Maharashtra

Area : 3,07,713 sq km

Population: 9,67,52,247; growth rate (1991-2001): 22.57%

Density per sq km: 314

Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males): 922

Literacy rate: 77.27% (males: 86.27%; females: 67.51%)

Capital: Mumbai

No. Of Districts: 35

Legislature: Bicameral

Principal Language: Marathi

Important Cities, Town and Religious/Tourist Places:

Ajanta and Ellora (tourist centres), Ahmednagar, Akola, Alibag, Amravati, Aundhanagnath (religious place), Aurangabad, Bhandara, Beed, Buldana, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Ganapatipule (religious place), Jalgaon, Jaina, Kanheri (tourist center) Karala caves, Kolhapur, Kudal, Latur, Lonavla (hill station), Matheran (hill station).

Mumbai (earlier name Bombay, India's large commercial centre, Gateway of India, Chowpatty, Marine Drive, Malabar Hill,Prince of Wales Museum, Jubu Beach, Elephanta Caves dedicated to Lord Shiva), Nagpur, Nanded (religious place), Nasik (religious place), Osmanabad, Panchangani (hill station)., Pandharpur (religious place), Sangli, Satara, Sevargam (Mahatma Gandhi's ashram), Shirdi (pilgrimage place for followers of Shri Sai Baba), Sholapur, Tadobal National Park (wildlife Sanctuary), Thane, Trimbakeshwar (religious place), Tulajpur (religious place), Wardha, Yavatmal.

Judicature: High Court at Mumbai (having benches at Nagpur, Panaji and Aurangabad).

Location: Located in central India, Maharashtra is bounded north by Madhya Pradesh, East by Chhattisgarh, South by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, west by the Arabian Sea and north-west by Daman and Gujarat.

History:

Under the State Reorganisation Act, 1956, Bombay State was formed by merging the States of Kutch and Saurashtra and the Marathi-speaking areas of Hyderabad (commonly known as Marathwada) and Madhya Pradesh (also called Vidarbha) in the old State of Mumbai, after the transfer from that state of the Kannada-speaking areas of the Belgum, Bijapur, Kanara and Dharwar districts which were added to the state of Mysore (now Karnataka, and the Abu Road taluka of Banaskantha district, which to the State of Rajasthan.

By the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960, which came into force from May 1, 1960,17 districts (predominantly Gujarati-speaking) in the north and west of Mumbai State became the new State of Gujarat and the remainder was renamed Maharashtra.

Economy:

About 61 percent of the population of Maharashtra is dependent on Agriculture for its livelihood. Wheat, rice,jowar, maize, bajra and pulses are the min food crops. Cotton, Sugarcane, groundnut and tobacco are the principal cash crops. The State has also about 11 lakh hectares under various fruit crops like mango, banana, orange, grapes and cashew nut.

Forests account for about 27 percent of the total area of the state. Industry plays a prominent role in the economy of the state. Iron ore, coal, manganese ore, bauxite and limestone are the important mineral deposits. The large industries include textiles, ginning and pressing, silk, rayon, synthetic fabrics and vegetable products. Mumbai is the centre of most of the textile mills. The new industrial centres of Maharashtra are in Nasik, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Roha, Tarapur and Ahmednagar. Maharashtra is also a major sugar producing state.

Nitrogenous fertilizers, super phosphates, petrochemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and photographic chemicals are the important chemical industries. Emergence of oil fields at Mumbai High and Bassein North and the new fertiliser unit at ThalVaishet near Alibag have given further boost to the petrochemical industry in the State. Marine industries and fish processing units in the coastal area of the State have also been developed. Maharashtra leads in the motion picture industry.

Maharashtra