STUDENT’S

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE
 STUDENT’S
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE

The Best Reference Book for

Students, Teachers and
Parents.
AZEEM AHMAD
KHAN
GENERAL PRESS
 Published by
GENERAL PRESS
4228/1, Ansari Road, Daryaganj
New Delhi – 110002
Ph. : 011 – 23282971, 9911359970
e-mail : generalpressindia@gmail.com

© General Press
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise—without the prior written
permission of the publishers.
 First Edition : 2007
Ninth Edition : 2015

ISBN : 9789380914190

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Published by Azeem Ahmad Khan for

General Press
 Contents
Preface

Common Abbreviations
Famous Books (India)
Famous Books (World)
Hello India
Presidents of India
Prime Ministers of India
Indian States and their Capitals
Indian States and their Languages
Dances of India
Countries and their Capitals
Countries and their Currencies
Countries and their Natives
Countries and their Languages
Countries and their Religions
Continents and Countries
Changed Names of Some Places
Geographical Epithets
Riverside Cities
Cities Associated with Industries
Number of Players
Names of Playgrounds
National Games
Olympic Games
World Cup Soccer
World Cup Cricket
Famous Sportspersons
Sports Cups and Trophies
Sports Terms
Sports Measurements
Sports Stadiums in India
Places Associated with Sports
First in India
First in the World
Popular Titles of Famous Personalities
Nationalities of Famous Personalities
Famous Founders
Popular Slogans
Animal Records
Animal Facts
National Parks and Sanctuaries
Famous Sites (India)
Famous Sites (World)
India’s Superlatives
World’s Superlatives
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Museums in India
United Nations
Nobel Prize
Indian Nobel Laureates
Bharat Ratna
National Awards
Inventions
Scientific Discoveries
Scientific Instruments
Branches of Science
The Planets
Body Facts
Vitamins
Diseases and Human Body
Festivals of India
Major Religions
Important Days
Important events in Indian History
Important events in World History
Fictional Characters and their Creators
Defining Places
Different Subjects
Professionals
Important Terms
World Records held by India(ns)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The Top 5
Miscellaneous
Quiz
Answers
Index
 Preface

Student’s Encyclopedia of General

Knowledge provides the best of GK to
its readers. This handy volume is a
useful source of information and
reference, particularly for students of
classes III to VIII. It is the best reference
work in a single volume for GK teachers
and parents who regularly need to check
facts & figures.
Student’s Encyclopedia of General
Knowledge is a book like no other.
Completely up-to-date, it brings a
wealth of information to the whole class.
The alphabetical order of entries in each
chapter and clear design make the book
an outstanding reference work, while the
lavish and spectacular illustrations
ensure that it is always a pleasure to use.
Every piece of information is authentic
—culled together from several areas of
knowledge ranging from encyclopedias,
fact books, year books, official
government releases, internet and other
reliable sources—and verified for
accuracy.
This book is full of features that aim to
provide useful data in an easily
accessible format. The contents cover a
wide range of subjects including
language & literature, sports & culture,
people & places, history & geography,
science & technology, mythology &
current affairs, etc. ‘Believe It or Not’
boxes contain interesting and amazing
facts. Quiz, given at the end, is an
exciting way to test your knowledge. It
contains 200 important questions based
on the contents of the book. A
comprehensive index helps to find out a
topic quickly.
 Once you are convinced that Student’s
Encyclopedia of General Knowledge is
truly a book like no other, kindly
recommend it to your students along with
their school curriculum. It would help
them to broaden their field of
knowledge.
This book will be updated and revised
annually, and published every year in a
new edition. We would welcome
responses from students, teachers and
parents about how useful they found the
book, and any suggestions they might
have towards its improvement. You can
keep in touch with the editors directly.
E-mail them at
generalpressindia@gmail.com. Looking
forward for your comments and
suggestions.
—Publishers

Albert Einstein
 1.

Common
Abbreviations

An abbreviation is a short form of a

word or a group of words. They are
commonly used because they save time
and space. Here are some common
abbreviations:
AD — Anno Domini (in the year of Our
Lord)
AIDS — Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome
AIIMS — All India Institute of Medical
Sciences
AIR — All India Radio
a.m. — ante meridiem (before noon)
AMU — Aligarh Muslim University
AP — Associated Press
ATM — Automated Teller Machine
B&W — Black and White
BA — Bachelor of Arts
B B C— British Broadcasting
Corporation
BC — Before Christ
BEd. — Bachelor of Education
BP — Blood Pressure
BSc. — Bachelor of Science
BSF — Border Security Force
B S N L — Bharat Sanchar Nigam
Limited
CA — Chartered Accountant
CBI — Central Bureau of Investigation
CBSE — Central Board of Secondary
Education
CBT — Children’s Book Trust
CFL — Compact Fluorescent Lamp
C I A — Central Intelligence Agency
(USA)
C I D— Criminal Investigation
Department
CNN — Cable News Network
C T B T — Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty
DIG — Deputy Inspector General
DNA — Deoxyribonucleic Acid
DOS — Disk Operating System
DTP — Desk-top Publishing
DVD — Digital Versatile Disc
E & O E — Errors and Omissions
Exempted
ECG — Electrocardiogram
e.g. — exempli gratia (for example)
EMI — Equated Monthly Installments
etc. — et cetera (and other things)
FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation
FIFA — Federation International de
Football Association
(Federation of the International
Football Association)
FIR — First Information Report
FM — Frequency Modulation
GMT — Greenwich Mean Time
Govt. — Government
GPO — General Post Office
HIV — Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HQ — Headquarters
IA — Indian Airlines
IAF — Indian Air Force
IAS — Indian Administrative Service
IBM — International Business Machines
ICU — Intensive Care Unit
i.e. — id est (that is)
IG N O U — Indira Gandhi National
Open University
IIT — Indian Institute of Technology
INA — Indian National Army
INTERPOL — International Criminal
Police Commission
IPS — Indian Police Service
IQ — Intelligence Quotient
ISBN — International Standard Book
Number
ISD — International Subscriber Dialling
ISI — Indian Standards Institution/Inter-
Services Intelligence (Pakistan)
IST — Indian Standard Time
ISRO — Indian Space Research
Organization
ITI — Industrial Training Institute
ITO — Income Tax
Officer/International Trade Organization
lbw — leg before wicket
LCD — Liquid-crystal Display
LIC — Life Insurance Corporation
LLB — Bachelor of Laws
LPG — Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Ltd. — Limited
LTTE — Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam
MA — Master of Arts
MBA — Master of Business
Administration
MBBS — Bachelor of Medicine and
Bachelor of Surgery
MLA — Member of Legislative
Assembly
MNC — Multinational Corporation
MO — Money Order
MP — Member of Parliament
Mr. — Mister
Mrs. — Missus/Missis
MSc. — Master of Science
MTNL — Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
Limited
NASA — National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (USA)
NATO — North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
NB — nota bene (note well)
NBT — National Book Trust
NCC — National Cadet Corps
NCERT — National Council of
Educational Research and Training
NDA — National Defence Academy
NFDC — National Film Development
Corporation
NIIT — National Institute of Information
Technology
NRI — Non-resident Indian
OK — Okay (all correct)
OPD — Outdoor Patients Department
PC — Personal Computer
Ph.D — Doctor of Philosophy
PIB — Press Information Bureau
PIN — Postal Index Number/Personal
Identification Number
p.m. — post meridiem (after noon)
PM — Prime Minister
PNB — Punjab National Bank
PO — Post Office
PTI — Press Trust of India
PTO — Please Turn Over
Pvt. — Private
R&D — Research and Development
RBI — Reserve Bank of India
RSVP — repondez sil vous plait
(please reply)
SAARC — South Asian Association for
Regional Co-operation
SAIL — Steel Authority of India
Limited
SBI — State Bank of India
SC — Supreme Court/Schedule Caste
Sign. — Signature
SIM — Subscriber Identification
Module (Card)
SLV — Satellite Launch Vehicle
SMS — Short Message Service
SOS — Save Our Souls
STD — Subscriber Trunk Dialling