Amaravati () is the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and with a po ...

. The

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

laid the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

at a ceremonial event in

Uddandarayunipalem Uddandarayunipalem is a village in Guntur district In Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a village in Thullur mandal of Guntur district, prior to its denotification as gram panchayat. It also hosted the foundation stone ceremony of Ama ...

village on 22 October 2015. Dharanikota, the ancient city site nearby, was founded more than 2,200 years ago, serving as an ancient capital. The Amaravati Stupa was an important Buddhist site of pilgrimage and holy learning. Under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

, many ancient Buddhist sculptures were taken to other museums in India and Britain. The office of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has operated from

Velagapudi Velagapudi is a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a village in Thullur mandal of Guntur district, prior to its denotification as Gram Panchayat. Velagapudi is also the home to the temporary Secretariat of ...

since April 2016. The Andhra Pradesh Legislature remained in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

until March 2017, when it was relocated to newly constructed interim

legislative buildings A legislative building is a building in which a legislature sits and makes laws for its respective political entity. The term used for the building varies between the political entities, such as "building", "capitol", "hall", "house", or "palace" ...

in Velagapudi.

Etymology

The name "Amaravati" only dates back to the 18th century; the Amaravathi village, is near Dharanikota, the ancient capital of the

Satavahana dynasty The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the la ...

. The metropolitan areas of

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. ...

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...

and

Tenali Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is renowned for art, culture, drama and hence, it is called ''Andhr ...

are the major

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cas ...

s of Amaravati. ''Amaravati'' translates literally as 'the place for immortals'.

History

Dharanikota (Dhānyakatakam) near Amaravati was an important city in the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. Its history dates back to 2nd Century BCE when it was the capital of the

Satavahana Dynasty The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the la ...

of the (

Andhras Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

), one of the earliest Indian empires and the ancestral

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

of Andhra Pradesh. The

Satavahanas The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the lat ...

are prominent in the history of Andhra Pradesh. Their main language was

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

written using

Brahmi Script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...

, which served as the base for the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...

Telugu Language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken ...

. They issued many

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

with this

language which can be found in many inscriptions in this region today. The practice of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

was predominant during this period and the dynasty was partly responsible for the prevalence of Buddhism in the region. The city was also once a holy site of

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

. The city used to have a large

Buddhist Stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as '' śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

now known as Amaravati Stupa but then called a Mahachaitya, which was ruined over time. It was also the centre of Buddhist learning and art where many buddhist followers from many

South East Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

countries used to visit. It can be seen from the Amaravati Stupa, many Buddhist inscriptions,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

s and Gautam Buddha Statue in the city. Many other ancient Amaravati sculptures and Buddhist

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

from the region were unfortunately destroyed over the time and the largest group was removed to the Government Museum, Chennai and others to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

during British rule, which can be seen there today. The sculptures from Amaravati depict many scenes from Buddhist art, inscriptions and Buddhist stupas. The city along with

Nagarjuna Konda Nagarjunakonda (IAST: Nāgārjunikoṇḍa, meaning Nagarjuna Hill) is a historical town, now an island located near Nagarjuna Sagar in Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, near the state border with Telangana. It is one ...

is viewed as one of the richest holy sites of

in the whole of India. The present capital area has its historical significance of having recorded its first-ever legislation 2,200 years ago. The present-day capital region includes the Amaravati village. The area has been ruled by the Mauryas,

, Ikshvakus, Vishnukundina,

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

Kakatiyas The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. T ...

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

, Musunuri Nayaks,

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

, Sultanate of

Golconda Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...

and

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

successively before the founding of the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

in 1724. It was ceded to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1750 but was captured by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

in 1759. Guntur returned to the Nizamate in 1768 but was ceded to Britain again in 1788. It was briefly occupied by

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

. It was then ruled by

Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu () was a hereditary zamindar of Chintapalli, later Amaravathi, in the Guntur district of India, under the Nizam of Hyderabad and the British East India Company. He had under his control 552 villages and towns locat ...

, who founded the modern Amaravathi village, using building materials from the stupa, which he largely demolished. It was part of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

during the British colonial period. As per the

Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, commonly known as the Telangana Act, is an Act of Indian Parliament that bifurcated the state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh state, as an outcome of the Telang ...

became the capital of the then newly formed state of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

, post bifurcation of

. However, Hyderabad would remain as the joint capital of both states for a period not exceeding ten years. Hence, Amaravati is being built to serve as the capital of Andhra Pradesh. The foundation for the city was laid at

on 22 October 2015. The

; the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu; the Vice President of India and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the 13th vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first Indian vice president born in independent India. He has also served as the minister of Housi ...

; then Governor

E. S. L. Narasimhan Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshmi Narasimhan (born 1945) is an Indian former civil servant and politician who served as the first Governor of Telangana. He assumed office of the Governor of United Andhra Pradesh in December 2009 to 01 June 2014,He was ...

; the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese minister for economy trade and industry, Yosuke Takagi; and the Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry,

S. Iswaran S. Iswaran ( ta, எஸ் ஈஸ்வரன்; born 1962) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Transport since 2021 and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations since 2018. A member of the governing People's Action ...

, laid the foundation for the city. In August 2020,

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or Andhra Pradesh Śāsana Sabha is the lower house of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature. The Legislative Assembly consists of 175 members which are elected by adult universal suffrage under the first-p ...

passed Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020. According to its provisions,

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

is the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

capital while Amaravati and

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema".Kurnool is also known as The City of Gem Stones. It also s ...

serve as

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

and judicial capitals, respectively. The decision resulted in widespread protests by the farmers of Amaravati. The act has been challenged in

Andhra Pradesh High Court The High Court of Andhra Pradesh is the High Court of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The seat of the High Court is currently located at Nelapadu. History The High Court of Andhra Pradesh was established in the year 1954 when the st ...

, which ordered to maintain status quo until the court completes its hearing. On 22 November 2021, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

, led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, have withdrawn the act.

Geography

The city is being built in

and

Palnadu district Palnadu district is a district in coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With Narasaraopet as its administrative headquarters, it was formed on 04 April 2022 to become one of the resultant twenty-six districts The district ...

, on the banks of the Krishna River. The city will be south-west of

, north of

, south-east of

surrounding the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

of Coastal Andhra region in Andhra Pradesh.

Vision

The 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu envisioned Amaravati to be the people-centric pioneer Smart City of India, built around sustainability and livability principles, and to be the happiest city in the world. Among the innovative features on the drawing board are navigation canals around the city, and connecting to an island in the Krishna River. The Government has envisaged an investment needed of for the development of the city. The city is being designed to have 51% green space and 10% of water bodies, with a plan to house some of the most iconic buildings there. It is being modeled on Singapore, with the master plan being prepared by two Singapore government-appointed consultants. Other international consultants and architects will then be brought in to give the city an international flavor.

City Planning

3D Model of Amaravati in APCRDA office, Vijayawada (6)

3D Model of Amaravati in APCRDA office, Vijayawada (4)

The Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet meeting passed a resolution of 1 September 2014 to locate the Capital City in a central place of the state, around Vijayawada, and to go for decentralized development of the state with 3 Mega Cities and 14 Smart Cities. The State Government identified the Capital City area between Vijayawada and Guntur cities on the Southern bank of River Krishna upstream of Prakasam Barrage. The Amaravati Capital City has an area of 217.23 km² and is spread across 25 villages in 3 mandals (Thullur, Mangalagiri and Tadepalli) of Guntur district. The 25 villages in the Capital City area have about 1 lakh population in about 27,000 households. The nearest cities are Vijayawada at a distance of 30 km and Guntur at a distance of 18 km. The nearest railway station is KC Canal railway station near Tadepalli and the nearest airport is Gannavaram which is at a distance of 22 km. The city is planned to spread over 217 km² area with a total cost of ₹ 553.43 billions to the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) out of which state government contribution is only ₹ 126 billion (equity ₹ 66.29 billion and supporting grant ₹ 59.71 billion) spread over a period of 8 years from April 2018 to March 2026 (₹ 5 billion in 2018–19, ₹ 18 billion per year for later six years and ₹ 13 billion in 2025–26). The contribution from the government is to be repaid by the CRDA after 2037. Ultimately state or union governments are not incurring any expenditure to construct the city but wholly financed by the income accrued from the sale of land for various development schemes (₹ 171.51 billion), loans and the local taxes (₹ 146.41 billion by 2037) to the CRDA. The state and union governments are expected to earn ₹ 120 billion per annum out of which state goods and services tax (State GST) alone is ₹ 60 billion per annum. The entire city construction is planned by self-financing from loans and land selling with the state government's moral support. CRDA is expecting a net surplus income of ₹ 333 billion by 2037 after meeting the total expenditure on the city. Amaravati government complex which is intended to provide world-class facilities needed for the state government and its employees' accommodation is also part of the CRDA project. The bus rapid transit system (BRTS) in Amaravati to connect with the adjacent Vijayawada and Guntur cities by world-class road network is also part of the CRDA project. Both Amaravati government complex and BRTS are planned with an expenditure of ₹ 140 billion.

Timeline

NGO housing under construction in Amaravati (March 2019) 12

Status

In 2019, the new state government allocated a budget of only ₹500

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is eq ...

and immediately stopped all running projects in the middle of construction that was started by the previous Naidu government. The Amaravati project has substantially slowed with no deadline in sight. As of 2020, the fate of Amaravati as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh hangs in balance as the incumbent YSRCP Government has proposed to move the Executive and Judicial components of the capital to

and

respectively. There has been a continuing backlash from the farmers of the region against this decision of the Government for the past 644 days. The agitators are still awaiting the Chief Minister's appointment for a plausible solution.

Government and politics

Administration

Amaravati is an Urban Notified Area and its urban development and planning activities are undertaken by the Amaravati Development Corporation Limited and

Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (abbreviated as APCRDA), Amaravati, ACT No. 27 of 2020. It was notified on 31 July 2020 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as per ''The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority ...

(APCRDA). The

Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Andhra Pradesh Secretariat is the administrative office of the employees of the state of Andhra Pradesh, located in Velagapudi. For AP secretariat foundation stone laid by the then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu & Inaugurated by shri N. Ch ...

is the administrative block for the employees of the state government. Andhra Pradesh Secretariat

The APCRDA has its jurisdiction over the city and is the

covering Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. The capital city is spread over an area of , and will comprise villages (including some hamlets) from three

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s viz., Mangalagiri,

Thullur Thulluru is a Village in Guntur district of Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located at a distance of 4 km from Krishna River and was a village in Thulluru mandal of Guntur district, prior to its denotification as gram panchayat. D ...

and Tadepalle. The seed capital is spread over an area of . The table below lists the identified villages and hamlets under their respective mandals, which became a part of the capital city. ''Notes:'' * M –

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

* The names in brackets are the hamlet villages of the respective settlement.

Language and religion

The residents of Amaravati are mainly Telugu-speaking people along with some

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

is the official language of the city. Hindus form a very large majority, but there are also Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist communities. Religious sites include the Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, and the Amaravati stupa in the Amaravati heritage complex.

Economy and infrastructure

The state government originally initiated the Singapore-based Ascendas-Singbridge and

Sembcorp Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) is an energy and urban development company. Sembcorp's marine division provided a variety of services, including the engineering and construction of offshore platforms for oil extraction, until it was demerged ...

Development consortium for the city's construction. The city's infrastructure was to be developed in 7–8 years in phases, at an estimated cost of ₹33,000 crore. ₹7,500 crore from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), $500 million from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

and ₹2,500 crore from the Indian Government, of which ₹1,500 crore has been granted. As of July 2019, the World Bank dropped funding for Amaravati. As of September 2019, the Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development consortium have also withdrawn from the project. With only state government allocated budget of ₹500 crore in 2019, the Amravati project has substantially slowed, with no deadline in sight. Nine themed cities consisting of Finance, Justice, Health, Sports, Media, and Electronics; including Government buildings designed by Norman Foster,

Hafeez Contractor Hafeez Sorab Contractor (born 1950) is an Indian architect. He has designed many skyscrapers in India, primarily in the city of Mumbai. As of 2019, he is the architect of the three tallest buildings in India - The 42 in Kolkata, and the twin ...

Reliance Group Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group or popularly known as Reliance ADA Group or simply Reliance Group is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company, which was formed after Dhirubhai Ambani's business was divided up, ...

, and NRDC-India will be built within the city. Pi Data Centre, the fourth largest of its kind in Asia with an investment of , and Pi Care Services, a healthcare BPO, were inaugurated at Mangalagiri IT park. HCL Technologies, an IT firm would set up one of its centres in Amaravati. BRS Medicity with an investment of $1.8 billion is to come to Amaravati. Mangalagiri Sarees and Fabrics produced in Mangalagiri mandal, a part of the state capital, were registered as one of the geographical indications from Andhra Pradesh.

Education

Colleges and universities There are public funded universities within the city limits: *

Acharya Nagarjuna University Acharya Nagarjuna University (IAST: ''Ācārya Nāgārjuna Vișvavidyālaya'') is a state university in Namburu, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. History The university was established as Nagarjuna University by Act 43 of 1976 of A.P ...

* Guntur Medical College *

Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) is a public agricultural university with its headquarters at the village Lam, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. History The original Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University was esta ...

Krishna University Krishna University (KrU) is a state university located in Rudravaram, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. The university was established in 2008 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. It provides degree courses like Bachelor of Science, Bache ...

Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences DR Y.S.R University of Health Sciences; DR.YSRUHS: ''Ḍā. En. Ṭī. Ār. Ārogyașāstra Vișvavidyālayamu'')is a public university in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, History The university was established as University of Health ...

National Institute of Design The National Institutes of Design (NIDs) are a group of autonomous public design universities in India, with the primary institute, founded in 1961, in Ahmedabad, with extension campuses in Gandhinagar and Bengaluru. The other NIDs are loc ...

Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, Nuzvid Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, Nuzvid (RGUKT) was founded as a State University by an act of the Legislature by AP Government as a full-fledged university in 2008, having a university campus located at Nuzvid, Krishna Distri ...

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri (AIIMS Mangalagiri or AIIMS-MG) is a medical research public higher education institute located in the Mangalagiri Tadepalle Municipal Corporation in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. ...

Private and autonomous colleges in the city include: *

KL University K L Deemed to be University, formerly Koneru Lakshmaiah College of Engineering (KLCE) and Koneru Lakshmaiah University, is a higher educational institution Deemed to be University, located in Vaddeswaram, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Estab ...

* Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology & Research * Andhra Loyola College *

SRM University, Andhra Pradesh SRM University, Andhra Pradesh (SRM AP), also known as SRM University, Amaravati, is a private university located near Neerukonda village in Mangalagiri mandal of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, India, in the area of the planned capital c ...

* Vellore Institute of Technology *

Siddhartha Medical College Siddhartha Medical College is a medical school in Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative head ...

Gudlavalleru Engineering College Seshadri Rao Gudlavalleru Engineering College is located at Gudlavalleru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Departments Engineering Departments * Electrical and Electronics Engineering * Electronics and Communication Engineering ...

NRI Academy of Medical Sciences NRI Academy of Medical Sciences (also referred as NRI Medical College) is the first medical academy in Andhra Pradesh, India started by NRIs. It is one of the medical colleges in Guntur District, offering graduate (Masters) and undergraduate ...

* Andhra Christian College *

Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology (VVIT) (); is an engineering college in Namburu, Pedakakani, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. It has a capacity of 930 students for undergraduate engineering programs (B.Tech), 120 students in six Mas ...

Katuri Medical College Katuri Medical College & Hospital is one of the Private Medical colleges in Guntur, India, offering Postgraduate (Masters - MD/MS) and Undergraduate (Bachelors' - MBBS) courses in Medical Sciences. It is located on NH-5, towards Chilakaluripe ...

Private institutes like Amrita University, Amity University and the Indo-UK Institute of Health (IUIH) in collaboration with the

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, are among others to set up campus in Amaravati. In 2018 the city's first management institute, Xavier School of Management, was under construction near Ainavolu.

Tourism

Located on the banks of the Krishna River and between natural getaways and places of heritage, the city has several tourist attractions: *

Dhyana Buddha statue The ''Dhyana Buddha'' is a statue of Gautama Buddha seated in a meditative posture located in Amaravathi of Andhra Pradesh, India. Completed in 2015, the statue is tall and is situated on a 4.5-acre site on the banks of the Krishna river. I ...

* Amaravati Stupa *

Archaeological Museum, Amaravati The Amaravati Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Amaravati, a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is running by Andhra Pradesh tourism. It opens at morning 10:00 and closed at 5:00 pm and Friday holiday ...

Amaralingeswara Temple Amararama is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras that are sacred to the Hindu god Shiva. The temple is located in Amaravathi town of Palnadu district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amareswara Swamy or Amaralingeswara Swamy refers to Lo ...

* Undavalli Caves * Bhavani Island * Kondapalli Fort * Kanaka Durga Temple * Prakasam Barrage * Kondaveedu Fort

Transport

Kadapa-Banglore AMARAVATI Bus at KR Puram

The buses operated by

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Nehru bus station of ...

(APSRTC) from Pandit Nehru Bus Station and

NTR bus station NTR bus station is a bus station in Guntur and owned by Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. The bus station serves both the city and district services in Andhra Pradesh as well buses from neighboring states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu ...

, Tenali bus station connects the city with

and

respectively. The government, however, is to explore other means of mass transport like ‘

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...

’,

Bus Rapid Transit System Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

(BRTS) and tramways. Two new depots, North and South of the APSRTC are proposed to be constructed.

Auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

s also operate for shorter distances in the capital city area.

Air

Vijayawada International Airport serves the whole

Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Andhra Pradesh Capital Region is the metropolitan region area of Andhra Pradesh state capital, the defacto capital city of Andhra Pradesh. Vijayawada is the headquarters and the largest city of the region. It includes the major ancient cities o ...

Roadways

The

Amaravati–Anantapur Expressway Amaravati – Anantapur Expressway is a Proposed Greenfield expressway of length 598.78 km in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was mainly Proposed to Connect the Cities of Rayalaseema to the other part of the state with an Expressway. ...

, supported by

and

Kadapa Feeder Road Kadapa Feeder Expressway is a proposed greenfield expressway road in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is being built by the National Highways Authority of India under Phase–VII of National Highways Development Project. The project ...

s is an ongoing greenfield expressway project, which would provide faster road access from the districts of

Anantapur Anantapur, officially Anantapuramu, is a city in Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Anantapuru mandal and also the divisional headquarters of Anantapur revenue division. The city is loca ...

, Kadapa,

and Prakasam to Amaravati, Rajamahendravaram,

Kakinada Kakinada ( formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the sixth largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the district headquarters of the Kakinada District. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. J. ...

, and

. The Amaravati seed capital road is an arterial road under construction to access the core capital area from

National Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia - Thompsons Road (Victoria) - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: *Yellowhead H ...

. The Vijayawada-Amaravati road connects the city with Vijayawada.

Railways

A proposed Amaravati high-speed circular railway line would connect the city with the nearby cities of

and

, extending up to a length of with an estimated cost of .And a metro rail project is proposed between the cities of Tenali, Guntur, and Vijayawada of 100 km circular corridor.

Sports

ACA International Cricket Stadium

ACA cricket stadium at Mangalagiri (April 2019) 5

ACA International Cricket Stadium ACA International Cricket Stadium (also known as Andhra Cricket Association International Cricket Stadium) is a cricket stadium under construction in the town of Mangalagiri which is the part of the Mangalagiri Tadepalle Municipal Corporation and ...

(also known as the Andhra Cricket Association International Cricket Stadium) is a stadium under construction at Mangalagiri in Amaravati. It is situated in

and will be spread over 24 acres. The stadium will be owned by Andhra Cricket Association and has a seating capacity of 40,000.

Amaravati International Sports Complex

The complex has been under construction at Vidyadharapuram on of land. It consists of two swimming pools of 50×20 metres and 20×20 metres, an outdoor synthetic track, a multipurpose indoor hall, and a Ground+2 clubhouse. This complex will be the new headquarters for the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP).

Events

F1H2O Grand Prix of India

From 16 to 18 November in 2018, Amaravati hosted the second (after

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

in 2004) F1H2O World championship Grand Prix ever held in India. The event brought wide media attention especially after one of the teams took the color and the name of the state, making it the first Indian branded team in the history of F1H2O. Team Amaravati led by drivers Jonas Andrson and Eric Edin.

First National Women's Parliament in Amaravati

Buddhist spiritual leader the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

participated in the First National Women's Parliament in Amaravati on 10 February 2017. He said, "Making Amaravati, the capital of new Andhra Pradesh is a welcome move and I wish it develops well on all fronts. This heritage city has undergone a lot of change over the years... The economy would flourish where there is peace".

Happy Cities Summit

The Happy Cities Summit Amaravati 2019 backed by APCRDA aims to build on the success and momentum of the inaugural summit to establish Amaravati at the forefront of the discourse on urban innovation with a focus on citizen happiness. Discussion of the Happy Homes project was underway after Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was elected Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 MLAs elected to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

has also successfully hosted the inaugural Happy Cities Summit in Amaravati in April 2018. The summit saw the participation of 1,500+ delegates from 15+ countries, including eminent city leaders and urban experts.

Notes

References

External links

Current affairs in Telugu

The master plan of the proposed capital region
including a map {{Navboxes, title=Articles related to Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, list={{Amaravati topics, Articles related to Andhra Pradesh Capital Region topics {{State and Union Territory capitals of India {{Andhra Pradesh Indian capital cities Planned cities in India 2015 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Palnadu district Cities in Andhra Pradesh Cities in Andhra Pradesh Capital Region