This document lists important books and their authors, first sports achievements for India and the world, state animals and symbols of India, important awards and their significance, and important days observed in a year with their relevance. It provides information on a wide range of topics in a structured manner with the name of the item and associated detail.

1. Important books and their writers
Name of the Book Author
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Mark Twain
Ain-i-Akbari Abul Fazal
Alchemist, The Paulo Coelho
Alice in the Wonderland Lewis Carroll
All’s Well that Ends well William Shakespeare
An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser
An idealist view of life Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
Anand Math Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Androcles and the Lion George Bernard Shaw
Ape and Essence A. Huxley

2. Apple Cart George Bernard Shaw
Arabian Nights Sir Richard Burton
Area of Darkness V.S. Naipaul
Arthashastra Kautilya
Arms and the man George Bernard Shaw
Around the World in Eighty Days Jules Verne
As you like it William Shakespeare
Autobiography of an Unknown Indian Nirad C. Choudhury
Babur-nama Babur
Between the Lines Kuldip Nayar
Bharat Bharati Maithili Sharan Gupt
Bitter Sweet Noel Coward
Brave New World Aldous Huxley
Broken Wing Sarojini Naidu
Bunch of Old Letters, A Jawaharlal Nehru

3. Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer
Chitra Rabindranath Tagore
Comedy of Errors William Shakespeare
Coolie Mulk Raj Anand
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky
Das Capital Karl Marx
David Copperfield Charles Dickens
Descent of Man Charles Darwin
Dilemma of Our Time Harold Joseph Laski
Discovery of India Jawaharlal Nehru
Divine Life Swami Siv Ananda
Doctor’s Dilemma George Bernard Shaw
Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak
Don Juan Lord Byron
Ends and Means Aldous Huxley

4. Farewell to Arms, A Ernest Hemingway
First Among Equal Jeffrey Archer
For whom the Bell Tolls Emest Hemingway
Freedom at Midnight Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
Future Shock Alvin Toffler
Geet Govind Jaya Dev
Gitanjali Rabindranath Tagore
Gita Rahasya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Glimpses of World History Jawaharlal Nehru
Godan Munshi Prem Chand
Golden Threshold Sarojini Naidu
Golden Gate Vikram Seth
Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell
Gora Rabindranath Tagore
Grammar of Politics Harold Laski
Great Expectations Charles Dickens

5. Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift
Hamlet William Shakespeare
Harsha Charita Bana Bhatt
Heat and Dust Ruth P. Jhabwala
Hindu View of Life Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde
India Divided Rajendra Prasad
India Wins Freedom Maulana Abul Kalama Azad
Indian Home Rule M. K. Gandhi
Indian Philosophy Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
Invisible man H. G. Wells
Iron in the Soul Jean-Paul Sartre
Natya Shastra Bharat Muni
Nine Days Wonder John Masefield
Odyssey Homer
Oliver Twist Charles Dickens

6. Origin of Species Charles Darwin
Othello William Shakespeare
Panchatantra Vishnu Sharma
Passage to England, A Nirad C. Choudhary
Paradise Lost John Milton
Passage to India, A E. M. Forster
Patriot, The Pearl S. Buck
Post Office Rabindranath Tagore
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Raghuvamsa Kalidas
Ram Charita Manas Tulsidas
Ramayan Valmiki
Ratnavali Harsha Vardhan
Ritu Samhara Kalidas
Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare

7. Savitri Sri Aurobindo Ghose
Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen
Satanic Verses, The Salman Rushdie
Shahnama Firdausi
Shakuntala Kalidas
Sunny Days Sunil Gavaskar
Tale of Two Cities, A Charles Dickens
Tempest, The William Shakespeare
Three Musketeers Alexander Dumas
Time Machine H. G. Wells
To Live or Not to Live Nirad C. Choudhary
Triumph John Kenneth Galbraith
Twelfth Night William Shakespeare
Twenty Years After Alexander Dumas
Two Leaves and Bud Mulk Raj Anand

8. Vinay Patrika Tulsidas
Vish Vriksha Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Voice of Conscience V. V. Giri
Wake up India Annie Besant
War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
Wealth of Nations Adam Smith
Wonder what was India A. L. Basham
Yam Mahadevi Verma

9. Fdirst sports achievement for India
Achievement Sportsperson
The first Indian to win an individual medal at the Olympic Games KD Jadhav
The first Indian to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games Abhinav Bindra
The first Indian woman to win an individual medal at the Olympic Games Karnam Malleswari
1st Indian to win Olympic medals at two consecutive Olympic Games Sushil Kumar
The first Indian to become a world champion in billiards Wilson Jones
The first Indian gymnast to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games Ashish Kumar

10. The youngest Indian to captain its test cricket team Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
The first Indian to swim across the English Channel Mihir Sen (1958)
The first Indian woman (also Asian woman) to swim across the English
Channel
Aarti Saha (1959)
The first woman in the world to swim the seven seas Bula Chaudhary
The first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Games Kamaljit Sandhu
The first Indian women athlete to win a medal at a world event (Bronze at
World Athletics Championship, 2003)
Anju Bobby George

11. 1st recipient of Dhyanchand Lifetime
Achievement Award
Aparna Ghosh
1st Indian recipient of International Cricket
Council's Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (also the first
in the world)
Rahul Dravid
1st Indian recipient of Wisden Leading Cricketer
in the World
Virender Sehwag

12. First sports achievement for the world
Achievement Sportsperson
The first person in the world to run the 100 m race in under 10 seconds Jim Hines (USA) (1968)
The first and the only woman in the world to run the 100 m race in under 10.5 seconds
(10.49 seconds)
Florence Griffith Joyner (USA) (1988)
The first person in the world to run the 200 m race in under 20 seconds Tommie Smith (USA) (1968)
The first person in the world to run the 1,600 m race in under 4 minutes Roger Bannister (U.K.) (1954)
The first person in the world to run the 5,000 m race in under 13 minutes Said Aouita (Morocco) (1987)

13. The first person in the world to run the 10,000 m race in under 30
minutes
Taisto Maki (Finland) (1939)
The first person in the world to jump over 8 metres in long jump Jesse Owens (USA) (1935)
The first person in the world to clear over 7 feet in high jump Charles Dumas (USA)(1956)
The first person in the world to clear over 6 meters in pole vault Sergei Bubka (Ukraine)(1985)
The first woman in the world to clear over 5 meters in pole vault Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia)(2005)

14. The first team to win the FIFA World Cup Uruguay (1930)
The first team to win the FIFA Women's World Cup USA (1991)
The first team to win the Hockey World Cup Pakistan (1971)
The first team to win the Women's Hockey World Cup Netherlands (1974)
The first team to win the Cricket World Cup West Indies (1975)
The first team to win the Women's Cricket World Cup England (1973)
The first team to win the World T20 Cricket Championship India (2007)
The first team to win the Davis Cup USA (1900)

15. The first team to win the Fed Cup USA (1963)
The first team to win the Merdeka Cup Hong Kong (1957)
The first team to win the Ryder Cup USA (1927)
The first team to win the Thomas Cup Malaysia (1949)
The first team to win the Uber Cup USA (1957)
The first team to win the Sudirman Cup Indonesia (1989)
The first person to swim across the English Channel Mathew Webb (UK, 1875)
The first woman to swim across the English Channel Gertrude Ederle (USA, 1926)

16. State animals and symbols
S.No. States Animal Bird Tree Flower Butterfly
1. Andhra Pradesh Blackbuck Indian Roller Neem Water lily *
2. Arunachal Pradesh Mithun Great Hornbill Hollong Foxtail Orchid *
3. Assam Indian One-horned Rhino White-winged Wood Duck Hollong Foxtail Orchids *
4. Bihar Gaur Indian Roller Peepal Kachnar *
5. Chhattisgarh Wild Buffalo Hill Myna Sal Indian Laurel *
6. Delhi Nilgai House sparrow Gulmohar Alfalafa *
7. Goa Gaur Black Crested Bulbul Matti Plumeria Rubra *
8. Gujarat Asiatic Lion Greater Flamingo Banyan Marigold (Galgota) *
9. Haryana Blackbuck Black Francolin Peepal Lotus *
10. Himachal Pradesh Snow Leopard Western Tragopan Deodar Rhododendron *
11. Jammu & Kashmir Hangul Black necked Crane Chinar Rhododendron *
12. Jharkhand Elephant koel Sal Palash/Parrot Tree

17. 13. Karnataka Elephant Indian Roller Sandal wood Lotus Southern Birdwing
14. Kerala Elephant Great Hornbill Coconut
Kanikonna/Golden Shower
Tree
*
15. Madhya Pradesh Swamp Deer Paradise Fly catcher Banyan Palash/Parrot Tree *
16. Maharashtra Giant Squirrel Green Imperial Pigeon Mango Jarul Blue Mormon
17. Manipur Sangai Mrs. Hume's Pheasant Toon Siroi Lily *
18. Meghalaya Clouded Leopard Hill Myna Gamari Lady Slipper Orchid *
19. Mizoram
Serow
Mrs. Hume's Pheasant Iron Wood Red Vanda *
20. Nagaland Mithun Blyth's Tragopan Alder Rhododendron *
21. Orissa Elephant Peacock Banyan Ashoka *
22. Punjab Blackbuck Northern Goshawk Sheesham Gladious *
23. Rajasthan Chinkara Indian Bustard Khejri Rohira *
24. Sikkim Red Panda Blood Pheasant Rhododendron Noble Orchid *
25. Tamil Nadu NilgiriTahr Emerald Dove Palmyra Palm Kandhal *
26. Telangana Spotted Deer (Jinka) Indian Roller (Paalapitta) Shami (Jammi chettu) Tanner’s Cassia *
27. Tripura Phayre'sLangur Green Imperial Pigeon Agar Nageshwar *
28. Uttarakhand Musk Deer Himalayan Monal Burans Brahm Kamal Common Peacock
29. Uttar Pradesh Swamp Deer Sarus Crane Ashok Brahm Kamal *
30. West Bengal Fishing cat White-throated King Fisher Devil’s Tree Shephali *

18. Awards and their importance
1. Oscar – Film
2. Dada Sahib Phalke – Film
3. Grammy – Music
4. Pulitzer – Journalism and Literature
5. Arjun – Sports
6. Bowelay – Agriculture
7. Kalinga – Science (by UNESCO)
8. Dhanwantri – Medical Science
9. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar – Science
10. Nobel Prize – (6 Different Categories) Peace, Literature, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Medical Science
11. Abel – Maths
12. Merlin – Magic
13. Bharat Ratna – Art, Science, Public Service, Sports
14. Vyas Samman – Literature
15. Bihari Award – Literature
16. Saraswati Samman – Literature
17. Man Booker – Literature
18. Vachspati Samman Sanskrit – Literature
19. ParamVir Chakra – Military
20. Juliet Curie Award – Peace

19. 21. Dronacharya Award – Sports Coaches
22. Sahitya Akademi Award – Literary
23. Kalidas Samman – Classical Music, Classical Dance and Arts (Madhya Pradesh)
24. Tansen Award – Music
25. Pampa Award – Highest literary award of Karnataka
26. Kanakshree Award – Literature awards by Karnataka
27. Awadh Samman – Government of Uttar Pradesh
28. Gomant Vibhushan Award – the highest civilian honour of the State of Goa
29. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award – Sports (by Punjab Government)
30. Nandi Awards – Telgu Cinema (by Andhra & Telangana Government)
31. Tansen Samman – Classical Music (Madhya Pradesh)
32. Kabir Samman – literature (Madhya Pradesh)
33. Kumar Gandharva Award – Classical Music (Madhya Pradesh)
34. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna(RGKR) – Sports
35. Indira Gandhi Prize – Peace, Disarmament and Development
36. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize – Humanity ,Social Activities
37. Anand Coomaraswamy Fellowships – Literature
38. Padma Vibhushan— Second degree honour.
39. Padma Bhushan— Third degree honour.
40. Padma Shri— Fourth degree honour.
41. ParamVir Chakra— Highest military award
42. MahaVir Chakra–second highest military
43. Vir Chakra– Third in precedence in the awards for wartime gallantry.
44. Ramon Magsaysay Award(Philippines) – The awards are given in six categories
45. Aga khan Architecture Award– Architecture

20. Important days in a year
Date Day Remarks
Jan 12 National Youth Day Birthday of Swami Vivekananda
Jan 15 Army Day Field Marshall K.M. Cariappa took over the command of Army on this day in 1949 from the British.
Jan 27
International Holocaust
Day
The largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan 27, 1945.
Jan 30 Martyr's Day Martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi
Feb 14 St. Valentine's Day -
Feb 28 National Science Day Marks the discovery of Raman Effect in 1928 by C.V. Raman
Mar 8
International Women's
Day
-
Mar 15 World Consumer Day President John F Kennedy formally addressed the issue of consumer rights on this day in 1963.
Jan 25 National Voters' Day With effect from 2011

21. Apr 7 World Health Day
WHO was formed on this day in 1948, but
the first World Health Day was observed in
1950.
Apr 12 International Day of Human Space Flight
Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet Cosmonaut made
the first space flight on this day in 1961.
May 1 International Worker's Day -
May 8 International Red Cross Day
JH Dunant, the man behind Red Cross was
born on this day in 1828.
May 11 National Technology Day
Nuclear tests at Pokhran carried out in
1998 on this day.
May 21 Anti-terrorism Day
Former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi was
assassinated on this day in 1991.
Jun 5 World Environment Day -
Jun 21 International Yoga Day -

22. Jul 1 National Doctors Day (India) Birthday of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray
Jul 11 World Population Day Inspired by 5 Billion Day in 1987
Jul 12 Malala Day Birthday of Malala Yousafzai
Jul 20 International Moon Day Landing of Apollo 11 on moon in 1969.
Jul 20 World Chess Day
Establishment of the International Chess
Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.
Aug 6 Hiroshima Day Bombing of Hiroshima on 6 Aug, 1945
Aug 7 National Handloom Day
Launching of Swadeshi Movement on 7
Aug, 1905
Aug 9 August Kranti Diwas Launch of Quit India Movement in 1942
Aug 19 World Humanitarian Day
Commemorates the day when 22 aid
workers were killed in a bombing at the
UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003

23. Aug 20 Sadbhawna Diwas Birthday of Shri Rajiv Gandhi (1944)
Aug 29 National Sports Day Birthday of Shri Dhyanchand (1905)
Sep 5 Teacher's Day Birthday of Dr. Radhakrishanan (1888)
Sep 8 International Literacy Day -
Sep 14 Hindi Diwas
Hindi accorded the Official language status by
the Constituent Assembly on this day in 1949.
Sep 15 Engineers' Day Birthday of Sri M Visvesvaraya.
Sep 27 World Tourism Day
Statutes of United Nations World Tourism
Organisation adopted on this day in 1980.
Oct 2 International Non-violence Day Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (1869)
Oct 8 Indian Air Force Day IAF was officially established on this day in 1932.
Oct 16 World Food Day
Food and Agricultural Organisation was founded
on this day in 1945.
Oct 24 United Nations Day
Charter of the United Nations came into force
on this day in 1945.

24. Oct 31 Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Birth Anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Nov 11 National Education Day
Birthday of Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888), the
first Education Minister of India.
Nov 14 Children's Day Birthday of Shri Jawaharlal Nehru (1889)
Nov 19 National Integration Day Birthday of Smt Indira Gandhi (1984)
Nov 26 Constitution Day (India) Constitution of India was adopted on this day (1949)
Nov 26 National Milk Day (India)
Birthday of Shri Verghese Kurien, Father of White
Revolution in India
Dec 1 World AIDS Day -
Dec 4 Navy Day
Commemorates the courageous attack on the Karachi
harbour during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 in
Operation Trident.
Dec 7 Armed Forces Flag Day -
Dec 10 Human Rights' Day
Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed
and adopted on this day in 1948.
Dec 16 Vijay Diwas
Marks India's victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pak war
in 1971.
Dec 18 Minorities Rights Day
United Nations adopted and promulgated the
Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
on this day in 1992.
Dec 24 National Consumers' Day -