Native name	भारत गणराज्य*
Conventional long name	Republic of India
Common name	India
Alt flag	Horizontal tricolour flag (deep saffron, white, and green). In the centre of the white is a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes.
Image coat	Emblem of India.svg
Alt coat	Three lions facing left, right,and toward viewer, atop a frieze containing a galloping horse, a 24-spoke wheel, and an elephant. Underneath is a motto "सत्यमेव जयते".
Symbol type	Emblem
National motto	"Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)   (Devanāgarī)"Truth Alone Triumphs"
National anthem	Jana Gana ManaThou art the ruler of the minds of all people
Other symbol type	National Song
Other symbol	Vande MataramI bow to thee, Mother
Alt map	Image of globe centred on India, with India highlighted.
Map caption	Area controlled by India in dark green;Claimed but uncontrolled territories in light green
Map width	220px
Image map2
Alt map2
Map caption2
Capital	New Delhi
Largest city	Mumbai
Official languages	and English the "subsidiary official language".}}

|regional_languages = }} |languages_type = National languages |languages = None defined by the constitution.}} |leader_title1 = President |leader_name1 = Pratibha Patil |leader_title2 = Prime Minister |leader_name2 = Manmohan Singh (INC) |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = Meira Kumar (INC) |leader_title4 = Chief Justice |leader_name4 = S. H. Kapadia |legislature = Sansad |upper_house = Rajya Sabha |lower_house = Lok Sabha |sovereignty_type = Independence |sovereignty_note = from the United Kingdom |established_event1 = Declared |established_date1 = 15 August 1947 |established_event2 = Republic |established_date2 = 26 January 1950 |area_rank = 7th |area_magnitude = 1 E12 |area = |area_km2 = 3,287,263 |area_sq_mi = 1,269,219 |area_footnote = ^‡ |percent_water = 9.56 |area_label = |area_label2 = |area_dabodyalign = |population_estimate = |population_census_year = 2001 |population_density_km2 = /3287263 round 1}} |population_density_sq_mi = /1269219 round 1}} |population_density_rank = 31st |GDP_PPP = $3.862 trillion |GDP_PPP_rank = 4th |GDP_PPP_year = 2010 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $3,176 |Gini_rank = 79th |Gini_year = 2004 |Gini_category = |HDI = 0.519 |HDI_rank = 119th |HDI_year = 2010 |HDI_category = medium |currency = Indian rupee () |currency_code = INR |country_code = INR |time_zone = IST |utc_offset = +5:30 |time_zone_DST = not observed |date_format = dd/mm/yyyy (AD) |DST_note = |utc_offset_DST = +5:30 |drives_on = left |cctld = .in |calling_code = 91 |image_map3 = |alt_map3 = |footnotes = .}} }}

India (), officially the Republic of India ( ; see also official names of India), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. India has a coastline of .

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism—originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early 18th century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence which was marked by a non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy consisting of 28 states and seven union territories. A pluralistic, multilingual and multiethnic society where more than 300 languages are spoken, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The Indian economy is the world's eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity. Since the introduction of market-based economic reforms in 1991, India has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world; however, the country continues to face several poverty, illiteracy, corruption and public health related challenges. India is classified as a newly industrialised country and is one of the four BRIC nations. It is the world's sixth de facto recognized nuclear weapons state and has the third-largest standing armed force in the world, while its military expenditure ranks tenth in the world. India is a regional power in South Asia.

It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the World Trade Organization, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the East Asia Summit, the G20 and the G8+5; a member of the Commonwealth of Nations; and an observer state in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Etymology

The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit सिन्धु Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), the people of the Indus. The Constitution of India and common usage in various Indian languages also recognise Bharat (pronounced ) as an official name of equal status. The name Bharat is derived from the name of the legendary king Bharata in Hindu scriptures. Hindustan (), originally a Persian word for “Land of the Hindus” referring to northern India, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared about 8,500 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating back to 3400 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic period, which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society, and ended in the 500s BCE. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country. in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, 6th century]]

In the 3rd century BCE, most of South Asia was united into the Maurya Empire by Chandragupta Maurya and flourished under Ashoka the Great. From the 3rd century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient "India's Golden Age". Empires in southern India included those of the Chalukyas, the Cholas and the Vijayanagara Empire. Science, technology, engineering, art, logic, language, literature, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.

Following Islamic invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 12th centuries, much of northern India came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire. Under the rule of Akbar the Great, India enjoyed much cultural and economic progress as well as religious harmony. Mughal emperors gradually expanded their empires to cover large parts of the subcontinent. However, in northeastern India, the dominant power was the Ahom kingdom of Assam, among the few kingdoms to have resisted Mughal subjugation. The first major threat to Mughal imperial power came from a Hindu Rajput king Maha Rana Pratap of Mewar in the 16th century. By early 1700s, the Sikh Empire and the Marathas had emerged as formidable foes of the Mughals. Following the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire entered a period of gradual decline and by mid-18th century, a large portion of the Mughal territory came under the control of the Hindu Maratha Empire.

From the 16th century, European powers such as Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Great Britain established trading posts and later took advantage of internal conflicts to establish colonies in the country. By 1856, most of India was under the control of the British East India Company. A year later, a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, known as India's First War of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny, seriously challenged the Company's control but eventually failed. As a result of the instability, India was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown.

(right) with Jawaharlal Nehru, 1937. Nehru would go on to become India's first prime minister in 1947.]] In the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress (INC) and other political organisations. Several Indian radical revolutionaries, such as Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, led armed rebellions against the British Raj. However, the defining aspect of the Indian independence movement was the nonviolent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi and the INC. Under the leadership of Gandhi, millions of Indians participated in the Quit India civil disobedience movement against the British Raj.

In September 1939, India declared war on Germany and at the height of the World War II, more than 2.5 million Indian soldiers were fighting against the Axis powers. The Indian Army was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African, Western Desert and the Italian Campaign and played a crucial role in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the South-East Asian theatre. However, certain Indian nationalists collaborated with the Axis powers to overthrow the British Raj. The Indian National Army (INA), led by Bose, forged an alliance with the Axis powers and fought an unsuccessful military campaign against British India.

In 1943, a perceived shortage of food leading to large-scale hoarding and soaring food prices coupled with poor food distribution mechanism and inadequate response of the British officials resulted in a catastrophic famine in the Bengal region which killed about 1.5 to 3 million people. After World War II, a number of mutinies broke out in the Air Force and Navy and the INA trials caused considerable public unrest.

On 15 August 1947, the British Indian Empire was dissolved following which the Muslim-majority areas were partitioned to form a separate state of Pakistan. The partition led to a population transfer of more than 10 million people between India and Pakistan and the death of about one million people. On 26 January 1950, India became a republic and a new constitution came into effect under which India was established as a secular and a democratic state.

Since independence, India has faced challenges from religious violence, casteism, naxalism, terrorism and regional separatist insurgencies, especially in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern India. Since the 1990s, terrorist attacks have affected many Indian cities. India has unresolved territorial disputes with the People's Republic of China, which, in 1962, escalated into the Sino-Indian War, and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

India is a state armed with nuclear weapons; having conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, followed by another five tests in 1998. Beginning 1991, significant economic reforms have transformed India into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, increasing its global clout.

India's defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when the Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a northeastwards drift—lasting fifty million years—across the then unformed Indian Ocean. now forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain. To the west of this plain, and cut off from it by the Aravalli Range, lies the Thar Desert.

The original Indian plate now survives as peninsular India, the oldest and most geologically stable part of India, and extends as far north as the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in central India. These parallel ranges run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand in the east. To their south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau, is flanked on the left and right by the coastal ranges, Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats respectively; the plateau contains the oldest rock formations in India, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6°44' and 35°30' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude.

in Jammu and Kashmir.]]

India's coast is long; of this distance, belong to peninsular India, and to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands. Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi, whose extremely low gradient causes disastrous floods every year. Major peninsular rivers whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which also drain into the Bay of Bengal; and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into the Arabian Sea. Among notable coastal features of India are the marshy Rann of Kutch in western India, and the alluvial Sundarbans delta, which India shares with Bangladesh. India has two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep, coral atolls off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the Andaman Sea.

Climate

India's climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the monsoons. The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian Katabatic wind from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden southwest summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.

Biodiversity

India, which lies within the Indomalaya ecozone, displays significant biodiversity. One of the seventeen megadiverse countries, it is home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of all avian, 6.2% of all reptilian, 4.4% of all amphibian, 11.7% of all fish, and 6.0% of all flowering plant species. Many ecoregions, such as the shola forests, exhibit extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic.

India's forest cover ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and northeastern India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; the teak-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain. Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies. The pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment. According to latest report, less than 12% of India's landmass is covered by dense forests.

Many Indian species are descendants of taxa originating in Gondwana, from which the Indian plate separated. Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards, and collision with, the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic changes 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms. Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya. These include the Asiatic Lion, the Bengal Tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.

In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat; in addition, the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980. Along with more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries, India hosts thirteen biosphere reserves, four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; twenty-five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.

Politics

, in New Delhi, houses key government offices.]]

India is the most populous democracy in the world. It has operated under a multi-party system for most of its history. For most of the years since independence, the federal government has been led by the Indian National Congress (INC). As the 1991 elections gave no political party a majority, the INC formed a minority government under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and was able to complete its five-year term.

The years 1996–1998 were a period of turmoil in the federal government with several short-lived alliances holding sway. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996, followed by the United Front coalition that excluded both the BJP and the INC. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with several other parties and became the first non-Congress government to complete a full five-year term.

In the 2004 Indian elections, the INC won the largest number of Lok Sabha seats and formed a government with a coalition called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), supported by various Left-leaning parties and members opposed to the BJP. The UPA again came into power in the 2009 general election; however, the representation of the Left leaning parties within the coalition has significantly reduced. Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

Government

India is a federation with a parliamentary form of government, governed under the Constitution of India. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law." Federalism in India defines the power distribution between the centre and the states. The government is regulated by a checks and balances defined by Indian Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document.

The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950. The preamble of the constitution defines India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India has a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. Its form of government was traditionally described as being 'quasi-federal' with a strong centre and weaker states, but it has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic and social changes.

The President of India is the head of state elected indirectly by an electoral college for a five-year term. The Prime Minister is the head of government and exercises most executive power. the Prime Minister is by convention supported by the party or political alliance holding the majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The Legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament, which consists of the upper house called the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the lower house called the Lok Sabha (House of People). The Rajya Sabha, a permanent body, has 245 members serving staggered six year terms. Most are elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in proportion to the state's population. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over cases involving fundamental rights and over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts. It is judicially independent, The role as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution is one of the most important functions of the Supreme Court.

Administrative divisions

India consists of 28 states and seven Union Territories. All states, and the two union territories of Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments patterned on the Westminster model. The other five union territories are directly ruled by the Centre through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, states were formed on a linguistic basis. Since then, this structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union territory is further divided into administrative districts. The districts in turn are further divided into tehsils and eventually into villages.

Foreign relations

. Shown here is PM Manmohan Singh with President Dmitry Medvedev at the 34th G8 Summit.]]

Since its independence in 1947, India has maintained cordial relationships with most nations. In the 1950s, it strongly advocated for the independence of European colonies in Africa and Asia and played a pioneering role in the Non-Aligned Movement. India was involved in two brief military interventions in neighbouring countries – the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and Operation Cactus in Maldives. India has a tense relationship with neighbouring Pakistan and the two countries went to war in 1947 and 1965 over the Kashmir dispute. After the Sino-Indian War and the 1965 war, India's relationship with the Soviet Union warmed and continued to remain so until the end of the Cold War. In 1971, a third war broke out between India and Pakistan which resulted in a decisive Indian victory and the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Additional skirmishes have taken place between the two nations over the disputed Siachen Glacier. In 1999, India and Pakistan fought an undeclared war over the Kargil district.

In recent years, India has played an influential role in the SAARC and the WTO. India has provided as many as 55,000 Indian military and police personnel to serve in thirty-five UN peacekeeping operations across four continents. India is also an active participant in various multilateral forums, particularly the East Asia Summit and the G8+5. In the economic sphere, India has close relationships with other developing nations in South America, Asia and Africa.

India maintains close defence cooperation with Russia, Israel and France, who are the chief suppliers of arms. Recent overtures by the Indian government have enhanced India's economic, strategic and military cooperation with the United States and the European Union. In 2008, a civilian nuclear agreement between India and the United States was signed, prior to which India received waivers from the IAEA and the NSG which ended restrictions on nuclear technology commerce, even though India possesses nuclear weapons and is not a signatory of the NPT. As a consequence, India became the the world's sixth de facto recognized nuclear weapons state. Following the NSG waiver, India has also signed civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreements with other nations including Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Military

and Hindustan Aeronautics, the Su-30 MKI "Flanker-H" is the Indian Air Force's prime air superiority fighter.]]

India maintains the third-largest military force in the world, which consists of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and auxiliary forces such as the Paramilitary Forces, the Coast Guard, and the Strategic Forces Command. According to a 2008 SIPRI report, India's annual military expenditure in terms of PPP stood at US$72.7 billion. The President of India is the supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces. Defence contractors, such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), oversee indigenous development of sophisticated arms and military equipment, including ballistic missiles, fighter aircraft and main battle tanks, to reduce India's dependence on foreign imports.

China's repeated threats to intervene in the 1965 war in support of Pakistan convinced India to develop nuclear weapons to counter Chinese nuclear tests. India conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1974 and carried out further underground testing in 1998. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has consistently refused to sign the CTBT and the NPT which it considers to be flawed and discriminatory. India maintains a "no first use" nuclear policy and is developing a nuclear triad capability as a part of its "minimum credible deterrence" doctrine. India also has an advanced missile defence shield development program and other major military development projects include — an indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier and a fifth generation fighter jet being developed in collaboration with Russia.

Economy

, in Mumbai, is Asia's oldest and India's largest stock exchange by market capitalisation.]]

According to the International Monetary Fund, India's nominal GDP stood at US$1.3 trillion, which makes it the eleventh-largest economy in the world, If purchasing power parity (PPP) is taken into account, India's economy is the fourth largest in the world at US$3.6 trillion. The country ranks 142th in nominal GDP per capita and 127th in GDP per capita at PPP. With an average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% for the past two decades, India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Before 1991, the Indian government followed protectionist and socialist-inspired policies because of which the Indian economy was largely closed to the outside world and suffered from extensive state intervention and regulation. After an acute balance of payments crisis, the nation liberalised its economy and has since moved towards a free-market economy. Since then, the emphasis has been to use foreign trade and investment as integral parts of India's economy. Currently, India's economic system is portrayed as a capitalist model with the influx of private enterprise. In terms of output, the agricultural sector accounts for 28% of GDP; the service and industrial sectors make up 54% and 18% respectively. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes. in 2009, it was the world's fifteenth largest importer and eighteenth largest exporter. Major exports include petroleum products, textile goods, gems and jewelry, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and leather manufactures. India's annual car exports have surged fivefold in the past five years.]] During the late 2000s, India's economic growth averaged 7.5% a year. According to a 2007 McKinsey Global Institute report, since 1985, India's robust economic growth has shifted 431 million Indians out of poverty and by 2030, India's middle class population will rise to more than 580 million people. India ranks 51st in the Global Competitiveness Report and if diversified, it ranked 16th in financial market sophistication, 24th in banking sector, 27th in business sophistication and 30th in innovation; ahead of several advanced economies. Seven of the world's top 15 technology outsourcing companies are based in India and the country is viewed as the second most favourable outsourcing destination after the United States. India's consumer market is currently the world's thirteenth largest and is expected to become the fifth largest by 2030. The country has the world's second fastest growing automobile industry, with domestic sales increasing by 26% during the 2009–10 period and exports increasing by 36% during the 2008–09 period.

Despite India's impressive economic growth over recent decades, it still contains the largest concentration of poor people in the world. Since 1991, inter-state economic inequality in India has consistently grown; the per capita net state domestic product of India's richest states is about 3.2 times that of the poorest states. Even though India has avoided famines in recent decades, half of children are underweight and about 46% of Indian children under the age of three suffer from malnutrition.

According to a 2011 PwC report, in terms of PPP, India's GDP will overtake that of Japan in 2011 and by 2045, India's GDP will surpass that of the United States. Additionally, over the next four decades, India's average annual economic growth rate is expected to stand at about 8% and therefore, it has the potential to be the world's fastest growing major economy over the period to 2050.

Demographics

With an estimated population of 1.2 billion, India is the world's second most populous country. The last 50 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity due to the "green revolution". The percentage of Indian population living in urban areas has consistently grown; from 1991 to 2001, India's urban population increased by 31.2%. In 2001, about 285 million Indians lived in urban areas while more than 70% of India's population resided in rural areas. As per the 2001 census, there are twenty seven million-plus cities, The national human sex ratio is 944 females per 1,000 males. India's median age is 24.9, and the population growth rate of 1.38% per annum; there are 22.01 births per 1,000 people per year. According to the World Health Organization, 900,000 Indians die each year from drinking contaminated water and breathing in polluted air. There are about 60 physicians per 100,000 people in India.

Languages

India is home to two major linguistic families: Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the population) and Dravidian (spoken by about 24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman linguistic families. Neither the Constitution of India, nor any Indian law defines any national language. Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the union. English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a 'subsidiary official language;' it is also important in education, especially as a medium of higher education. In addition, every state and union territory has its own official languages, and the constitution also recognises in particular 21 "scheduled languages".

Religion

As per the 2001 census, over 800 million Indians (80.5%) were Hindu. Other religious groups include Muslims (13.4%), Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.9%), Buddhists (0.8%), Jains (0.4%), Jews, Zoroastrians and Bahá'ís. Tribals constitute 8.1% of the population. India has the third-highest Muslim population in the world and has the highest population of Muslims for a non-Muslim majority country.

Culture

in Agra was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value".]] India's culture is marked by a high degree of syncretism and cultural pluralism. India's cultural tradition dates back to 8000 BCE and has a continuously recorded history for over 2,500 years. With its roots based in the Indus Valley Tradition, the Indian culture took a distinctive shape during the 11th century BCE Vedic age which laid the foundation of Hindu philosophy, mythology, literary tradition and beliefs and practices, such as dhárma, kárma, yóga and mokṣa. It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants and spreading its cultural influence to other parts of Asia, mainly South East and East Asia.

Indian religions form one of the most defining aspects of Indian culture. Major dhármic religions which were founded in India include Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Considered to be a successor to the ancient Vedic religion, Hinduism has been shaped by the various schools of thoughts based on the Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras and the Bhakti movement. it played an influential role in shaping Indian philosophy and thought.

Indian architecture is one area that represents the diversity of Indian culture. Much of it, including notable monuments such as the Taj Mahal and other examples of Mughal architecture and South Indian architecture, comprises a blend of ancient and varied local traditions from several parts of the country and abroad. Vernacular architecture also displays notable regional variation.

Considered to be the earliest and foremost "monument" of Indian literature, the Vedic or Sanskrit literature was developed from 1,400 BCE to 1,200 AD. Prominent Indian literary works of the classical era include epics such as Mahābhārata and Ramayana, dramas such as the Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Śakuntalā), and poetry such as the Mahākāvya. Developed between 600 BCE and 300 AD, the Sangam literature consists 2,381 poems and is regarded as a predecessor of Tamil literature. From 7th century AD to 18th century AD, India's literary traditions went through a period of drastic change because of the emergence of devotional poets such as Kabīr, Tulsīdās and Guru Nānak. This period was characterized by varied and wide spectrum of thought and expression and as a consequence, medieval Indian literary works differed significantly from classical traditions. In the 19th century, Indian writers took new interest in social questions and psychological descriptions. During the 20th century, Indian literature was heavily influenced by the works of universally acclaimed Bengali poet and novelist Rabindranath Tagore.

Society and traditions

Traditional Indian society is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. The Indian caste system describes the social stratification and social restrictions in the Indian subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis or castes. Several influential social reform movements, such as the Bramho Shômaj, the Arya Samāja and the Ramakrishna Mission, have played a pivotal role in the emancipation of Dalits (or "untouchables") and other lower-caste communities in India. However, the majority of Dalits continue to live in segregation and are often persecuted and discriminated against.

Traditional Indian family values are highly respected, and multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm, although nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas. Marriage is thought to be for life, Child marriage is still a common practice, more so in rural India, with half of women in India marrying before the legal age of 18.

Many Indian festivals are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. Some popular festivals are Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Thai Pongal, Holi, Onam, Vijayadashami, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, Buddha Jayanti, Moharram and Vaisakhi. India has three national holidays which are observed in all states and union territories — Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanthi. Other sets of holidays, varying between nine and twelve, are officially observed in individual states. Religious practices are an integral part of everyday life and are a very public affair.

Traditional Indian dress varies across the regions in its colours and styles and depends on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men; in addition, stitched clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pyjama and European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.

Music, dance, theatre and cinema

Indian music covers a wide range of traditions and regional styles. Classical music largely encompasses the two genres – North Indian Hindustani, South Indian Carnatic traditions and their various offshoots in the form of regional folk music. Regionalised forms of popular music include filmi and folk music; the syncretic tradition of the bauls is a well-known form of the latter.

Indian dance too has diverse folk and classical forms. Among the well-known folk dances are the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhau of West Bengal, Jharkhand , sambalpuri of Orissa , the ghoomar of Rajasthan and the Lavani of Maharashtra. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have been accorded classical dance status by India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. These are: bharatanatyam of the state of Tamil Nadu, kathak of Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and mohiniyattam of Kerala, kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, manipuri of Manipur, odissi of Orissa and the sattriya of Assam.

Theatre in India often incorporates music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue. Often based on Hindu mythology, but also borrowing from medieval romances, and news of social and political events, Indian theatre includes the bhavai of state of Gujarat, the jatra of West Bengal, the nautanki and ramlila of North India, the tamasha of Maharashtra, the burrakatha of Andhra Pradesh, the terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu, and the yakshagana of Karnataka.

The Indian film industry is the largest in the world. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, makes commercial Hindi films and is the most prolific film industry in the world. Established traditions also exist in Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, and Telugu language cinemas.

Cuisine

Indian cuisine is characterised by a wide variety of regional styles and sophisticated use of herbs and spices. The staple foods in the region are rice (especially in the south and the east) and wheat (predominantly in the north). Spices, such as black pepper which are now consumed world wide, are originally native to the Indian subcontinent. Chili pepper, which was introduced by the Portuguese, is also widely used in Indian cuisine.

Sport

Twenty20 cricket match being played between the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders]] India's official national sport is field hockey, administered by Hockey India. India's hockey team won the 1975 Hockey World Cup and 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Olympic games, making it one of the world's most successful national hockey teams ever. Cricket, however, is by far the most popular sport; the India cricket team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, and shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Cricket in India is administered by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI); and domestic competitions include the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, the Irani Trophy and the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy. In addition, BCCI conducts the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 competition.

India is home to several traditional sports which originated in the country and continue to remain fairly popular. These include kabaddi, kho kho, pehlwani and gilli-danda. Some of the earliest forms of Asian martial arts, such as Kalarippayattu, Yuddha, Silambam and Varma Kalai, originated in India. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award are India's highest awards for achievements in sports, while the Dronacharya Award is awarded for excellence in coaching.

Chess, commonly held to have originated in India, is regaining widespread popularity with the rise in the number of Indian Grandmasters. Tennis has also become increasingly popular, owing to the victories of the India Davis Cup team and the success of Indian tennis players. India has a strong presence in shooting sports, winning several medals at the Olympics, the World Shooting Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Other sports in which Indian sports-persons have won numerous awards or medals at international sporting events include badminton, boxing and wrestling. Football is a popular sport in northeastern India, West Bengal, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

India has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events, such as the 1951 and the 1982 Asian Games, the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, the 2010 Hockey World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Major international sporting events annually held in India include the Chennai Open, Mumbai Marathon, Delhi Half Marathon and the Indian Masters. The country is scheduled to host the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the first Indian Grand Prix in 2011.

See also

Notes

The Government of India also considers Afghanistan to be a bordering country. This is because it considers the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir to be a part of India including the portion bordering Afghanistan. A ceasefire sponsored by the United Nations in 1948 froze the positions of Indian and Pakistani-held territory. As a consequence, the region bordering Afghanistan is in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

References

;Literature ;History

;Geography

;Flora and fauna

;Culture

External links

Government of India – Official government portal (in English)

India at UCB Libraries GovPubs

Category:Countries of the Indian Ocean Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Federal countries Category:Former British colonies Category:G15 nations Category:G20 nations Category:Liberal democracies Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Republics Category:South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation member states Category:South Asian countries Category:States and territories established in 1947

Name	India.Arie
Background	solo_singer
Landscape	Yes
Birth name	India Arie Simpson
Born	October 03, 1975Denver, Colorado, United States
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, flute, keyboard
Voice type	Contralto
Genre	Soul, R&B;, neo soul, blues, folk, pop
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Years active	2001–present
Label	Motown (1999–2007)SoulBird / Universal Republic (2007–present)
Url	www.indiaarie.com

India.Arie (born India Arie Simpson; October 3, 1975) is an American soul, R&B;, and neo soul singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and flautist.

Background

Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado. She absorbed musical skills early in life as she was encouraged by both parents. Her mother Joyce is a former singer (she was signed to Motown as a teenager and opened for Stevie Wonder and Al Green) and is now her stylist. She has an older brother named J'On. After her parents divorced, Simpson's mother moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia when she was thirteen. Simpson had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, but her interest in the guitar while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing. "When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs", she said at the press release of her debut album, Acoustic Soul.

Co-founding the Atlanta-based independent music collective Groovement EarthShare (Groovement was the collective artists' name and EarthShare was their independent label name), her one-song turn on a locally-released compilation led to a second-stage gig at the 1998 Lilith Fair. In 1999, a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to former Motown CEO Kedar Massenberg. Arie currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Musical career

Acoustic Soul (2001)

Acoustic Soul was released on March 27, 2001 and debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums. Within months, without the concentrated radio airplay that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum, selling 2,180,000 copies in the U.S. and 3,000,000 copies worldwide. While Arie and the album were nominated for seven Grammy awards in 2002, they won no awards, losing in five of seven categories to Alicia Keys. She closed the ceremony with a performance of her song "Video".

Voyage to India (2002)

Arie followed the success of her debut on 24 September 2002 with the release of Voyage to India. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B; chart. In 2003 it won her two Grammy Awards in 2003—"Best R&B; Album" and Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for the song "Little Things". Soon after its release, Voyage to India was certified platinum selling 1,400,000 copies in the U.S. and 2,300,000 worldwide .

Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006)

Arie's third studio album, , was released on June 27, 2006. It gave Arie her first number-one spot on the Billboard 200 and was her second chart-topper on the R&B; chart. This album was also the first number-one album for Motown in twelve years . Its first-week sales of 161,000 copies are Arie's best sales week to date and was certified gold in August 2006, selling 730,000 in US and 1,300,000 worldwide. "I Am Not My Hair" was the most successful release from Testimony: Vol. 1., reaching the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at #97 and the UK Singles Chart at #65.

Her cover of Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter" from Testimony: Vol. 1 was used in 2008 as a feature in the trailers to the film .

''Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009)

Her highly anticipated next album, was released on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and No. 2 on the R&B; chart. Within this CD, Arie collaborated with such artists as Sezen Aksu, Keb Mo, Gramps Morgan and Musiq Soulchild to fulfill her self-proclaimed desire to "do projects with people who are making music that is meaningful, with a lot of integrity and a lot of sonic diversity". Arie, in the cited interview, also identified this CD as the first of her collection to come directly from her own point of view, without feeling any necessity to fulfill fan or media needs. Arie was able to achieve this newfound ability to write and sing songs without worrying about public opinion after a much-needed vacation to Hawaii. This CD was Arie's first CD produced after her change from Motown to Universal Records.

Open Door

India.Arie's new album, a work produced in collaboration with Israeli singer Idan Raichel is due to be released in the spring of 2011.

Collaborations

Arie performed a duet with rock singer-guitarist John Mellencamp on the song "Peaceful World" for his 2001 album Cuttin' Heads.

Arie performed a duet with jazz singer Cassandra Wilson on the song "Just Another Parade" for her 2002 album Belly of the Sun.

On the September 12, 2005 premiere of The Tyra Banks Show, Arie performed "Just 4 2day", a song she wrote especially for Tyra's show. She also performed "What About the Child", a song that did not air but was made available as a one-dollar Internet download to support child victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Arie is also featured on Stevie Wonder's album A Time to Love, released on October 18, 2005. Arie and Wonder duet on the title track "A Time to Love", written by Arie, which was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Three years earlier, their rendition of Mel Tormé's 1944 classic "The Christmas Song", recorded for the holiday TV commercial for retailer Target, had been nominated for the same category, making it the first song created and financed exclusively for a commercial to be nominated for a Grammy Award.

Arie performed a duet with Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes on the title song "Timeless" for his 2006 album Timeless.

Arie performed the vocals for "It Might Be You" on Dave Koz's 2007 album At the Movies.

Arie collaborated with Akon for her song "I Am Not My Hair". On the April 16, 2007 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show entitled "After Imus: Now What?", Arie guest-starred as a panelist. She stated that she wasn't completely crazy about the duet partner, but the label suggested that it would make the album more commercial. Versions without Akon on the song were made available.

Arie performed the song "She Is" for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, inspired by the PBS Independent Lens documentary Iron Ladies of Liberia.

Arie performed a duet with singer Anthony David for his song "Words" for his 2008 album Acey Duecy.

Arie performed "Self-Fulfilling" in duet with Beate S. Lech of Beady Belle on the band's 2008 album Belvedere.

Arie sang the Alphabet song with Elmo on Sesame Street.

Arie performed "Video" with British singer Adele at the 2009 VH1 Divas

Arie is one of over 70 artists singing on "", a charity single in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Arie performed a duet with Marc Cohn on the song "Make It With You" for his 2010 album Listening Booth: 1970.

Arie collaborated in 2010 with Santana for the Beatles' cover, While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Arie contributed vocals to "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project along with Seal, P!nk, Jeff Beck, Konono N°1, Oumou Sangare and others.

Discography

Studio albums

2001: Acoustic Soul

2002: Voyage to India

2006:

2009:

2011: Open Door

Grammy Awards history

References

External links

Official website

India.Aire interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' April 2009

India.Arie on Motown Records website

Profile on VIBE.com

India.Arie at NPR Music

Category:1975 births Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:American contraltos Category:American female guitarists Category:American flautists Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues guitarists Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:Musicians from Colorado Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Motown artists Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Denver, Colorado Category:People from Savannah, Georgia

Name	Russell Peters
Caption	Russell Peters in 2009
Birth name	Russell Dominic Peters
Birth date	September 29, 1970
Birth place	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Medium	stand-up, television, film, radio
Nationality	Canadian
Genre	Satire, Improvisational comedy, Observational comedy
Active	1989–present
Subject	racism, race relations, stereotypes, multiculturalism, Indian culture
Influences	George Carlin, Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy
Signature	Russell Peters Autograph.svg
Website	RussellPeters.com
Spouse	Monica Diaz (2010–present)

Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.

Early life and background

Russell Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Eric and Maureen Peters. The family later moved to Brampton, Ontario. His family is Christian. His father was born in Bombay, India and worked as a federal meat inspector and his mother was born in Calcutta, India. He has an older brother named Clayton who was also born in Calcutta.

He went to Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School from kindergarten to grade 8, Chinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10 and North Peel Secondary School for grades 11–12 in Brampton.

Career

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. Peters participated in a USO tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Africa and Greenland in November 2007 with Wilmer Valderrama and Mayra Veronica. Peters' latest DVD/CD combo was recorded on February 2, 2008, at The WAMU Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Peters and his brother, Clayton Peters, who is also his manager, self-produced and financed Red, White and Brown. It was released in Canada in September 2008 and in the US on January 27, 2009. Peters also currently produces and stars on the radio situation comedy series, Monsoon House, on CBC Radio One.

Peters was the host of the 2008 Juno Awards televised ceremonies in Calgary on April 6, 2008, for which he won a Gemini Award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series". The 2008 awards broadcast received the second-highest ratings ever for the program. He was asked to host the Juno Awards for a second year in a row. The 2009 Juno Awards took place in Vancouver on March 29, 2009.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, Peters earned $10 million, making him one of the highest-paid comedians during that twelve-month period.

Between June 2009 and June 2010, Peters earned $15 million, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians.

Popularity

Peters' popularity extends to several countries. In Canada, Peters became the first comedian to sell out Toronto's Air Canada Centre, with more than 15,000 tickets in two days for the single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 60,000 tickets were sold across six cities. In Sydney, Peters had a record breaking audience of 13,880, making the event the largest stand-up comedy show in Australian history

Personal life

Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz on July 10, 2010 at the Los Angeles International Airport. He announced the engagement via Twitter. The couple married on August 20, 2010 at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The wedding was attended by about 20 guests, including an Elvis impersonator. Peters and Diaz are expecting their first child, a girl, due February 23, 2011. When announcing the pregnancy, Peters told The Canadian Press, "Did I get married because she was knocked up? I would say that expedited it."

Awards and recognition

at the Juno Awards]] He has been nominated for four Gemini Awards, the Canadian television awards. He has also been nominated for Best Male Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards. Peters has been featured at such shows as Montreal's Just for Laughs (Juste pour rire) Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival. 1997 – Nomination for the Gemini Award in the category "Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series". This was for Show Me The Funny, from the TV-series Comics! (1997)

2004 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for his Comedy Now! special.

2008 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for hosting The Junos.

2008 – Winner of a Gemini Award for 'Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series'.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable" |- ! align="ledt" style="vertical-align:top; width:240px;"| Title ! style="vertical-align:top; text-align:left; width:50px;"| Year |- | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| "Show Me The Funny" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 1997 |- | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| "Comedy Now!" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2004 |- | style="text-align:left;"| "Intense Comedy Night" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2004 |- | style="text-align:left;"| "Outsourced" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2006 |- | style="text-align:left;"| "" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2008 |}

Notable roles played

Peters has appeared in a few films, most recently Senior Skip Day also starring Larry Miller, Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. Besides this, he has also had short appearances in the 1994 film Boozecan as Snake's Friend, the 1999 film Tiger Claws III as Detective Elliott, the 1999 film Analyze This, the 2004 film My Baby's Daddy as the obstetrician, the 2006 film Quarter Life Crisis as Dilip Kumar, the 2007 film The Take as Dr. Sharma, and the 2008 film Senior Skip Day as Uncle Todd.

Peters is scheduled to star as "Pervius" in National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus. He has also acted in Duncan Jones' upcoming movie Source Code. ;Acting roles – television

"Comics Without Borders" (2008)

Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown (2008)

Senior Skip Day/High School's Day Off (Australia title) (2008)- Uncle Todd

;Appearances on television

"Lopez Tonight" - Himself (February 2, 2010)

"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" – Himself (2009)

"The 9th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards" (2008)- Himself (Winner – Best Large Venue Stand-up)

"CBC News: The Hour" .... Himself – Episode dated 18 September 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself

"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" – Himself – Episode dated 15 February 2008 (2008)

"Def Comedy Jam" – Episode #8.4 (2008) TV episode – Himself/Comedian

"" – Episode #1.9 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Video on Trial" – Episode #3.3 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Comics Unleashed" – Episode #1.6 (2006) TV episode- Himself

The 4th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2003) – Himself

The 5th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2004) – Nominee (Male Stand-up)

MTV Cribs

;Self

Heckler (2007)

Let's All Hate Toronto (2007)

References

External links

Official website

Russell Peters at Facebook

Russell named first Toronto ambassador

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Ontario Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian radio actors Category:Canadian stand-up comedians Category:Canadian people of Indian descent Category:People from Brampton Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:Comedians

Name	Nandan Manohar Nilekani नंदन मनोहर नीलेकणी
Caption	Nandan M Nilekani at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2007
Birth date	June 02, 1955
Birth place	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Residence	Bangalore
Nationality	Indian
Religion	Hinduism
Occupation	Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Networth	$1.4 billion (2010)
Alma mater	Indian Institute of Technology

Nandan Nilekani (Konkani: नंदन नीलेकणी, Kannada: ನಂದನ್ ನಿಲೇಕಣಿ) born (June 2, 1955) is an Indian businessman. He currently serves as the Chairman of the new Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), after a successful career at Infosys Technologies Ltd. He is also now heading Government of India's technology committee called as TAGUP.

Early life

Nandan Manohar Nilekani was born in Sirsi town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, as the younger son of Durga and Mohan Rao Nilekani in a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family. His father worked as a General Manager of Mysore and Minerva Mills. His father, who subscribed to Fabian Socialist ideals, had an influence on Nandan during his early years. He has an elder brother, Vijay, who works in the Nuclear Energy Institute.

He studied at St. Joseph's High School Dharwad, and later in Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai where he graduated with a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering in 1978. His early years were marked by his father’s job transfers and re-locations. He spent the first twelve years at Bangalore, and then moved in with his uncle’s family in Dharwad, after his father had been transferred.

Career

Nandan Nilekani, after graduating from IIT Bombay in 1978, joined Mumbai-based Patni Computer Systems where he was interviewed by N.R. Narayana Murthy. Three years later, in 1981, Murthy walked out of Patni following a disagreement with one of the Patni brothers. His entire division walked out with him. The defectors decided to start their own company, Infosys.

Nilekani became the Chief Executive Officer of Infosys in March 2002, taking over from Murthy. Nilekani served as CEO of the company from March 2002 to April 2007, when he relinquished his position to his colleague Kris Gopalakrishnan, becoming Co-Chairman. He left Infosys on 9 July 2009 to serve as the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India, in the rank of a cabinet minister under invitation from the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

He co-founded India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) as well as the Bangalore Chapter of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE).

He appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on March 18, 2009 to promote his book "Imagining India." He has been a speaker at the prestigious TED conference where he talked about his ideas for India's future.

He has an estimated net worth of the Indian rupee equivalent of US$1.3 billion. In 2009, Time magazine placed Nilekani in the Time 100 list of 'World's Most Influential People'

Nilekani has been extensively quoted in Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat.

Personal life

Nandan Nilekani is married to Rohini, whom he met at a quizzing event at IIT. They have two children Nihar and Janhavi, both studying at Yale University.

Honours and awards

One of the youngest entrepreneurs to join 20 global leaders on the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) Foundation Board in January 2006.

Member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi

Member of the review committee of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Forbes “Businessman of the Year” for Asia in 2007.

He, along with Infosys founder (and currently non-executive chairman) N. R. Narayana Murthy, also received Fortune magazine’s ‘Asia’s Businessmen of the Year 2003’ award.

Named among the ‘World’s most respected business leaders’ in 2002 and 2003, according to a global survey by Financial Times and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year award at the Asia Business Leader Awards (2004) organized by CNBC.

Joseph Schumpeter Prize for innovative services in economy, economic sciences and politics - 2005.

Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honors awarded by the Government of India - 2006.

Was presented the 'Legend in Leadership Award' by the Yale University in November 2009. He is the first Indian to receive the top honour.

Bibliography

In this book, Nandan discusses topics such as the future of India, its recent history, the ideas and attitudes that evolved with the times and contributed to the country’s progress, India’s early socialist policies, its young population, Information Technology, caste politics, labour reform, infrastructure, higher education, and the English language in India.

References

External links

Govt appointed Nandan Nilekani chairperson of Unique National ID Card Project

The Mercury News Interview: Nandan Nilekani: the face of India tech

TED: Nandan Nilekani's ideas for India's future

Nandan Nilekani Video

Nandan M. Nilekani-THE ICON; just login to follow

Category:Living people Category:Konkani Category:Indian businesspeople Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Indian billionaires Category:People from Bangalore Category:1955 births Category:Indian Institute of Technology Bombay alumni Category:Old Cottonians'

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (, ), (generally known as Yogacharya B. K. S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918, in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002. In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

Early years

B.K.S. Iyengar was born into a poor Iyengar family. He had a difficult childhood. Iyengar's home village of Bellur, in Karnataka, was in the grips of the influenza pandemic at the time of his birth, leaving him sickly and weak. Iyengar's father died when he was 9 years old, and he continued to suffer from a variety of maladies in childhood, including malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and general malnutrition.

In 1975, Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, in memory of his departed wife. He officially retired from teaching in 1984, but continues to be active in the world of Iyengar Yoga, teaching special classes and writing books. Iyengar's daughter, Geeta, and son, Prashant, have gained international acclaim as teachers.

In 2005, he visited the United States to promote his latest book, Light on Life, and to teach a special workshop at the Yoga Journal conference in Colorado.

Publications

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, Schocken Books; Revised edition (January 3, 1995), trade paperback, 544 pages, ISBN 0-8052-1031-8

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Pranayama, Crossroad/Herder & Herder; (June 1995), trade paperback, 320 pages, ISBN 0-8245-0686-3

B.K.S. Iyengar, The Tree of Yoga, Shambala, (1988), trade paperback, 184 pages, ISBN 0-87773-464-X

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, South Asia Books; 1 edition (August 1, 1993), trade paperback, 337 pages, ISBN 1-85538-225-3

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom, Rodale; (2005), hardcover, 282 pages, ISBN 1-59486-248-6

References