USS · Both papers
The facts that come back year after year, one line each.
Every line here is something the USS paper has a habit of asking. None of it is explained — go to the topic page for that. This is for the last pass, when you want to find out quickly which facts have gone soft.
| Longest river in India | Ganga |
| Longest peninsular river | Godavari |
| Largest state by area | Rajasthan |
| Largest state by population | Uttar Pradesh |
| Largest freshwater lake | Wular, Jammu & Kashmir |
| Largest brackish lagoon | Chilika, Odisha |
| Standard meridian | 82°30′ E, near Mirzapur |
| Tropic of Cancer | 23½° N — crosses 8 states, none in the south |
| Only large desert | Thar, Rajasthan |
| Best soil for cotton | Black (regur) |
| Most fertile soil | Alluvial |
| States and union territories | 28 and 8 |
| Districts | 14 — Kasaragod the newest, 1984 |
| Highest peak | Anamudi, ~2,695 m, Idukki |
| Longest river | Periyar |
| Second longest river | Bharathappuzha |
| Rivers flowing east | Kabani, Bhavani, Pambar |
| Longest lake in India | Vembanad |
| Coastline | about 580 km |
| Common soil | Laterite |
| Monsoon arrives | around 1 June (south-west) |
| Second monsoon | October–November (north-east, thulavarsham) |
| Break in the Ghats | Palakkad Gap |
| Largest producer of | natural rubber |
| Chief architect of the Constitution | Dr B. R. Ambedkar |
| President, Constituent Assembly | Dr Rajendra Prasad |
| Constitution adopted | 26 November 1949 |
| Came into force | 26 January 1950 |
| Fundamental Rights | 6 |
| Fundamental Duties | 11 |
| Directive Principles | Part IV |
| Freedom of speech | Article 19 |
| Right to Education | Article 21A, ages 6–14 |
| Voting age | 18 |
| Lok Sabha term | 5 years |
| Rajya Sabha term | 6 years |
| Money bill starts in | Lok Sabha only |
| Kerala Assembly | 140 elected members |
| Kerala High Court | Ernakulam, not the capital |
| Guardian of the Constitution | The Supreme Court |
| Unit of force | newton |
| Unit of energy | joule |
| Unit of power | watt |
| Largest organ | skin |
| Largest internal organ | liver |
| Insulin comes from | the pancreas |
| Oxygen is carried by | haemoglobin (contains iron) |
| Fights infection | white blood cells |
| Heart chambers | 4 |
| Starch digestion begins | in the mouth |
| Water up the plant | xylem |
| Food down the plant | phloem |
| Photosynthesis happens in | the chloroplast |
| Energy released in | the mitochondria |
| Malaria carried by | female Anopheles mosquito |
| Curd from milk by | Lactobacillus bacteria |
| Nitrogen fixed by | Rhizobium in legume root nodules |
| Missing | Disease |
|---|---|
| Vitamin A | night blindness |
| Vitamin B1 | beriberi |
| Vitamin C | scurvy |
| Vitamin D | rickets |
| Iron | anaemia |
| Iodine | goitre |
| Protein | kwashiorkor |
| Highest civilian award | Bharat Ratna |
| Highest wartime gallantry award | Param Vir Chakra |
| Highest peacetime gallantry award | Ashoka Chakra |
| Highest literary award in India | Jnanpith |
| Nobel categories | 6 |
| First Indian Nobel laureate | Rabindranath Tagore, Literature, 1913 |
| C. V. Raman | Physics, 1930 |
| National anthem | Jana Gana Mana — Tagore |
| National song | Vande Mataram — Bankim Chandra Chatterjee |
| Flag designed by | Pingali Venkayya |
| Ashoka Chakra spokes | 24, navy blue |
| First Indian satellite | Aryabhata, 1975 |
| ISRO headquarters | Bengaluru |
| Moon mission | Chandrayaan |
| Mars mission | Mangalyaan |
| Currency issued by | Reserve Bank of India |
| UN headquarters | New York |
| WHO headquarters | Geneva |
| First Indian individual Olympic gold | Abhinav Bindra, 2008 |
| Date | Day |
|---|---|
| 26 January | Republic Day |
| 28 February | National Science Day |
| 22 March | World Water Day |
| 22 April | Earth Day |
| 5 June | World Environment Day |
| 21 June | International Yoga Day |
| 15 August | Independence Day |
| 5 September | Teachers' Day |
| 16 September | World Ozone Day |
| 2 October | Gandhi Jayanti |
| 1 November | Kerala Piravi |
| 14 November | Children's Day |
| Father of the Malayalam language | Thunchath Ezhuthachan |
| Kavithrayam | Kumaran Asan, Ulloor, Vallathol |
| Founded Kerala Kalamandalam | Vallathol, 1930 |
| Founder of Thullal | Kunchan Nambiar |
| First Malayalam novel | Kundalatha, 1887 |
| First well-formed novel | Indulekha, 1889 |
| First historical novel | Marthandavarma |
| First Malayalam newspaper | Rajyasamacharam, 1847 |
| First Malayalam Jnanpith | G. Sankara Kurup, 1965 |
| Malayalam classical language status | 2013 |