Inventions Made By India And Adopted By Whole World:

India added 'Zero' to Maths

India has given us many reasons to be proud of. From greatest scholars like Aryabhata, Homi J. Bhabha, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to eminent scientists like CV Raman, Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha and many more. India is witness to numerous stories of achievements and inventions that made difference around the globe.

It has given its contributions in the fields of astronomy, architecture, metallurgy, logic, cartography, mathematics, medicine, mineralogy, automobile engineering, communications, information technology, space research, and polar technology, etc.

1. Zero

As per the historical evidence, Indians were the first to use zero as a symbol and in arithmetic operations. The main person behind this invention was Aryabhat as he gave the zero a symbol and a name in around 500 AD.  The zero brought all the other systems of this world into existence. From simple calculations to rocket science, it provides the base for it all. 

2. Shampoo

Shampoo is derived from the Hindi word ‘champo’ which was further derived from the Sanskrit word ‘chapayati’ and dates back to 1762 during the colonial era.

3. Buttons

The credit for this goes to the Indus Valley Civilization as the earliest button found is around 5000 years old and made out of a curved shell.It was mainly used as an ornament rather than being used for fastening purposes.

4.Scale/ ruler/ weighing scale

The invention of rulers and scales dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization prior to 1500 BCE. They were made from ivory back then. The use of weighing scales dates back to 2400 BC-1800 BC, also found during the Indus Valley Civilization.

5. Suits game

Now played with playing cards made from paper/plastic, this game originated in India and was played with painted rags.

6. Cataract surgery

Indian physician Sushruta introduced the cataract surgery by using a special tool made of a curved needle in the 3rd centure CE. The needle was used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision, after which the eye was soaked with warm butter and bandaged.

7. Plastic surgery

The credit to plastic surgery also goes to ancient Indian physician Sushruta and dates back to 2000 BCE.

8. Flush/ Squat Toilets

The modern-day flush and toilets were introduced in India way back in 3rd millennium BC and were found in several houses of the Mohenjodaro and Harappa. They were basically toilet platforms made above the drains in the proximity of wells.

9. Chess

Initially known as Chaturanga, this game originated in India during the Gupta dynasty.

10. Snakes and Ladders

This game originated in India and made its way to England during the British rule of India and to USA by 1943.

11. Natural fibers’ cultivation

Natural fibers like jute, cotton and wool owe their current existence to India, and to be precise, the Indus Valley Civilization during the 5th millennium BCE to 4th Millennium BCE.

12. Sugar refinement

Sugar originated from other parts of the world, production of crystallised sugar from sugarcane started in India during the time of Imperial Guptas around 647 CE.

13. Decimal system and place value system

The decimal and place value system was developed in India between the 1st and 6th centuries CE.

14. Diamond mining

Diamonds were first mined in India around 5000 years ago when alluvial deposits of the stone were found along the banks of rivers Penner, Krishna and Godavari. Until the 18th century when diamonds were discovered in Brazil too, India remained the only source of diamonds in the world.

15. Water on moon

Very few of us know that the first evidence, although inconvertible, was provided by the payload Chace carried by the Moon Impact Probe released by Chandrayan.

16. Steel and metal works

High quality of steel was produced in India around 300 – 200 BC by mixing high purity wrought iron, charcoal and glass and heating it until the iron absorbed the carbon.

17. Ink

The use of ink in writing was discovered in India around the 3rd millennia BCE, by mixing several chemical components with the carbon black that is produced by burning bones, tar, pitch and other substances.

18. First medical encyclopaedia

Sushruta Samhita, a text prepared by the Indian physician Sushruta, was the first ever medical encyclopaedia containing the foundation texts of Ayurveda and describing surgical training, instruments and procedures. Although, some medical texts relating to the cure for leprosy also date back to the Atharva Ved around 1500-2000 BCE, either way, it is still a win-win situation!

19. Earth’s orbit

Earth's orbit is also called the sidereal year, it was first explained in Surya Siddhanta around 600 CE and gave the average length of the sidereal year as 365.25 days.

20. Crescograph

A Cresco graph is a device that is used for measuring growth in plants and its discovery dates back to early 20th century by Sir Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose.

21. Computer programming languages

Many programming languages such as J Sharp and Kojo are a product of Indian inventors.

22. Rhinoplasty

The nasal reconstruction using a paramedian forehead flap was first carried out by the Indian physician Sushruta.

23. Trigonometry

The trigonometric sine, cosine and arctangent was the discovery of Madhava of Sangamagrama and his Kerala School of Mathematics in between C. 1340-1425.

24. Pi and Pythagorean Theorem

These two things were explained by Indian mathematician Budhayana in the 6th century long before the European mathematician worked on them and took credit for the same.

25. Fibonacci numbers

The Fibonacci numbers were properly discovered by Virahanka, Gopala and Hemahandra from C 700-1150 AD.

26. Microwave communication

The technology used in radios, mobile telephony, radars, satellite communication, television broadcast, WIFI, remote controls and many other devices, owes its existence to the discovery made by Jagdish Chandra Bose in 1895.

27. Binary Code

The discovery of binary numbers dates back to 200 BC by Pingala, the author of Chandahsasts which was the earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody.