IGNOU: World's Largest University

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is the world’s largest, with its student base extending to three million, Unesco has said.

“IGNOU is the largest University in the world. Almost three million students in India and 33 other countries study at IGNOU, which is also India’s National Resource Center for Open and Distance Learning and a world leader in distance education,” Unesco said in a positng on its website.

“Enrollments of nearly three million students and networks across the country making the best use of Information Communication Technology (ICT)– IGNOU’s accomplishments are recognized worldwide,” Unesco director general Irina Bokova said.

“With the launch of EduSat (a satellite dedicated to education) in 2004, and the establishment of the Inter-University Consortium, IGNOU has ushered in a new era of technology- enabled education,” the website said.

Through its 21 schools of study, 59 regional centres, 2,300 learner support centres and some 52 overseas centres, the university offers certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, comprising around 1,500 courses, it said.

It said that the university provides access to sustainable and learner -centred education and training to all through quality, innovative and needs-based programmes at affordable costs, thus reaching out to the disadvantaged and also promotes, coordinates and regulates the standards of education offered through open and distance learning in India.

The website further said that IGNOU’s staff consist of 380 faculty members and academic staff in headquarters and regional centres while some 36,000 counsellors from conventional institutions of higher learning and professionals from different spheres.

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World Record for Launching 10 Satellites at one go

It was a red letter day for space history of India on April 28, 2008. After a 52 hours countdown, India’s polar rocket PSLV – C9 placed 10 satellites including the country's remote sensing satellite, into orbit in a single mission.

The ten pack launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) saw the 230-tonne Polar Satellite launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) carry the heaviest luggage--824 kgs--and put into orbit an Indian Mini Satellite and eight foreign nano satellites besides the Cartosat-2A remote sensing satellite.

This is for the first time that ISRO has put ten satellites in orbit in a single launch. This is also PSLV's twelfth successful flight.

It is for the first time in the world that ten satellites were launched in a single mission. Russia had earlier launched eight satellites together.

Besides the 690 kg Indian remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A and the 83 kg Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1), the rest eight Nano Satellites were from abroad. Most of these belonged to Germany and Canada and are aimed at boosting the country’s space research capabilities.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-sets-world-record-launches-10-satellites-at-one-go/articleshow/2989685.cms

DDLJ - World's Longest Running Movie

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) an Indian film which was premiered on 19 October 1995 and was released nationwide on 20 October 1995. It was directed by Aditya Chopra, and stars Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, and Amrish Puri.

The movie remains the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema. In 2001, it broke the continuous-exhibition record, established by the movie ‘Sholay’ at Minerva Theatre (5 years: 1975 – 1980). And now as of March 2009, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ has set yet another world records by completing “700 weeks” of continuous play in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir theater. On October 20th, 2009 the movie completed 15 years of non-stop running. This makes ‘DDLJ’ one of the largest grossers in Indian film history and is still counting!

The film swept that year’s (in which it was released) every major award and picked up every single accolade of consequence, not to mention the unconditional love of movie goers all over and still continues to top the list of “the best Indian romantic film” of all times. Indiatimes Movies ranks the movie amongst the 25 Must See Bollywood Films. It was also listed among the only two Hindi films in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list.

People come and fall in love with ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ again and again.

Bhut Jolokia - World's Hottest Chilli

The Naga Jolokia Chili Pepper is also known as Bhut Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Ghost Pepper or Naga Morich - this is a chili pepper recognized as the hottest in the world. In 2007, the Guinness World Records held it to be the hottest chili, replacing the Red Savina strain of habanero chili. It is a naturally occurring interspecific hybrid originating from the northeast of India, particularly Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

The name Naga Jolokia means in English (King Cobra Chili) due to the extreme heat of the Chili being compared to the deadly poison in the venomous snake, Bhut translated into English is ghost and is probably used as a name to its ghostly bite.

In 2000, India's Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) reported a rating of 855,000 units on the Scoville scale, and in 2004 a rating of 1,041,427 units was made using HPLC analysis.

One seed from a Bhut Jolokia (Hottest Chilli in the World) can sustain intense pain sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes before subsiding. Ripe Bhuts measure 60 mm (2.4 in) to 85 mm (3.3 in) long and 25 mm (1.0 in) to 30 mm (1.2 in) wide with an orange or red color.

The pepper is used as a cure for stomach ailments. It is also used as a spice as well as a remedy to summer heat, presumably by inducing perspiration in the consumer. In northeastern India, the peppers are smeared on fences or incorporated in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild elephants at a distance.

In 2009, scientists at India's Defence Research and Development Organisation announced plans to use the chillies in hand grenades, as a less lethal way to control rioters.

Tansen - The Legendary Musician

Miyan Tansen or Ramtanu Pandey (1493 or 1506 – 1586 or 1589) was the greatest musician of his age. He is considered among the greatest composer-musicians in Hindustani/Pakistani classical music. Everybody who heard him singing was spellbound.

Tansen, the legendary musician, was born in Gwalior in 1506. He was born in a Brahmin family, but it is said that later he was converted to Islam. Upto the age of 5, he did not show any musical talent but when he

became a disciple of the great music teacher Guru Hari Dasa, who trained him in different aspects of music, the hidden talent of Tansen came to surface.

Tansen, was one of the 'Navratna' (nine gems) at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was c

onferred the title of Miyan, by emperor Akbar and since came to be knonw as Miyan Tansen. Legend has it that in his first performance, he was gifted one lakh (100,000) gold coins.

He is said to have no equals in music and it is believed that he had performed miracles through his music. He was supposed to have the ability of creating rain by singing rag Megh Malhar and creating fire by singing rag Deepak. Other legends tell of his ability to bring wild animals to listen with attention (or to talk their language). Once, a wild white elephant was captured, but it was fierce and could not be tamed. Finally, Tansen sang to the elephant who calmed down and the emperor was able to ride him. Several of his raga compositions have become mainstays of the Hindustani/Ancient Pakistani tradition, and these are often prefaced with Miyan ki ("of the Miyan"), e.g. Miyan ki Todi, Miyan ki Malhar, Miyan ki Mand, Miyan ka Sarang; in addition he is the creator of major ragas like Darbari Kanada, Darbari Todi, and Rageshwari.

Besides being a great musician, Tansen was also a poet who composed many couplets.

He died in 1589, and was buried according to his wishes near the grave of his mentor, Sufi guru Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus in Gwalior. A national music festival known as 'Tansen Sangeet Sammelon' is held every year in December, near the tomb of Tansen in Gwalior as a mark of respect to his memory.

Ganges Delta - World's Largest Delta

A delta is a large deposit of sand and soil at the mouth of a river formed from sediment carried downstream by the river water.

The Ganges Delta (also Sunderban Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta in the South Asia region of Bengal, consisting of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, India. It is the world's largest delta, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is also called The Green Delta

They are vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Ganges Delta, extending about 260 km along the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly River Estuary in India to the Meghna River Estuary in Bangladesh.

It arises from the confluence of the following major rivers:

• Ganges (Same river named in India) or Padma (Same river named in Bangladesh) - The long river running horizontally in the picture stretching from West (India) to East (Bangladesh). This river ends at the point, where it's direction is vertical in the map. While, the vertical extension of this river that met the ocean is called Meghna.
• Brahmaputra (Same river named in India) or Jamuna (Same river named in Bangladesh) - The wide river in the picture stretching from North (India) to South (Bangladesh) in North-Western part of the map. This river has ended where it has met The Sacred Ganges or Padma.
• Meghna (In Bangladesh) - The wide river flowing vertically in the Southern part of the map, starting from the adjacent area near the confluence of River Padma and ending into the Bay of Bengal with new alluvial land (Chars) each year.

The Ganges delta has the shape of a triangle, and is considered to be an "arcuate" delta (arc-shaped). It covers more than 105,000 km² (41,000 sq mi). Most of the delta is composed of alluvial soils, with red and red-yellow laterite soils found as one heads farther east. The soil has large amounts of minerals and nutrients, which is good for agriculture. The enormous delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River is the lifeblood for one of the largest populations on Earth.

Hikkim - World's Highest Post-office

With 1,55,618 post offices and over 5,66,000 employees, India has the largest postal network in the world. We can also boast of the world's highest post office. This branch post office is located in small town of Hikkim, in Lahaul Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. It is located at height of 15500 feet and was opened of nov.5,1983. The pin code for this post office is 172114. There is a motorable road till Hikkim. Hikkim post office is 20 Km (12.5 miles) away from Kaza and serves about 600 people in the village. Around 50 people have a savings account in the Hikkim post office. The post office handles around 15-20 letters everyday.

Read more: World's Highest Helipad, World's Highest Battle-field, World's Highest Motorable Road

Alang - World's Largest Ship-breaking Yard

Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat, India. It is the leading

centre of the worldwide ship breaking and recycling industry. The facility, located 50 km from Bhavnagar, employs nearly 20,000 people in more than 163 ship-breaking plots. It is known as the graveyard of ships, a place where ageing vessels are torn apart. The shipyards at Alang recycle approximately half of all ships salvaged around the world.

The first vessel – MV KOTA TENJONG was beached at Alang on 13th Feb. 1983. Since then, the yard has witnessed spectacular growth and has emerged as a leading ship Breaking Yard in the world. Tens of thousands of jobs are supported by this activity and millions of tons of steel are recovered.

Current ship-breaking is centered primarily in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China. One of the attractions to the ship owners of having their vessels dismantled here is that the ship breakers in this part of the world receive little of the regulatory oversight that takes place in Europe or the US.

Large supertankers, car ferries, container ships, and a dwindling number of ocean liners are beached during high tide, and as the tide recedes, about 150-200 workers can break down a 10,000-tonne ship in three months, salvaging nearly every part. About 80 percent of a ship’s steel is reusable steel, cheaper than primary steel and used mostly in construction.

The salvage yards at Alang have generated controversy about working conditions, workers' living conditions, and the impact on the environment. One major problem is that despite many serious work-related injuries, the nearest full service hospital is 50 kilometres away in Bhavnagar. Alang itself is served by a small Red Cross hospital that offers only limited services.