Innovations and Discoveries

India has a rich history of inventions and discoveries, because of its social and spiritual traditions of seeking knowledge. All religious systems evolved in India emphasise seeking knowledge to discover the truth. That has helped in making many remarkable discoveries and inventions within India as well as by Indians abroad.  Following are the key Indian inventions and discoveries which made significant contributions to the development of science and technology.

Agriculture & Animal Husbandry –

1. Cashmere wool –  This wool is also simply known as cashmere. This is a fibre obtained from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goats found in the Himalayan region. This wool is used for making shawls in Kashmir, India. It is mentioned in the texts written in the 3^rd century BCE.
2. Cotton cultivation – During the 5th millennium BCE – 4th millennium BCE, cotton cultivation was part of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The Indus cotton industry was well developed and cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be practised till the modern industrialisation of India.
3. Jute cultivation – Jute is being cultivated in India since ancient times. Raw jute was exported to the west, where it was used in making ropes and cordage.
4. Sugar refinement – Sugarcane is the original crop of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia, having different species originating in India. The process of producing crystallised sugar from sugarcane was discovered by the time of the Imperial Guptas. The process was soon transmitted to China with travelling Buddhist monks.

Communication –

1.  Crystal detector – Indian scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose was the first one to use crystals as radio wave detectors in 1894. For this, he received the patent in 1901.
2. Horn antenna – One of the first horn antennas was constructed by Jagadish Chandra Bose in 1897 for radio communication. A horn antenna is used to direct radio waves in a beam. The antennas are widely used at UHF and microwave frequencies, above 300 MHz.

Computer Science –

1. Simputer – This is a self-contained, open hardware handheld computing device, designed for use in environments where computing devices such as personal computers are inconvenient. It was developed in 1999 by 7 scientists of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, led by Dr.Swami Manohar in collaboration with a Bangalore (India) based company Encore India.
2. Backs-Naur Form – Backus–Naur form or Backus normal form (BNF) or Panini Backus form is a notation technique for context-free grammars. This is used to describe the syntax of languages used in computing, such as computer programming languages, document formats, instruction sets and communication protocols. They are applied wherever exact descriptions of languages are needed: for instance, in official language specifications, in manuals, and in textbooks on programming language theory.

Construction & Architecture –

1. Plumbing – Earthen pipes were used in the Indus Valley Civilization around 2700 BCE for an urban drainage system at city level scale. The Indus Valley Civilization had used standardized earthen plumbing pipes with broad flanges making use of asphalt (bitumen) for preventing leakages.
2. Squat toilet – The Indus Valley Civilization sites at Mahenjodaro and Harappa, toilet platforms above drains are found in several houses. These platforms are in proximity of wells and from the 3rd millennium BCE. 
3. Stepwell – The stepwells are found at Indus Valley Civilization sites Harappa and Dholavira and they are estimated from 2500 BCE. The common feature of such stepwells are bathing pools, steps leading down to the water, and figures of some religious significance.
4. Stupa – The tradition of building the stupa in India can be traced to the 3rd century BCE.  It was used to commemorate monuments associated with storing sacred relics of Buddha.

Genetics –

1. Synthetic genes and decoding of protein synthesising gene – An Indian origin biochemist Har Gobind Khorana created the first synthetic gene and uncovered how a DNA’s genetic code determines protein synthesis — which controls that how a cell functions. For this, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1968.
2. Pseudomonas putida – An Indian origin microbiologist Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, in 1971 created a variety of man-made microorganisms to break down crude oil.

Mathematics –

Click for more details on Indian Mathematics

 Medicine and Health –

1. Yoga – Yoga has been a discipline of Indian lifestyle for thousands of years, nas a physical, mental, and spiritual practice. It was also originated in ancient India.
2. Ayurveda – Ayurveda is ancient Indian systems of medicine. It is widely practised in entire South Asia. Ayurveda has evolved over millenia, and is still practised today.
3. Angina pectoris – Ancient Indian physician and surgen Sushruta (6th century BCE) described the condition of Angina pectoris and named that ‘Hritshoola’.
4. Ancient dentistry – The evidences found at Indus Valley Civilization sites suggest that the dentistry was being practiced even 7000 BCE. One such site at Mehrgarh indicates that indicates that this form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills operated, by skilled crafters.
5. Cataract surgery –Indian physician and surgen Sushruta (6th century BCE) had successfully ataract surgery. It was performed with a special tool called the Jabamukhi Salaka, w hich had a curved needle used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision.
6. Laprosy treatment – Ancient Indians had the knowledge of cure for leprosy as its references are found in Atharva Veda ((1500–1200 BCE) and Sushrut Samhita (6th century BCE).
7. Lithiasis treatment – This is the formations of stones in the body. The earliest operation for treating lithiasis is mentioned in the ‘Sushruta Samhita’ (6th century BCE).
8. Plastic surgery – Plastic surgery was being carried out in India by 2000 BCE. The technique was described in medical works of both Sushruta and Charaka.
9. Visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) treatment – The Indian medical practitioner Upendranath Brahmachari was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1929 for his discovery of antimonial compound for treatment of kala azar)and another new disease, post-kala azar dermal leishmanoid.

Metallurgy and Manufacturing –

1.  Cruicible steel – As early as 3rd – 2nd century BCE. high quality steel was being produced in southern India by using cruicible technique. Diamond drill –
2. Diamond cutting – Between 12th – 7th century BCE, ancient Indian craftmen not only innovated use of diamond tipped drills but also invented double diamond tipped drills for bead manufacturing.
3. Etched Carnelian beads– These are ancient decorative beads made from carnelian with an etched design in white. They were made by alkaline-etching developed during Indus Valley Civilization around 3rd millennium BCE.
4. Iron pillar – The world’s first corrosion resistant iron pillar was the Iron pillar of Delhi—erected at the time of Chandragupta Vikramaditya (375–413 CE). The pillar has been called ‘a testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths’.
5. Seamless celestial globes – It was invented in India in between 1589 and 1590 CE. These are considered as one of the most remarkable in metallurgical achievement.
6. Tube drawing –  Indians used tube drawn technology for manufacturing the glass bead as early as 2nd century BCE.
7. Tumble polishing – Ancient  Indian craftmen innvoted polishing method in the 10th century BCE for mass production of polished stone beads.
8. Wootz steel – Wootz steel is an ultra-high carbon steel having properties such as superplasticity and high impact hardness. Archaeological and Tamil language literary evidence suggest that  wootz steel was being exported from the Chera dynasty to west.

Metrology –

1. Crescograph – The crescograph, was invented in the early 20th century by an Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose. This device was invented for measuring growth in plants.
2. Incense clock – The incense clock is a timekeeping device used to measure minutes, hours, or days. These incense clocks were commonly used at homes and temples. Incense clocks are believed to be Indian invention as they are mentioned in Tantric Buddhist scriptures.

Mining –

1. Diamond mining – Diamonds are estimated to have been mined  in central India along the rivers Penner, Krishna and Godavarui, at least 5,000 years ago. Kautilya (Chanakya) mentioned about diamond trade in his text ‘Arthashastra’ and Buddhist works dating from the 4th century BCE also mentioned this precious stone.
2. Zinc mining – Zinc was being used in ancient India for medicinal purpose. There are early references of medicinal uses of zinc found in the ‘Charaka Samhita’(300 BCE). Another text of Tantric period (5th – 13th century CE), the ‘Rasaratna Samuchchaya’  explains the existence of two types of ores for zinc metal, one of which is ideal for metal extraction while the other is used for medicinal purpose. India was to melt the first derived from a long experience of the old alchemy zinc by the distillation process.

Science & Technology –

1. Solar System – Based on astronomical advancement in ancient India, it is obvious that ancient Indian astronomers had discovered that the Sun was in the center of solar system. Aryabhat promoted a heliocentric model of solar system, where the planets spin on their axes and follow orbits around the Sun while the moon revolving around the earth in epicycles.
2. Gravity –  Ancient Indian astronomer Aryabhat first identified the gravitational force to explain why objects do not spin out when the earth rotates, Brahmaguptadescribed gravity as an attractive force and used the term gurutvākarṣaṇ for gravity.
3. Ammonium Nitrite (NH₄NO₂) pure and synthesised – Earlier it was believed that the compound Ammonium Nitrite undergoes rapid thermal decomposition releasing nitrogen and water in the process.  An Indian scientist Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, synthesised NH4NO2 in its pure form, and published that in 1912 CE. He became the first scientist to have done so.
4. Ashtekar variable – In theoretical physics, it represent an unusual way to rewrite the metric on the three-dimensional spatial slices. It is named after the Indian origin scientist Abhay Vasant Ashtekar, who created that in 1986.
5. Atom – An ancient Indian natural scientist and philosopher ‘Kanad’ (between 6th – 2nd century BCE),  conceptualised  the existence of Anu or a small indestructible particles, similar to an atom. He further explained that Anu can have two states – absolute peace and a state of movement.He had founded the Vaisheshika school of Indian philosophy that also represents the earliest Indian physics.
6. Bhatnagar-Mathur Magnetic Interference Balance – Two Indian scientists Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and K.N. Mathur invented this in 1928 for measuring various magnetic properties.
7. Bhabha scattering – This was the  first calculation to determine the cross section of electron-positron scattering, published by Indian nuclear physicist Homi Jahangir Bhabha. Bhabha scattering is named after him only.
8. Bose–Einstein condensate statistics – An Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose sent a paper about his discovered principles to Albert Einstein in 1924, seeking his help in publishing the same. Einstein later applied Bose’s principles on particles with mass and quickly predicted the Bose-Einstein condensate.
9. Boson – Boson is an atomic particle named after Satyendra Nath Bose, as it follows Bose–Einstein statistics.
10. Braunstein-Ghosh-Severini Entropy – The scientis of Indian origin along with his team developed a model of entropy using network theory which is used in the analysis of quantum gravity.
11. Chandrashekhar limit – It was discovered by and named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, an Indian origin astrophysicist, who awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 for rhis discovery. His discovery = was the  the calculation used to determine the future of what would happen to a dying star. If the star’s mass is less than the Chandrasekhar Limit it will shrink to become a white dwarf, and if it is great the star will explode, becoming a supernova.
12. Chandrashekhar number – This is a dimensionless quantity used in magnetic convection, representin the ratio of the Lorentz force to the viscosity. It is named after an astrophysicist of Indian origin Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
13. Helium – The first evidence of helium as a bright yellow line in the chromograph of the Sun was discovered by a French astronomer, Pierre Janssen while observing the Solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 from Guntur in Madras Presidency of India under British rule.
14. Mahalanobis distance – An Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis introduced this distance measure in 1936 CE, based upon the correlation between variables. It  is used for dentifying and analyze differing pattern with respect to one base.
15. Ramachandran plot, Ramachandran map, and Ramachandran angles – In biochemistry, it is a way to visualize energetically allowed regions for backbone dihedral angles ψ against φ of amino acid residues in protein structure. Ramachandran plot and Ramachandran map were developed in 1963 by G. N. Iyer Ramachandran. He also developed the Ramachandran angles, which serve as a convenient tool for communication, representation, and various kinds of data analysis.
16. Raman effect – If a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light gets scattered and there will be change in the wavelength of light when a light beam is deflected by molecules. This phenomena was discoved by Indian Physicist Prof. C.V.Raman in 1928 and that effect is named after him.
17. Raychaudhuri equation – This equation was discovered by an Indian physicist, Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri in 1954. This equation was a key ingredient of the Penrose-Hawking singularity theorems of general relativity.
18. Periodicity in Nuclear Propertie – Very recently, it is reported that a sharp pattern is discovered by an Indian researcher regarding the nuclear properties of chemical elements. The remarkable deviations are noticed near the magic numbers.
19. Process of formation of the E layer of the ionosphere and night sky luminescence – This phenomena was discovered by the Indian physicist, Sisir Kumar Mitra.

Textile –

1. Button – Ornamental buttons made from seashell were used in the Indus Valley Civilisation  by 2000 BCE.
2. Calico – This is a plain-woven coarse textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It had originated in India by the 11th century CE and its writte references are found in the 12th-century CE literature by the writer Hemachandra.
3. Carding devices – Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web suitable for subsequent processing. The earliest evidence for using Bow-instruments for carding in India are from 2nd century CE.
4. Chintz – This is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that was originated in Golconda (modern Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century CE.
5. Cotton gin (single roller) – Single roller cotton gin  were in use in India by the 5th century and the Ajanta Caves yield evidence in this regard.
6. Lost wax casting – Metal casting in India began around 3500 BC by the Indus Valley Civilization . One of the earliest known examples of lost-wax casting is an Indian bronze figurine of the “dancing girl” at Mohenjodaro site.
7. Leather tanning – Tanning was being carried out in Ancient India between 7000 and 3300 BCE. Ancient civilizations used leather for waterskins, bags, harnesses and tack, boats, armour, quivers, scabbards, boots, and sandals etc.
8. Modrant (Dye fixing)- A mordant (dye fixative) is a substance used to. Bind dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye. Modrants for fixing dyes were used since Indus valley civilization.
9. Spinning wheel (Charkha) – Spinning wheel (Charkha) was invented in India, between 500 and 1000 CE.

Space –

1.  Earths orbit around the Sun (Sidereal year) – An astronomical work in Sanskrit, ‘Surya Siddhant’ gives the average length of the sidereal year (the length of the Earth’s revolution around the Sun) as 365.2563627 days, which is only a negligible 1.4 seconds longer than the modern value, as Hindu cosmological time cycles.
2. Lunar water (water on the Moon) – The first conclusive evidence of water on the moon was provided by Chandrayaan-1 mission of Indian space agency ISRO in 2009.
3. Periodicity of comets – Indian astronomers Varahamihiraand Bhadrabahu(6th century CE) and Bhattotpala (10^th century CE)  descrivbed that comets were celestial bodies that re-appeared periodically. They also listed the names and estimated periods of certain comets.
4. Saha ionisation equation – Indian astrophysicist Meghnad Saha derived Saha equation in 1920 by conceptualising ionisations of stellar atmospheres.
5. Quasi-normal modesof black holes – An Indian scientist and black hole physicist C. V. Vishveshwara discovered the quasi-normal modes of black holes. These modes of black hole vibrations are one of the main targets of observation using the gravitational wave detector. C. V. Vishveshwara  is popularly known as the ‘black hole man of India.