500 One-Liners

Polity (Constitution and governance)

1. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 (now observed as Constitution Day).
2. It came into force on 26 January 1950.
3. The Preamble was amended once, by the 42nd Amendment (1976), adding Socialist, Secular, Integrity.
4. The idea of the Constituent Assembly came from M N Roy.
5. B R Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee.
6. Article 1 describes India as a Union of States.
7. Article 14 guarantees equality before law.
8. Article 21 protects life and personal liberty.
9. Article 32 is the right to constitutional remedies, called the "heart and soul" by Ambedkar.
10. Article 33 lets Parliament restrict the rights of the armed and police forces (direct CAPF relevance).
11. The five writs are Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto.
12. Fundamental Duties (originally 10, now 11) are in Article 51A.
13. The 11th duty was added by the 86th Amendment (2002).
14. Directive Principles are in Part IV, Articles 36 to 51, borrowed from Ireland.
15. The basic structure doctrine came from the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).
16. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) created Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies.
17. The 61st Amendment (1989) lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
18. The GST was introduced by the 101st Amendment (2016).
19. The 103rd Amendment (2019) gave 10 percent EWS reservation.
20. The President is elected by an electoral college using the single transferable vote.
21. The Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
22. Money Bills are defined in Article 110 and can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
23. The Finance Commission is constituted every five years under Article 280.
24. The CAG audits under Article 148.
25. National Emergency is under Article 352; President's Rule under Article 356; Financial Emergency under Article 360.
26. The Tenth Schedule deals with anti-defection (added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985).
27. All India Services are under Article 312.
28. High Courts have wider writ jurisdiction (Article 226) than the Supreme Court (Article 32).
29. The Attorney General is the government's chief law officer (Article 76).
30. The NHRC is a statutory body under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

See last minute polity and Index.

Modern history and the freedom struggle

31. The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A O Hume.
32. The first session was presided over by W C Bonnerjee in Bombay.
33. Bengal was partitioned in 1905 by Lord Curzon, triggering the Swadeshi movement.
34. The Muslim League was founded in 1906 at Dhaka.
35. The Morley-Minto Reforms (1909) introduced separate electorates.
36. The Lucknow Pact (1916) united moderates, extremists and the League.
37. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred on 13 April 1919 (General Dyer).
38. The Non-Cooperation Movement began in 1920; it was withdrawn after Chauri Chaura (1922).
39. The Simon Commission (1928) had no Indian member ("Simon Go Back").
40. The Dandi Salt March (1930) launched the Civil Disobedience Movement.
41. The Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy.
42. The Quit India Movement began in 1942 ("Do or Die").
43. The Cabinet Mission came in 1946.
44. India became independent on 15 August 1947 under the Indian Independence Act 1947.
45. Mahatma Gandhi led Champaran (1917), Kheda (1918) and Ahmedabad (1918) satyagrahas.
46. Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Forward Bloc (1939) and led the INA.
47. The slogan "Inquilab Zindabad" is associated with Bhagat Singh.
48. Lala Lajpat Rai died after a lathi charge during the Simon Commission protest.
49. The first war of independence (Revolt of 1857) began at Meerut.
50. Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi was a leader of 1857.
51. The Permanent Settlement (1793) was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal.
52. The Doctrine of Lapse was associated with Lord Dalhousie.
53. The capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911.
54. The Rowlatt Act (1919) allowed detention without trial.
55. Gandhi's first all-India satyagraha was against the Rowlatt Act.

See last minute history and important personalities.

Ancient and medieval high points

56. The Indus Valley Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation (Harappa, Mohenjo-daro).
57. Mohenjo-daro is on the Indus; Harappa on the Ravi.
58. The four Vedas are Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
59. Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
60. Mahavira was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.
61. Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire (c. 321 BCE) with Chanakya's help.
62. Ashoka embraced Buddhism after the Kalinga War (c. 261 BCE).
63. The Gupta age is called the "Golden Age" of ancient India.
64. Aryabhata and Varahamihira belong to the Gupta era.
65. The Qutb Minar was begun by Qutb-ud-din Aibak (Slave Dynasty).
66. Alauddin Khalji introduced market (price) control reforms.
67. The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 (Harihara and Bukka).
68. Babur won the First Battle of Panipat (1526), founding the Mughal Empire.
69. Akbar won the Second Battle of Panipat (1556).
70. The Battle of Haldighati (1576) was between Akbar's forces and Maharana Pratap.
71. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal.
72. Aurangzeb was the last of the major ("Great") Mughals.
73. Shivaji founded the Maratha state; crowned in 1674.
74. The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Geography (India and world)

75. The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight Indian States.
76. The Standard Meridian of India is 82.5° E (passing near Mirzapur).
77. The southernmost point of mainland India is Kanyakumari.
78. Indira Point (Great Nicobar) is the southernmost point of Indian territory.
79. India has a land border of about 15,200 km and a coastline of about 7,500 km.
80. India shares its longest border with Bangladesh.
81. The Radcliffe Line separates India from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
82. The McMahon Line separates India from China (eastern sector).
83. The Durand Line separates Pakistan from Afghanistan.
84. The Himalayas are young fold mountains.
85. K2 (Godwin-Austen) is the highest peak in the Indian subcontinent (in PoK).
86. The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meet at the Nilgiris.
87. The Deccan Plateau is made of black (regur) soil, good for cotton.
88. The monsoon arrives in Kerala around the first of June.
89. The two branches of the southwest monsoon are the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches.
90. Cherrapunji and Mawsynram (Meghalaya) record the highest rainfall.
91. The Palk Strait separates India from Sri Lanka.
92. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
93. The Strait of Malacca lies between Malaysia and Indonesia (Sumatra).
94. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
95. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
96. The longest river in the world is the Nile (the Amazon is the largest by volume).
97. The largest desert is the Sahara.
98. The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest (Sagarmatha / Chomolungma).
99. The deepest ocean trench is the Mariana Trench (Pacific).
100. The largest ocean is the Pacific.

See last minute geography and straits chokepoints and strategic waterways.

Economy and banking

101. The RBI was established in 1935 and nationalised in 1949.
102. The RBI is the lender of last resort and the issuer of currency.
103. The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to banks.
104. The reverse repo rate is the rate at which the RBI borrows from banks.
105. The CRR is the cash reserve ratio held with the RBI.
106. The SLR is the statutory liquidity ratio held in approved securities.
107. The Monetary Policy Committee sets the repo rate (inflation target 4 percent, plus or minus 2).
108. Fiscal deficit is total expenditure minus total receipts (excluding borrowings).
109. The Union Budget is the Annual Financial Statement under Article 112.
110. GST was rolled out on 1 July 2017.
111. NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015.
112. The first Five Year Plan (1951-56) focused on agriculture.
113. India's national income is estimated by the NSO (under MoSPI).
114. GDP at market prices minus net indirect taxes gives GDP at factor cost.
115. Inflation is commonly measured by CPI (retail) and WPI (wholesale).
116. Repo, MSF and bank rate are policy rates of the RBI.
117. SEBI regulates the securities market; IRDAI regulates insurance.
118. Demonetisation of high-value notes occurred on 8 November 2016.
119. The rupee is a managed float currency.
120. Disinvestment is the sale of government equity in public-sector units.

See last minute economy and Index.

General science (physics, chemistry, biology)

121. The SI unit of force is the newton; of energy the joule; of power the watt.
122. The SI unit of electric current is the ampere; of pressure the pascal.
123. Speed of light in vacuum is about 3 × 10⁸ metres per second.
124. Newton's first law is the law of inertia.
125. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum; light can.
126. A barometer measures atmospheric pressure.
127. A seismograph records earthquakes.
128. Litmus turns red in acid and blue in base.
129. The pH of pure water is 7 (neutral).
130. Common salt is sodium chloride (NaCl).
131. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate.
132. The chemical symbol of gold is Au; of iron Fe; of sodium Na.
133. The lightest element is hydrogen.
134. The most abundant gas in air is nitrogen (about 78 percent).
135. Photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose using sunlight.
136. The powerhouse of the cell is the mitochondrion.
137. Human blood has four groups: A, B, AB and O; the universal donor is O-negative.
138. The human body has 206 bones (in adults).
139. Insulin is produced by the pancreas; its deficiency causes diabetes.
140. Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy; vitamin D deficiency causes rickets.
141. Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness; iodine deficiency causes goitre.
142. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium, spread by the female Anopheles mosquito.
143. Dengue is spread by the Aedes mosquito.
144. DNA carries genetic information; its double-helix model is by Watson and Crick.
145. The universal blood recipient group is AB-positive.

See last minute general science and Index.

Environment and ecology

146. The Montreal Protocol (1987) protects the ozone layer.
147. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) set binding emission cuts.
148. The Paris Agreement (2015) aims to limit warming to well below 2° Celsius.
149. The greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
150. The Ramsar Convention protects wetlands.
151. CITES regulates trade in endangered species.
152. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas are biodiversity hotspots in India.
153. The CITES, Ramsar and CBD are environmental conventions.
154. World Environment Day is 5 June.
155. The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010.

Defence, space and technology

156. ISRO was founded in 1969; headquarters in Bengaluru.
157. The first Indian satellite was Aryabhata (1975).
158. Chandrayaan-1 (2008) confirmed water on the Moon.
159. Mangalyaan / Mars Orbiter Mission reached Mars orbit in 2014.
160. DRDO develops India's defence technology.
161. The Agni and Prithvi are Indian missile series.
162. The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile (India-Russia).
163. The three armed services are the Army, Navy and Air Force.
164. The Chief of Defence Staff post was created in 2019.
165. The Param Vir Chakra is the highest wartime gallantry award; the Ashoka Chakra is its peacetime equivalent.

See last minute internal security and the five capfs in depth.

International organisations and current affairs (durable)

166. The United Nations was founded in 1945; headquarters in New York.
167. The UN Security Council has five permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China).
168. The WHO, ILO, WTO and WMO are headquartered in Geneva.
169. The IMF and World Bank are in Washington DC.
170. UNESCO is in Paris; the ICJ is in The Hague.
171. India is a founding member of the UN, the NAM and BRICS.
172. SAARC has its secretariat in Kathmandu.
173. ASEAN is headquartered in Jakarta.
174. The G20 is a forum of major economies; India hosted the 2023 summit.
175. The QUAD comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.
176. India is a member of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation).
177. The Human Development Index is published by the UNDP.
178. The Corruption Perceptions Index is published by Transparency International.
179. The Global Hunger Index is published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
180. The World Happiness Report is published by the UN SDSN.

See durable international relations and important days and observances.

Mixed high-yield static facts

181. The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere is around 21 June (summer solstice).
182. The shortest day is around 22 December (winter solstice).
183. The equinoxes fall around 21 March and 23 September.
184. There are 28 States and 8 Union Territories in India (verify the latest).
185. The first Indian to win a Nobel Prize was Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913).
186. C V Raman won the Physics Nobel in 1930 (Raman Effect).
187. Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
188. The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award.
189. The Jnanpith is for Indian literature; the Dadasaheb Phalke for cinema.
190. The national game association notwithstanding, India has no officially declared national game.
191. The Davis Cup is in tennis; the Thomas Cup in badminton; the Ranji Trophy in domestic cricket.
192. The Olympics and the FIFA World Cup are held every four years.
193. The Booker Prize is for fiction in English.
194. The Magsaysay Award is regarded as Asia's Nobel.
195. The Ashoka Chakra on the national flag has 24 spokes.
196. The first woman President of India was Pratibha Patil.
197. The first woman Prime Minister was Indira Gandhi.
198. The first President of India was Dr Rajendra Prasad.
199. The first Prime Minister was Jawaharlal Nehru.
200. The first Home Minister and Deputy PM was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

(The list continues across the linked compendium sheets; treat the above 200 as the densest core and extend with the sheets below.)