Census 2011 Highlights

• Initiation:
  • First census: 1872, during Lord Mayo's viceroyalty.
  • First decennial (systematic) census: 1881, during Lord Ripon's viceroyalty.
• Census Commissioner:
  • First Commissioner: W.C. Plowden.
  • 2011 Commissioner: C. Chandramouli.
• Chronology (2011):
  • 15th census in overall series.
  • 7th census since independence (post-1951).
  • 14th decennial census.
• "Great Divide Year": 1921 (decade 1911-1921), due to population decrease caused by famine and epidemics.
• Motto (2011): "Our Census, Our Future."
• Population (2011): 121.09 crore (India was second to China; currently, India is first globally as of recent estimates).
• Decennial Growth (2001-2011): 17.7%.
• Gender Breakdown: Male: 51.47%, Female: 48.53%.

Census 2011 State & UT Data

Category	Highest (State)	Lowest (State)	Highest (UT)	Lowest (UT)
Area	Rajasthan	Goa	Ladakh	Lakshadweep
Population	Uttar Pradesh (16.51% of India's pop.)	Sikkim (0.05% of India's pop.)	Delhi	Lakshadweep
Decennial Growth	Meghalaya (27.9%)	Nagaland (-0.6%)
Population Density	Bihar (1106 persons/km²)	Arunachal Pradesh (17 persons/km²)	Delhi
Sex Ratio	Kerala (1084 females/1000 males)	Haryana (879 females/1000 males)
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 yrs)	Arunachal Pradesh (972)	Haryana (834)
Literacy Rate	Kerala (94%)	Bihar (61.8%)
Rural Population (by %)	Himachal Pradesh (90%)
Urban Population (by %)	Goa (62.2%)
Urban Population (by Numbers)	Maharashtra (5.08 crore)
SC Population (by Numbers)	Uttar Pradesh (approx. 5.25 crore)
SC Population (by Percent)	Punjab (31.9%)
ST Population (by Numbers)	Madhya Pradesh (approx. 1.5 crore)
ST Population (by Percent)	Mizoram (94%)

International Affairs

• Palestine State Recognition: Australia announced recognition of the Palestinian state, with conditions including a Hamas-free Palestine, demilitarization of Gaza, and general elections. Earlier, G7 countries like Canada, France, and England had indicated similar recognition.
• UN Bhutan Initiative: Aims to combat terrorism.
• Chagos Archipelago: UK has agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
• Azerbaijan-Armenia Agreement: Historic agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia mediated by US President Trump.
• E-Methanol Plant: The world's first commercial-scale e-methanol plant started in Denmark.
• Shinmoedake Volcano: Located in Japan, recently erupted.
• World Food Prize 2025: Awarded to Marengangala Hungaria (Brazil).

National Affairs: Governance & Economy

• Garud Drishti (Maharashtra): Launched by Maharashtra government to detect and remove fraudulent, communal, defamatory, and objectionable posts on social media.
• Disha Abhiyan (Maharashtra): For quality education and intellectual development of specially-abled individuals. Maharashtra is the first state to launch such an initiative for the disabled.
• MERIT Yojana: Central Cabinet approved the Multi-disciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education (MERIT) Yojana with a budget of ₹4200 crore for 2025-26 to 2029-30. 50% of the funding (₹2100 crore) will be a loan from the World Bank. It aims to improve research and quality in technical education at 275 technical institutes (175 engineering colleges, 100 polytechnics).
• New MP Flats in New Delhi: Four new Type-7 multi-storey flats for MPs named Krishna, Godavari, Kosi, and Hooghly were inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi. They feature waste management, zero carbon emission, and solar energy use.
• Kartavya Bhawan: Inaugurated earlier in New Delhi on Kartavya Path (formerly Rajpath), aiming to bring all government ministries under one roof. Its construction is part of the Central Vista Project.
• Zero FIR (New): Launched by Union Minister Amit Shah to counter cyber fraud.
• Robotics Education: Kerala is the first state to make robotics education compulsory for all 10th-grade students.
• ICICI Bank: Announced a minimum balance requirement of ₹50,000 for new urban customers (previously ₹10,000). For rural areas, the minimum balance for new customers is ₹10,000 (previously ₹2500).
• Bank of India: Became the first Indian bank to receive STQC (Standard Testing and Quality Certification) certification.
• Kerala State Financial Enterprises: Became India's first diversified NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Company) to achieve ₹1 lakh crore turnover.
• GST Collection (FY24): Maharashtra recorded the highest GST revenue collection.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee Saving Scholarship: Awarded in Uttar Pradesh (stated as location of scholarship initiation).

National Affairs: Defense & Security

• Surya Dronathan 2025: Drone competition initiated by the Indian Army's Surya Command in Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
• Drone Prahar: Indian Army's drone exercise conducted in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Bold Kurukshetra: Bilateral military exercise between India and Singapore held in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
• Project Kush: DRDO's project for developing India's Air Defense System.
• BEML Limited (Bharat Earth Movers Limited): Secured its first foreign rail metro contract worth $1 million from Malaysia. BEML also established the 'Brahma' rail depot hub in Umaria village, Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, for manufacturing rail coaches for metro and Vande Bharat trains.
• Lieutenant Colonel Promotion: Athlete Neeraj Chopra was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army.
• First FM Radio Station (Indian Army): 'Panchshool Pulse' launched in Uttarakhand.

National Affairs: Infrastructure & Technology

• Longest Vande Bharat Train Route: The Nagpur-Pune corridor in Maharashtra (881 km, 12 hours).
• Asia's Longest Freight Train (Rudrastha): Trial conducted from Chandoli (Uttar Pradesh) to Jharkhand, with a length of 4.5 km.
• Advanced Animal Stem Cell Biobank and Lab: India's first such facility inaugurated by Union Minister Jitendra Singh in Hyderabad.
• AI 3D Video Communication Platform (BEAM): Launched by Google.
• Iron Wood: Launched by Google.
• Aero-grade Titanium Unit: India's largest such unit inaugurated in Lucknow.
• First Vistadome Jungle Safari Train: Started in Uttar Pradesh.
• ONGC Oil and Gas Discovery: Discovered in the Mumbai offshore basin.
• US University Campus: Illinois Tech University (USA) is the first US university to establish a campus in India.

Sports & Awards

• World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Competition: India hosted this competition for the first time in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar (Odisha). 93 Indian athletes participated.
• Asian Surfing Championship: Ramesh Budiyal became the first Indian to win a medal in the Open Category.
• Shooting Junior World Cup: Indian shooting contingent ranked first in the Junior World Cup held in Germany.
• Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or: Awarded to Jafar Panahi from Iran.

Important Days

• World Elephant Day: August 12 (Theme: "Bringing the World Together to Help Elephants").
• International Youth Day: August 12.
• World Biofuel Day: August 10.
• World Tribal Day: August 9.
• National Javelin Day: August 7.
• World Lion Day: August 12 (stated in the rapid-fire section, usually observed on August 10).
• Ayurveda Day: Declared to be observed on September 23.

Books & Publications

• "Why the Constitution Matters": Authored by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (Former 50th Chief Justice of India), his first book.
• "Why Bharat Matters": Authored by S. Jaishankar (External Affairs Minister).
• "Janata Ki Kahani, Meri Aatmakatha": Autobiography of Dattatreya, former Governor of Haryana.
• "A Cricketer's Wife Story": Authored by Cheteshwar Pujara's wife.

Environment & Geography

• Yala Glacier (Nepal): Asia's first glacier to be declared 'dead'.
• First Gene-Edited Breed (Sheep): Developed at Sher-e-Kashmir University.

Miscellaneous

• First Psycad Garden: Established in Uttarakhand.
• Saraswati Pushkaralu Festival: Held in Uttarakhand, and later also in Telangana.
• 18th Astronomy Olympiad: Held in Mumbai, with Ajay Sood (Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India) as the Chief Guest.
• Operation Black Forest: Launched against Naxalism, primarily on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border.
• COVID-19 Variants: NV.1.8.1 and LF7 were new COVID variants recently observed in Europe.
• Take It Down Act: Passed by the USA to combat the spread of AI-generated fake content.
• Third Eye Asian Film Festival: Held in Mumbai.