The 10 best companies to work for in India

Infosys Technologies has emerged as the best company to work for in India, according to the BT-Indicus-PeopleStrong 9th Annual Survey of India's Best Employers.

Even as the Indian IT major shone, many other biggies missed getting into the list of the 10 best companies to work for in India. These include L&T (11th), Hindustan Unilever (12th), ONGC (13th), Tata Motors (14th), ITC (15th), ICICI Bank (19th), and Tata Steel (20th).

About 9,000 employees from across 1,000 organisations across 800 cities participated in the survey.
They were asked to rate companies on six key parameters, namely, career and personal growth, prestige/company reputation, training/coaching/mentoring, financial compensation and benefits, job content, and merit-based performance evaluation.

While creative people in advertising and media gave little importance to the company's brand value, the administrative staff gave more value to the brand.

The Banking, Financial Services and Insurance and Services accounted for over 10 per cent of the respondents each, software over 14 per cent, manufacturing over 17 per cent, and ITeS accounted for 9 per cent.

Education/training, core sector, telecom and health accounted for 6.7 per cent, 5.7 per cent, 4.4 per cent, and 4.2 per cent, respectively.

The rankings are based on what employees think of their present, past and future employers. Click NEXT to check out India's top 10 employers. . .


1. Infosys Technologies

Infosys is in the No.1 position for the fifth time, out of the 9 surverys (the company did not particpate in two surveys), carried out by BT-Indicus.


Infosys Technologies was selected as the best employer to work for in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006. Infosys and its subsidiaries have 105,453 employees as on September 30, 2009.

Infosys, which hired 18,000 people in 2009-10, scores 100 on all parameters. Infosys is one of the most sought after companies in campuses. The rate of attrition at Infosys is 11.6 per cent, according to Business Today.

Index score: 100



2. Google India

Google India, which boasts of giving freedom to its employees, has been chosen as the second best employer in India. Google employees believe that 'work is fun'. On a worldwide basis, Google employed 19,835 full-time employees as of December 31, 2009, up from 19,665 full-time employees as of September 30, 2009.
In India, Google has 2000 employees. The rate of attrition is less than 5 per cent.The company scores the highest on job content and financial compensation.

Index score: 52

3. Tata Consultancy Services

India's largest employer TCS is ranked 3rd in the survey of best employers. TCS has over 143,000 IT professionals in 42 countries.

The company scores high on job content and financial compensation. According to the survey, TCS is also the most preferred company among IT professionals.

TCS hired 8,000 people in 2009-10 and the rate of attrition is 11.4 per cent.

Index score: 46

 4. IBM

IT seems to be the hot choice for employees with IBM also in the top league. IBM offers freedom and flexibility, according to the survey.

Ranked 4th, IBM figures among the top 5 for the first time.  IBM scores high on job content and financial compensation. The company also has the highest retention rates.
IBM re-entered the Indian market through a joint venture in 1992. It has 398,455 employees worldwide. IBM India employs 74,000 professionals.

Internet was the media for the survey. Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc) was employed too.



5. Microsoft India

Microsoft India, which was at the top of the employee charts in 2007 and 2008, has been pushed to the fifth position.


Microsoft has over 5,000 employees in India. It scores high on job content and financial compensation.

Index score: 36



6. Wipro

IT giant Wipro is 6th among India's top employers. The company has 102,746 employees as of December 31, 2009, an increase of 4,855 people.

According to the survey, Wipro is considered a secure and flexible company.

Index score: 33



7. State Bank of India 

Breaking the monopoly of IT companies in the list of the best employers is public sector bank, SBI. India's largest PSU bank, SBI is the 7th best employer in India. SBI, the largest recruiter after IT firm TCS has over two lakh employees.

About 28 per cent of the employees surveyed were above 33 years and 48 per cent were above 28 years.

Index score: 32



8. Bharti Airtel 

Along with the steady progress in its business, Bharti Airtel has won the hearts of the employees as well. It is ranked 8th among the best employers. The company has 18,201 employees.


The rate of attrition is 10.5 to 11 per cent. It scores high on career and personal growth and company reputation.

The company believes that people are its biggest assets.

Index score: 29




9. HP India  
 

HP India was established in 1988. Ranked 9th among the top 10 employers in India, HP has about 321,000 employees worldwide and 31,000 employees in India.


It scores high on job content and financial compensation. One of the best aspects about HP India is that it allows employees to move across jobs internally, says the survey.

Index score: 28 

10. HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank has been chosen as the tenth best company to work for in India . The company has over 47,000 employees. The bank hired 4,500 employees as of December 2009 and its attrition rate is 15 per cent.

Employees find the company transparent and friendly. It scores high on job content and company reputation.

Index score: 27

Swiss black money can take India to the top

Professor R Vaidyanathan, Professor of Finance at the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru explains in detail the importance of bringing back the ill-gotten wealth and how the money got there in the first place.
 
Firstly how much Indian money do you think is stashed away in the Swiss Banks?
In 2006, the most recent Global Financial Integrity study, developing countries lost an estimated $858.6 billion (about Rs 43 lakh crore) to $1.06 trillion (abot Rs 51 lakh crore) in illicit financial outflows. Even at the lower end of the range of estimates, the volume of illicit financial flows coming out of developing countries increased at a compound rate of 18.2 percent over the five-year period analysed for the study. On average, for the five-year period of this study, Asia accounts for  approximately 50 percent of overall illicit financial flows from all developing countries.
This report shows that the average amount stashed away from India annually during 2002-06 is $27.3 billion (about 136,466 crore). It means that during the five-year period the amount stashed away is 27.3x5=136.5 billion (about 692,328 crore). It is not that all these amounts went to Swiss banks. It has gone to different tax and secret shelters. The share of Swiss banks in dirty money being a third of the global aggregate, some $45 billion out of the 136.5 billion stashed away from India would have been hoarded in these years in Swiss banks.
The important point is that this is only for five years. More amounts were stashed away during the Nehruvian regime. So the loot for 55 years will be several times higher. In fact, in those days the rupee commanded a better value per dollar. So fewer rupee could get more dollars. So the estimation that the Indian money stashed away may be of the order of $1.4 trillion (about Rs 71 lakh crore).

On what basis have you come to this conclusion?
There is a lot of literature available as to how to estimate the illicit financial flow from developing countries. We find out what the nature of the flow is. I have also relied upon the study Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006 Global Finanacial Intergrity authored by Dev Kar and Devon-Cartwright Smith, a project of the Ford Foundation. Financial flows in the context of this report includes the proceeds from both illicit activities such as corruption (bribery and embezzlement of national wealth), criminal activity, and the proceeds of ilicit business that become illicit when transported across borders in contravention of applicable laws and regulatory frameworks (most commonly in order to evade taxes). 

Which are the various tax havens, where the ill-gotten wealth of Indian businessmen and politicians are stashed?
There are presumably more than 70 tax havens in the world. Indian wealth could be more in Switzerland  and various British /US islands. At least 40 countries market themselves aggressively as tax havens [Source: Internal Revenue Service USA on Abusive Off-shore Tax Avoidance schemes –Talking Points Jan 2008]. The well-known tax havens are Switzerland/ Liechtenstein/Luxemburg/ Channel Islands etc. 

Could you elaborate and tell us how the money got there in the first place?
There are several methods/reasons. Under invoicing/over invoicing of exports and imports and getting the balance stored abroad. Kickbacks from major defense/civilian contracts. Not bringing the earnings abroad. In the old days smuggling of gold and illegal money. Transactions done abroad and not reported here. Hawala funds. Funds earned by artists/ entertainment industry /sports people and stashed abroad. When you want to indulge in adharma, hundreds of ways are open!

We would like to know the terror connection. Do you think even terrorists are stashing away cash and using the tax haven route to send across money all over the world, to finance their activities?
M K Narayanan, our National Security Advisor, has spoken about it in Berlin recently.

Advani says that it is important to bring this money back. How can the government go about it and what are the various ways in which India can get its money back?
Put it on the Global Agenda. Put it in G-20. Put it in the International Monetary Fund. Put it in Egmont Group. Also take a lead among all developing countries. Support US /German/French efforts.

If India decides to take the initiative, will the Swiss authorities cooperate?
It is not due to our pressure but that of US which will make them co-operate. When a family is in deep financial crisis then it tries to look at the small amount saved under the sugar jar by grandma. Same way developed economies are desperate for every dollar. Even if we do not act due to their efforts the list of crooks may be out, then we will be in a dangerous social situation since the who's who of India will be there. Instead we should get it and get the funds and decide on the steps to sterilise it. Otherwise, the world will laugh at us.

Politicians sure must be having a lot of money in Swiss Banks. Do you think this factor will deter the government from acting?
Public pressure will make them do it. Plus, the evolving global situation against tax havens. The money belongs to the poor farmers and unorganised workers of India. Also, Indian businessmen have a lot of their ill-gotten gains in these banks. The world situation is such that Indian businessman will want to bring it back now given the attractive returns in India.

Do you think that the Indian government should demand all the Indian black money in Swiss banks?
Of course. India should and must act. We are not a banana republic.

You wrote in your column that the German foreign intelligence agency BND got names of 1,400 clients of the Liechtenstein-based LTG bank who were supposed to be suspected tax evaders. Of the 1,400, 600 were supposed to be Germans. Do you think of the remaining there will be Indians as well? Has the Indian government approached the German government for the list?
Indian names will be there. Our tax evaders and crooks are like the omnipresent Maha Vishnu-- present in all continents and all tax havens. But our government has been lukewarm in this issue. It should have despatched immediately senior officials to get the names.

Isn't it important to tackle the issue of domestic black money?
It is definitely important. At least the domestic black money is used in our economy and to that extent it is productive. But the money kept in Swiss banks is neither useful to India nor does it benefit Indians.

What role should the media play?
The media has a very important role to play. At the moment it seems like most part of the media is more interested in the diet of an actress. Pressure by the media needs to be built up on this issue and remember that a lot of Indians don't just go to Switzerland to ski.

What about the names of these persons?
India must try and get the names. But more importantly should get the money back. It should be top on the agenda and India ought to take a moral lead in this issue.

Will the Indian economy improve if the money is brought back?
It will do phenomenally. India will be in the top five league if all the ill-gotten money is brought back. It will change the Indian scenario and I have been saying this since 1993.

Do you think that these people will now try and pull out the money since this issue has become a hot topic?
I don't think so. If they do then India should create an instrument and regulate frameworks to bring the money back.

What kind of punishment do you suggest for these persons?
Punishment is not the issue now. There is a need to create fear in them and follow what the international community does on this issue.

Lastly do you think this is becoming just another election issue?

The US and Germany took the lead and there is no election there. We should not treat this as an election issue. We have to take up this matter and if we don't then we will become a laughing stock of the entire world.

Why Outsource to India?

Today, outsourcing has almost become the order of the day. So why are global organizations choosing outsourcing? More and more global companies are choosing to outsource today for a number of reasons, such as, cost-effective services, increased efficiency, increased productivity, shared risks, reduced operating costs, increased quality, better services and more time to focus on core competencies. These are just a few of the reasons why organizations are outsourcing today. But why outsource to India and why do companies outsource to India. India is the most ideal place to outsource to, because India offers several advantages.

India has been a pioneer in providing outsourcing solutions and has been providing a range of outsourcing services to countries across the globe. Today, India can be called as the world’s outsourcing hub. Outsourcing to India can help your organization benefit from cost-effective services, high-quality services, reduced operating costs, greater flexibility and faster-time-to-market amongst others. These are just a few reasons why companies outsource to India. Another reason why outsourcing to India makes good business sense is because India has high-end technology and best-of-breed infrastructure. India has now become the world’s most preferred outsourcing location. India is also the global hub for software enabled services and software development.
Outsourcing to India can give your organization a competitive edge. The following are a list of reasons why companies outsource to India.

1. Cost-effective services

The numero uno reason why global organizations outsource to India is because India offers cost-effective services. Outsourcing to India can help you save more than half of your operating costs! India has a large, educated, trained and technically skilled manpower and this number only keeps growing every year. Unlike the west, where technical talent is rare, India has a large pool of highly-skilled professionals. Having a large technically skilled manpower has enabled India to provide cost-effective services without compromising on quality. Outsourcing to India, can help you save on your operating costs, while increasing your productivity, quality and efficiency.

2. High-quality services

India uses the latest in software, technology and infrastructure to provide global customers with high-quality outsourcing solutions. India has proved that it is technically superior when compared to other countries that provide outsourcing solutions. So, when you outsource your work to India, you can be assured that the best technology and software would be used for your services. India has the largest English-speaking audience after the U.S. India also has a highly educated manpower that is talented, educated, experienced, technically-skilled and computer literate. Outsource to India and be assured of high-quality services.

3. Time Zone Advantages

The time zone advantages between India and countries in the U.S and U.K has proved to be another important factor why companies outsource to India. Organizations who wish to provide their customer with 24x7x365 days customer support or helpdesk services can outsource to India.

4. India’s stable government

India has celebrated more than 60 years of democracy and has one of the world’s most stable governments. Building up the IT sector has been a top priority for the Indian government. India has a ministry of information technology that quickly approves the implementation of IT projects and streamlines regulatory processes. The Indian government has even released a bill termed as the “IT act 2000” India has been rated to have the most excellent investment potential in the coming years. The Indian government has given complete support to the IT and ITES industry in India. With ample support from the government, Indians have been able to build high-tech IT parks which has the best in technology and infrastructure. The Indian government has even permitted 100% foreign equity. India’s fast growing economy has been yet another reason why companies are outsourcing to India.

5. The Indian Advantage

Cost-effective services are one of the primary advantages that India offers, but it is not the only advantage of outsourcing to India. Outsourcing to India can give you access to professional and skilled outsourcing solutions within a fast turnaround time. By outsourcing to India, your organization can concentrate on core business activities and save on time, effort, manpower and infrastructure. More than 20 Indian software companies have achieved the prestigious SEI-CMM level. India also has the highest number of ISO-9000 software organizations. Outsource to India and give your organization a competitive advantage.

6. Global organizations’ most preferred choice

India has been the most preferred choice among global organization when it comes to outsourcing. In the U.S alone, more than 80% have ranked India as their first choice, when outsourcing software and IT services. The U.S has also recognized India as an outsourcing superpower. The number of organizations outsourcing services to India has only been increasing over the years. This is reason enough to outsource to India.

61 Interesting Facts About INDIA

1. India is about 1/3 the size of the United States, yet it is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of 1,166,079,217. India is the seventh largest country in the world, at 1.27 million square miles.^g
2. India is the largest democracy in the world.ⁱ
3. The Kumbh Mela (or Grand Pitcher Festival) is a huge Hindu religious festival that takes place in India every 12 years. In 2001, 60 million people attended, breaking the record for the world’s biggest gathering. The mass of people was photographed from space by a satellite.^c
4. Many Indians find toilet paper repellent and consider it cleaner to splash water with the left hand in the appropriate direction. Consequently, the left hand is considered unclean and is never used for eating.^f
5. To avoid polluting the elements (fire, earth, water, air), followers of Zoroastrianism in India don’t bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called “Towers of Silence” for the vultures to pick clean. After the bones dry, they are swept into a central well.^f

It is illegal for foreigners to import or export Indian currency (rupees)

6. It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.^f
7. India leads the world with the most murders (32,719), with Russia taking second at 28,904 murders per year.^j
8. India has one of the world’s highest rates of abortion.^e
9. More than a million Indians are millionaires, yet most Indians live on less than two dollars a day. An estimated 35% of India’s population lives below the poverty line.^l
10. Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of India’s cities. They are considered sacred and will often wear a tilak, a Hindu symbol of good fortune. Cows are considered one of humankind’s seven mothers because she offers milk as does one’s natural mother.^k
11. Dancing is one of India’s most highly developed arts and was an integral part of worship in the inner shrines of every temple. It is notable for its expressive hand movements.^f
12. Rabies is endemic in India. Additionally, “Delhi Belly” or diarrhea is commonplace due to contaminated drinking water.^f
13. Many Indian wives will never say her husband’s name aloud, as it is a sign of disrespect. When addressing him, the wife will use several indirect references, such as “ji” or “look here” or “hello,” or even refer to him as the father of her child.^f
14. A widow is considered bad luck—otherwise, her husband wouldn’t have died. Elderly women in the village might call a widow “the one who ate her husband.” In some orthodox families, widows are not allowed near newlyweds or welcomed at social gatherings.^b
15. India is the birthplace of chess.^l The original word for “chess” is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers.^d
16. The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of color: saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace, and green for faith, fertility, and chivalry. An emblem of a wheel spinning used to be in the center of the white band, but when India gained independence, a Buddhist dharma chakra, or wheel of life, replaced the spinning wheel.^m

Khajuraho’s exotic art may suggest that sex was a step for attaining ultimate liberation or moksha

17. The temples of Khajuraho are famous for their erotic sculptures and are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India. Scholars still debate the purpose of such explicit portrayals of sexual intercourse, which sometimes involves animals.^a
18. The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call “woven winds.” Mogul emperors called the fabrics “morning dew” and “cloth of running water.”ⁱ
19. In ancient and medieval India, suttees, in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, were common.^b
20. The Himalayas—from the Sanskrit hima, meaning “snow,” and alaya, meaning “abode”—are found in the north of India. They extend 1,500 miles and are slowly growing taller, by almost an inch (2.5 cm) a year. Several ancient Indian monasteries are found nestled in the grandeur of these mountains.^m
21. India is the world’s largest producer of dried beans, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. It also leads the world in banana exports; Brazil is second.^l
22. In India, the fold and color of clothing are viewed as important markers of social classification. Additionally, women will be viewed as either a prostitute or a holy person depending on the manner in which she parts her hair.^k
23. With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world. However, it is not unusual for a letter to take two weeks to travel just 30 miles.^f
24. In India, grasping one’s ears signifies repentance or sincerity.^f
25. The Bengal tiger is India’s national animal. It was once ubiquitous throughout the country, but now there are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers left.^m
26. Indians hold prominent places both internationally and in the United States. For example, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (Vinod Khosla), the creator of the Pentium chip (Vinod Dahm), the founder/creator of Hotmail (Sabeer Bhatia), and the GM of Hewlett-Packard (Rajiv Gupta) are all Indian.^h
27. Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498.^l
28. The British Raj, or British rule, lasted from 1858 to 1947 (although they had a strong presence in India since the 1700s). British influence is still seen in Indian architecture, education system, transportation, and politics. Many of India’s worst famines are associated with British rule in India.ⁱ
29. Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India.^f
30. About 80% of Indians are Hindu. Muslims are the largest minority in India and form approximately 13% of the country’s population. In fact, India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan.ⁱ
31. India has the world’s largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the “City of Dreams”). The B in “Bollywood” comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are musicals.^l
32. Mumbai (Bombay) is India’s largest city, with a population of 15 million. In 1661, British engineers built a causeway uniting all seven original islands of Bombay into a single landmass.^l
33. Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is known around the world as Mahatma, which is an honorific title meaning “Great Soul” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He devoted his life to free India from British rule peacefully and based his campaign on civil disobedience. His birthday, October 2, is a national holiday. He was assassinated in 1948.^m

The Lotus temple is one of the most visited temples in the world, with over 50 million visitors per year

34. The lotus is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The Bahá'í house of worship in Delhi, known as the “Lotus Temple,” is shaped like a lotus flower with 27 gigantic “petals” that are covered in marble.ⁱ
35. The banyan, or Indian fig tree, is considered a symbol of immortality and is mentioned in many Indian myths and legends. This self-renewing plant is India’s national tree.^m
36. Marigold flowers are used as decoration for Hindu marriages and are a symbol of good fortune and happiness.ⁱ
37. The official name of India is the Republic of India. The name “India” derives from the River Indus, which most likely is derived from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning “river.” The official Sanskrit name of India is Bharat, after the legendary king in the epic Mahabharata.^m
38. Introduced by the British, cricket is India’s most popular sport. Hockey is considered the national sport, and the Indian field hockey team proudly won Olympic gold in 1928.ⁱ
39. Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C. The concept of zero as a number is also attributed to India.^m
40. The national fruit of India is the mango. The national bird is the peacock, which was initially bred for food.^m
41. Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.^b
42. Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.^l
43. India’s pastoral communities are largely dependent on dairy and have made India the largest milk-producing country in the world.^l
44. India has the world’s third largest road network at 1.9 million miles. It also has the world’s second largest rail network, which is the world’s largest civilian employer with 16 million workers.^f

Though the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, bathing in the river is thought to wash away one’s sins

45. Rivers have played a vital role in India’s popular culture and folklore—they have been worshipped as goddesses because they bring water to an otherwise dry land. Bathing in the Ganges in particular is thought to take away a person’s sins. It is not unusual to spread a loved one’s ashes in the Ganges.^f
46. Raziya Sultana (1205-1240) was the first woman leader of India. She was considered a great leader, though she ruled for only three years before being murdered.^b
47. Most Indians rinse their hands, legs, and face before eating a meal. It is considered polite to eat with the right hand, and women eat after everyone is finished. Wasting food is considered a sin.ⁱ
48. During the Vedic era in India, horse sacrifice sanctioned the sovereignty of the king.^a
49. It is traditional to wear white, not black, to a funeral in India. Widows will often wear white in contrast to the colorful clothes of married or single women.^k
50. All of India is under a single time zone.^g
51. On India’s Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan. The partition displaced 1.27 million people and resulted in the death of several hundred thousand to a million people.^g
52. In recent years, Indian authors have made a mark on the world with such novels as Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988), Vikram Seth’s Suitable Boy (1993), and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997).ⁱ
53. India experiences six seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring, summer monsoon, and winter monsoon.^m
54. India is the world’s largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage.^f

According to legend, to prevent the builders from ever replicating the beauty of the Taj Mahal, their hands were cut off

55. The Taj Mahal (“crown palace”) was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631). This architectural beauty has been called “marbled embroidery” for its intricate workmanship. It took 22,000 workmen 22 years to complete it.^m
56. The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, including Egypt and Mesopotamia.^l
57. After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. Aryans spoke and imported Sanskrit into India, which is the mother of all European languages. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation.^l
58. Alexander the Great invaded India partly because he wanted to solve the mystery of the “ocean,” which he had been told was a huge, continuous sea that flowed in a circle around the land. When he reached the Indian Ocean, he sacrificed some bulls to Poseidon for leading him to his goal.^m
59. Greek sculpture strongly influenced many portrayals of Indian gods and goddess, particularly after the conquest of Alexander the Great around 330B.C. In fact, early Indian gods had Greek features and only later did distinct Indian styles emerge.^m
60. Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.^a
61. When the first independent prime minister of India, pacifist Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), was featured in Vogue, his distinctive close fitting, single-breasted jacket briefly became an important fashion statement for the Mod movement in the West. Named the Nehru jacket, the prime minister’s coat was popularized by the Beatles and worn by such famous people as Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990).ⁿ

Interesting Facts about India

• India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.
• When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization)
• The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
• Chess was invented in India.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India.
• The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
• The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
• India is the largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.
• The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
• The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
• India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
• The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.
• The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
• India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
• The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
• Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.
• The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).
• Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world
• (Source: Gemological Institute of America).
• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
• Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
• India exports software to 90 countries.
• The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
• Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
• Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion.
• There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
• The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
• Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively
• The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
• The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
• Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
• Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
• His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
• Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
• Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.