SEBI to prevent misleading return claims.
• 100% Voter Roll Digitalization: Rajasthan is the first state to achieve this.
• India's First Women's Tri-Service Water Journey Campaign "Samudri Pradakshina": Associated with IASV Triveni.
• First Country to Appoint AI Minister (Daila) for Anti-Corruption: Albania.
• Indian Navy's IAS Aravali Commissioning: Gurugram.
• India's Fastest Train (160 km/hr): Namo Bharat (Regional Rapid Transit System, Delhi-Meerut route).
• New G20 Organization Inclusion: Poland proposed for inclusion.
• India's Second Inter-State Tiger Relocation: From Pench Tiger Reserve to Rajasthan.
• 5th Khelo India University Games:
  • Top position: Chandigarh University.
  • Held in 7 cities in Rajasthan.
  • Mascot: "Khambaghani".
• First World Teak Conference: Held in Kochi.
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Awarded to Mohanlal (Malayalam film industry superstar).
• Indian Army's Amog Pury Agni Exercise: Rajasthan.
• 28th National Conference on E-Governance: Held in Visakhapatnam.
• Antarctica Ozone Hole: Record contraction observed; first discovered in 1985.
• Deaflympics 2025: Indian contingent secured 6th position.
• Operation Sagar Bandhu: Launched by India to aid Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah.
  • Cyclones mentioned: Shakti (named by Sri Lanka), Month (named by Thailand), Ditwah (named by Yemen).
• BCCI New President: Mithun Manhas. Secretary: Devjeet Sekia.
• Living Bridge Award (India-Britain Free Trade Agreement): Awarded to Keir Starmer (UK Prime Minister).
• National E-Governance Award (Digital Service Delivery): Awarded to Rohini Gram Panchayat (Maharashtra).
• UNEP Young Champions of the Earth Award: Awarded to Jinani Modi (Maharashtra).
• Global Brand of the Year Award (London): Awarded to Kemikara (Indian Rum).
• Asia Power Index: India ranked 3rd (USA 1st, China 2nd).
• ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Brand Ambassador: Rohit Sharma.
• Junior World Ranking (Judo): Himanshi Tokas became the first Indian to top the rankings.
• MiG-21 Aircraft Decommissioning Ceremony: Held in Chandigarh. MiG-21 will be replaced by Tejas (Light Combat Aircraft).
  • Prachand is a Light Combat Helicopter.
  • Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is the manufacturer and India's 15th Maharatna Company.
• UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve Network: Sheetal Marusthal (Himachal Pradesh) included.
• Ramsar Sites (New Inclusions):
  • Gokul Reservoir and Udaipur Lake (Bihar).
  • Goagabil (Bihar, 94th site).
  • Silised Lake (Alwar, 96th site).
  • Rajasthan additions: Khichan and Menar.
• ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol 25 (Egypt): India won 13 medals.
• New Species of Owl Fly: Discovered in Kerala after 134 years.
• India-Nepal Joint Exercise (Surya Kiran): Held between India and Nepal.
• First World Seafood Congress 2026: Held in Chennai.
• TIME 100 Next List 2025 (Cricket): Yashasvi Jaiswal (only cricketer).
• Namo Van Foundation Stone: Laid by Bhupendra Yadav (Union Environment Minister) in Manesar, Haryana.
• ICC Men's T20 Batter Ranking (931 points): Abhishek Sharma achieved a new record.
• Tata Airways H125 Helicopter Final Assembly Line: To be set up in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Central Cabinet Mission for Pulses (2030-31): A 6-year mission for self-reliance in Arhar, Urad, and Masoor.
• Japan's First Female Prime Minister: Sanae Takaichi.
• Indian Coast Guard 10th National Level Pollution Response Exercise (NETPOLREX X): Held in Chennai.
• India-England Joint Exercise (Konkan): Held between India and England.
• Global Fintech Fest: Held in Mumbai.
• India's 53rd Chief Justice: Suryakant.
  • Longest tenure: Y.V. Chandrachud.
  • Shortest tenure: Kamal Narain Singh.
  • First Chief Justice: H.J. Kania.
  • 52nd Chief Justice: B.R. Gavai.
• Davis Cup 2025: Italy won, defeating Spain.
• IUCN Congress 25: Held in Abu Dhabi.
• India's National Red List Road Map: Unveiled at the IUCN meeting in Abu Dhabi.
• Supreme Court Ruling on District Judge Direct Recruitment: Judicial officers with 7 years of experience can compete.
• IUCN Canton R. Miller Award: Awarded to Sonali Ghosh (first Indian recipient).
• IUCN's 90th Member Country: Tuvalu (latest member). Armenia was also a recent inclusion.
• IAF Tejas Jet Crash: Occurred during the Dubai Air Show.
• G8 Inclusion: Europe gave consent to include Russia (Russia has not yet agreed).
• Miss Universe 2025: Won by Fatima Bose (Mexico). Manika Vishwakarma represented India.
• Indian Cricketers' Association President (First Female): Shantha Rangaswamy.
• 22nd ASEAN-India Summit: Held in Malaysia.
• Manama Asian Youth Games 2025: Indian contingent won 48 medals.
• ICC Women's World Cup 25: India won, defeating South Africa.
  • India's Captain: Harmanpreet Kaur.
  • India's Coach: Amol.
  • Host: India (final held at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai).
  • South Africa's Captain: Laura Wolvaardt.
• World's First Floating Artificial Island (by 2028): Announced by China.
• India's First PSLV Rocket (private company): Developed by HLLT (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Larsen & Toubro).
• Colombo Security Conclave New Member: Seychelles.
• 12th Pro Kabaddi League: Won by Dabang Delhi.
• Nobel Prize Winner James Watson (97 years old, deceased): Associated with the discovery of the DNA helix model.
• Multilateral Exercise Malabar: Held in Guam. Participants: India, USA, Japan, Australia.
• India-Sri Lanka Joint Exercise (Mitra Shakti): Held in Karnataka.
• Global Climate Change Performance Index 26: India ranked 23rd (previously 13th), primarily due to high coal usage.
• ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 26 Hosts: Zimbabwe and Namibia.
• Bihar Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar sworn in for the 10th time.
• Hanimaadhoo International Airport: Inaugurated in Maldives with India's assistance.
• UNESCO Director General: Khalid Al Anani from Egypt.
• 8th India-Britain Ajeya Warrior Exercise: Held in Bikaner.
• Indian International Film Festival (Goa): 56th edition held.
• 20th G20 Summit: Held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The next (2026) summit will be in the USA.
• Birsa 1001: A CRISPR gene therapy developed for the treatment of sickle cell anemia, which causes red blood cells to become sickle-shaped leading to anemia.
• International Gita Mahotsav 2025:
  • Partner State: Madhya Pradesh.
  • Host State: Haryana.
• India's First Indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare Vessel (IAS Mahe) Commissioning: Mumbai.
• Heligubbi Volcano Eruption: Located in Ethiopia, erupted for the first time in over 12,000 years.
• FIDE Chess World Cup 25: Won by Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan). Held in Goa.
• Ambaji Marble: Awarded a GI tag, from Gujarat.
• Sentinel-6B Satellite: Launched using a Falcon 9 rocket.
• Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2025 (Hindi): Awarded to "1/1".
• 2030 Commonwealth Games Host: Ahmedabad, India (2026 host: Glasgow, Scotland).
• Cyclone Ditwah: Caused damage in Sri Lanka, named by Yemen. India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu.
• Blue Flag Certification (Beaches): Sonapur and Puri (Odisha). Puri is also known as Golden Beach.
• 6th National Water Awards 2024 (Best State): Maharashtra.
• Lepcha Musical Instrument: Awarded a GI tag, from Sikkim.
• Booker Prize 2025: Won by David Sledgener for "Flash".
• Germanwatch Climate Risk Index 2026 (1995-2024): India ranked 9th.
• Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2025: "Vibe Coding."
• ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2) Launch: Announced to be by 2030.