Etymology
The name ''Chennai'' is of Telugu language origin. It was derived from the name of a Telugu ruler, Damarla Mudirasa Chennappa Nayakudu, father of Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, a Nayak ruler who served as a general underHistory
Stone age implements have been found nearEnvironment
Geography
Chennai is located on the south–eastern coast of India in the north–eastern part of Tamil Nadu on a flat coastal plain known as the Eastern Coastal Plains. Its average elevation is around , and its highest point is . Chennai is south of Delhi, southeast of Mumbai, and southwest of Kolkata by road. Two major rivers flow through Chennai, the Cooum River (or ''Koovam'') through the centre and the Adyar River to the south. A third river, the Kortalaiyar, travels through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the Bay of Bengal, at Ennore. The estuary of this river is heavily polluted with effluents released by the industries in the region. Adyar and Cooum rivers are heavily polluted with effluents and waste from domestic and commercial sources, the Coumm being so heavily polluted it is regarded as the city's eyesore. A protected estuary on the Adyar forms a natural habitat for several species of birds and animals. The Buckingham Canal, inland, runs parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The Otteri Nullah, an east–west stream, runs through north Chennai and meets the Buckingham Canal at Basin Bridge. Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city. Some areas of the city have the problem of excess iron content in groundwater. Chennai's soil is mostly clay,Geology
Chennai is classified as being in Seismic Zone III, indicating a moderate risk of damage fromFlora and fauna
The southern stretch of Chennai's coast from Tiruvanmiyur to Neelangarai are favoured by the endangered olive ridley sea turtles to lay eggs every winter. A large number of cattle egrets, pondEnvironment conservation
Chennai has three rivers and many lakes spread across the city. Urbanization has led to the shrinkage of water bodies and wetlands. The quantity of wetlands in the city has decreased from 650 to only 27 currently. The Chennai River Restoration trust set up by the government is working on the restoration of Adyar river. Environmentalist Foundation of India is a volunteering group working towards wildlife conservation and habitat restoration. The encroachment of urban development on wetlands has gravely hampered the city's sustainability, and contributed both to the city's floods in 2015 and water scarcity crisis in 2019.Climate
Chennai has a dry-summer tropical wet and dry climate under the ( Köppen climate classification). The city lies on the thermal equator and is also on the coast, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature. The hottest part of the year is late May to early June, known regionally as ''Agni Nakshatram'' ("fire star") or as ''Kathiri Veyyil'', with maximum temperatures around . The coolest part of the year is January, with minimum temperatures around . The lowest recorded temperature was on 11 December 1895 and 29 January 1905. The highest recorded temperature was on 31 May 2003. The average annual rainfall is about . The city gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north–east monsoon winds, from mid–October to mid–December.NE monsoon
The city of Chennai is located on the east coast of India, which is also known as the Coromandel Coast. Chennai is largely dependent on NE monsoon, since 65% of rains are received in this season. Cyclones and depressions are common features during the season. Cyclones, in particular, are especially unpredictable. They may even move towards Orissa, west Bengal, Bangladesh, and alsoLand usage
As of 2018, the city had a green cover of 14.9 percent, against the World Health Organization recommendation of 9 square metres of green cover per capita in cities. The city had a built-up area of 71 percent. Waterbodies cover an estimated 6 percent of the total area, and at least 8 percent of the area has classified as open space. As of 2017, the total volume of water harvested was 339 mcft and groundwater recharge was 170 mcft.Administration
Chennai city is governed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (formerly "Corporation of Madras"), which was established in 1688. It is the oldest surviving municipal corporation in India and the second oldest surviving corporation in the world. In 2011, the jurisdiction of the Chennai Corporation was expanded from to an area of , dividing into three regions—North, South and Central, which covers 200 wards. The corporation is headed by a mayor, an office presently occupied by Priya Rajan. The Mayor and councillors of the city are elected through a popular vote by the residents. While the city limit was expanded in 2011, the revised population is yet to be officially announced. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the nodal agency responsible for planning and development of Chennai Metropolitan Area, which is spread over an area of , covering the Chennai district and parts of Tiruvallur,Law and order
The Greater Chennai Police is the main law enforcement agency in the city, with a jurisdiction of over catering to over 8.5 million people. It consists of 121 police stations and is headed by a commissioner of police. The Greater Chennai Police is a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, and the administrative control lies with the Tamil Nadu Home Ministry. Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP) is responsible for the traffic management in the city. The metropolitan suburbs are policed by the Chennai Metropolitan Police, headed by the Chennai Police Commissionerate, and the outer district areas of the CMDA are policed by thePolitics
Since the 19th century, when Western scholars proposed that Dravidian languages, which dominated the southern region of India, formed a different linguistic group to that of the Indo-Aryan languages that are predominant in the north of the subcontinent, the aspects of Tamil nationalism gained prominence. This resulted in the Anti-Hindi agitations in the city and across the state. However, the post- Independence re-organisation of Indian states according to linguistic and ethnic basis has moderated Tamil nationalism, especially the demand for separation from the Indian Union. The Anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made the DMK more popular and more powerful political force in the state. The agitations of the 1960s played a crucial role in the defeat of the Tamil Nadu Congress party in the 1967 elections and the continuing dominance of Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu politics. Being the capital of the Madras Province that covered a vast area of the Deccan region, Chennai remained the centre of politics in the southern region of India during the British colonial era. After Independence, it remained the centre of political activities of the state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the birthplace of the idea of the Indian National Congress, commonly known as the Congress Party. Founded by Indian and British members of the Theosophical Society movement, most notablyUtility services
The city's water supply and sewage treatment are managed by the Chennai MetroWater Supply and Sewage Board. Water is drawn from Red Hills Lake and Chembarambakkam Lake, the primary water reservoirs of the city, and treated at water treatment plants located at Kilpauk, Puzhal, Chembarambakkam and supplied to the city through 27 water distribution stations. The city receives 530 million liters per day (mld) of water from Krishna River through Telugu Ganga project, 180 mld of water from theArchitecture
With the history of many neighbourhoods of the city such as Mylapore, Triplicane, and Tiruvanmiyur antedating that of the city itself, the architecture of Chennai ranges in a wide chronology. The oldest buildings in the city date from the 7th and 8th centuries CE, which include the Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore and the Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane, built in the Dravidian architecture. This architecture includes various styles, such as those of the Pallavas, theDemographics
Population
A resident of Chennai is called a ''Chennaite''. According to 2011 census, the city had a population of 4,646,732, within an area of 174 square kilometres administered by the Municipal Corporation, working out a population density of 26,705 persons per square kilometre; that had 11 lakh households, with 51% of them living in rented houses. The city's limits were expanded later in 2011 to 426 square kilometres and its population reached 7,088,000, resulting in a population density of 16,639 persons per square kilometre, with Chennai Municipal Corporation being renamed as Greater Chennai Corporation. As of 2019, 712,000 families live below poverty line, which is about 40 percent of the 1.788 million families in the city.Languages
Tamils form the majority of Chennai's population. English is spoken largely by white-collar workers, often mixed into Tamil. In 2001, out of the 2,937,000 migrants (33.8% of its population) in the city, 61.5% were from other parts of the state, 33.8% were from rest of India and 3.7% were from outside the country. As per the 2001 census, the number of speakers mother tongue wise are as follows, Tamil is spoken by 3,424,107 (78.8%), followed byReligion and ethnicity
Chennai, along withHousing
In a 2013 survey titled 'Emerging trends in real estate in Asia Pacific 2014', Chennai emerged in the top 25 real estate destinations list in the Asia Pacific region. The city ranked 22nd in the list. There are about 1,240 slums in Chennai home to about 900,000 people. Per 2011 census, there are 1.1 million households in the city and the residential housing stock available is 1,150,000 – a surplus of about 50,000 houses. About 43,700 of them are kept vacant. In the suburbs of Chennai located in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, the figures of vacant houses 56,000 and 71,000, respectively. Of the existing housing stock in the city, about 200,000 houses are not in good condition, necessitating either to rebuild or build new units. About 26,000 households live in houses without any room and another 427,000 families (with an average size of five members) live in small dwelling units with only one room. An earlier estimate shows that there is a need to generate about 420,000 units for low-income groups by 2016. , an estimated population of 11,116 (0.16 percent) were homeless. Per Supreme Court guidelines, the city needs 65 shelters for the homeless. However, it has only 15, of which eight are functioning and two are under renovation. As of 2017, there are more than 2.2 million households, with 40 percent of the residents not owning a house.Arts and culture
Museums and art galleries
Chennai is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The city also has one of the oldest museums and art galleries in the country Government Museum, Chennai and The National Art Gallery (Chennai), established in the early 18th century. The city also hosts two art festivals annually. The "Fort Museum" inside the premises of Fort St. George is an important museum having a noteworthy collection of objects of the British era in its collection. The museum is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India and has in its possession, the firstMusic and performing arts
Chennai is a major centre for music, art and culture in India. The city is known for its classical dance shows. In 1930, for the first time in India, Madras University introduced a course of music, as part of the Bachelor of Arts curriculum. The '' Madras Music Season'', initiated by Madras Music Academy in 1927, is celebrated every year during the month of December. It features performances of traditional Carnatic music by many artists in and around the city. The main folk music in Chennai is Gaana, a combination of various folk musics sung mainly sung in the working-class area of North Chennai. An arts festival called the Chennai Sangamam, which showcases not only various art of Tamil Nadu, but also from the neighbouring states, like ''kalari'' (from Kerala), which is a major attraction, is held in January every year. The Speciality of Chennai Sangamam is that the various programmes are held near or at the various famous landmarks in the city so that everyone in the city has access to the programmes and there is no fee charged for entry for any of the programmes. ''Pookolam'', a form of art that uses coloured flour to create patterns and designs, comes from Kerala, but can be seen in abundance at the time of Onam. The city has a diverse theatre scene and is one of the important centres for Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu and is the oldest dance of India. An important cultural centre for Bharata Natyam isCityscape
Chennai is divided into four broad regions: North, Central, South, and West. North Chennai is primarily an industrial area. South Chennai and West Chennai, previously mostly residential, are fast becoming commercial, home to a growing number of information technology firms, financial companies and call centres. The city is expanding quickly along the Old Mahabalipuram Road and the Grand Southern Trunk Road ( GST Road) in the south and towards Ambattur, Koyambedu and Sriperumbdur in the west. Central Chennai comprises residential elements, but is primarily home to the downtown area, and surrounding areas, the most visited by travellers to the city. The financial district is also located here.Economy
Recent estimates of the economy of the entire Chennai Metropolitan Area range from $78.6 to $86 billion ( PPP GDP), ranking it from List of cities by GDP, fourth- to sixth-most productive metro area of India. * * * Chennai has a broad industrial base in the automobile, computer, technology, hardware manufacturing and healthcare sectors. , the city is India's second-largest exporter of information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. A major part of India's automobile industry is located in and around the city thus earning it the nickname "Detroit of India". Known as the "Gateway of South India", Chennai is the third-most visited city in India by international tourists according to Euromonitor. The city is also called the Cultural Capital of South India. The city was home to the Madras Stock Exchange, India's fourth stock exchange, one of four permanently recognised by SEBI, and India's third-largest by trading volume, ranked behind the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. Industrialisation in the city dates back to the 16th century, when textile mills manufactured goods which were exported to British during its war with France. According to ''Forbes'' magazine, Chennai is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world and is ranked among the "Forbes-Top 10 Fastest Growing Cities in the World". It is ranked 4th in hosting the maximum number of ''Fortune'' 500 companies of India, next only to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. It also is home to 24 Indian companies having a net worth of more than US$1 billion. , the city has about 34,260 identified companies in its 15 zones, of which 5,196 companies have a paid-up the capital of over 50 lakh. Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, health care and financial services industries. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, Chennai is estimated to grow to a US$100 billion economy, 2.5 times its present size, by 2025. , with 1 lakh crore investment in the pipeline over 5 years, the city is poised for major industrial investment. Chennai is classified as a global city by GaWC, with a ranking of Beta based on the extent of global reach and financial influence. It is estimated that about 400 financial industry businesses are headquartered in the city, half of which are located in the areas of Mylapore, R. A. Puram, Nungambakkam and T. Nagar. The city is base to around 40 percent of India's automobile industry and 45 percent of auto components industry. A large number of automotive companies including Royal Enfield (India), Royal enfield, Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai, Renault, Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch, Nissan Motors, Ashok Leyland, Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha Motor, Daimler AG, Caterpillar Inc., Komatsu Limited, BharatBenz, Ford Motor Company, Ford, BMW, Citroën and Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi have manufacturing plants in Chennai. The Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi produces military vehicles, including India's main battle tank: ''Arjun MBT''. The Integral Coach Factory manufactures railway coaches and other rolling stock for Indian Railways. The Ambattur#Ambattur Industrial Estate, Ambattur–Padi industrial zone houses many textile manufacturers, and a special economic zone (SEZ) for apparel and footwear manufacturing has been set up in the southern suburbs of the city. Chennai contributes more than 50 percent of India's leather exports. Many software and software services companies have development centres in Chennai, which contributed 14 percent of India's total software exports of 14,42,140 lakh during 2006–07, making it the second largest Indian city software exporter following Bangalore. The Tidel Park in Chennai was billed as Asia's largest IT park when it was built. Major software companies have their offices set up here, with some of them making Chennai their largest base. Prominent financial institutions, including the World Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ABN AMRO, Bank of America, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, HSBC, ING Group, Allianz, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Asian Development Bank, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas Fortis, Irevna, Deutsche Bank and Citibank have back office and development centre operations in the city. Chennai is home to the national level commercial banks Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank and many state level co–operative banks, finance and insurance companies. Telecom and Electronics manufacturers based in and around Chennai include Samsung, Nokia Siemens, Motorola, Lenovo, Dell, Force10, Wipro, Flextronics and Siemens among others. Chennai is currently the largest electronics hardware exporter in India, accounting for 45% of the total exports in 2010–11. Telecom giants Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer and chemicals giant Dow Chemical Company, Dow Chemicals have research and development facilities in Chennai. The TICEL bio–tech park at Taramani and Golden Jubilee bio–tech park at Siruseri houses biotechnology companies and laboratories. The World Trade Center Chennai, World Trade Center complex is located at Perungudi on the southern side of the city. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, demand for investment-grade buildings in Chennai is high from IT companies. The average annual gross demand in Chennai is 4.5 million square feet. A study conducted by the National Housing Bank on the residential price index of Indian cities showed that Chennai experienced the highest growth after the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Medical tourism is an important part of Chennai's economy with 45 percent of total medical tourists to India making to Chennai. The Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry and the Tamil television industry are also significant parts of Chennai's economy. The city also has a permanent exhibition complex in Nandambakkam called the Chennai Trade Centre. It hosted the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet in 2019 which was a business summit organised by the Government of Tamil Nadu. With 385 ultra-rich living in the city as of 2013, Chennai is positioned in the sixth place among Indian cities that are home to the country's super-rich. The city is the third largest market in India for luxury cars.Banking and finance
The Reserve Bank of India ranked Chennai as third-largest deposit centre and third-largest credit centre nationwide as of June 2012. Prior to the advent of modern commercial banks, the banking services in the city were offered to the public by ''Nattukottai Chettiars'' or ''Nagarathars'', chiefly in and around the neighbourhood of George Town, who offered loans as well as accepted money deposits from the public, in addition to offering loans to the agricultural labourers. Even today, many of the banking offices are housed in heritage structures belonging to the colonial era that are chiefly clustered around Rajaji Salai, Chennai, Rajaji Road in George Town. Chennai is home to the first European-style banking system in India with the establishment of the 'Madras Bank' on 21 June 1683, almost a century before the establishment of the first commercial banks, such as the Bank of Hindustan and the General Bank of India, which were established in 1770 and 1786, respectively. Upon the recommendation of the British Finance Committee on the formation of a government bank, the Madras Bank, then known as the 'Government Bank', started functioning again from 1806. In 1843, the bank merged with the Carnatic Bank (1788), the British Bank of Madras (1795) and the Asiatic Bank (1804) and became the Bank of Madras, which was one of the three Presidency banks of India, the other two being the Bank of Bengal and the Bank of Bombay. In 1921, the three Presidency banks merged to form the Imperial Bank of India, which later became the State Bank of India in 1955. Chennai is the headquarters of the Indian Bank, the Indian Overseas Bank and the erstwhile Bharat Overseas Bank, which merged with the Indian Overseas Bank in 2007. The city is home to the Reserve Bank of India, South Zonal Office, south zonal office of the Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, along with its zonal training centre and Reserve Bank Staff College, one of the two colleges of the bank. The city also houses the World Bank office, Chennai, permanent back office of the World Bank, which is one of the largest buildings owned by the bank outside its headquarters in Washington, DC. The Chennai office handles corporate financial, accounting, administrative and IT services of the bank, in addition to several value-added operations of the bank that were earlier handled only in its Washington, DC office, including the bank's analytical work in bond valuation which is estimated to be US$100 billion. Several foreign banks have established their branches in the city. The first Sri Lankan Bank in India was established when the Bank of Ceylon opened its branch in Madras on 31 October 1995.Infrastructure
Communication
Chennai is one of four Indian cities connected to the rest of the world by Submarine communications cable, undersea fibre-optic cables, the other three being Mumbai, Kochi, and Tuticorin. The city is the Cable landing point, landing point of major submarine telecommunication cable networks such as SEA-ME-WE 4, SMW4 (connecting India with Western Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia), i2i (connecting India with Singapore), TIISCS, TIC (connecting India with Singapore), Bay of Bengal Gateway, BBG (connecting India with the Sultanate of Oman, Malaysia, the UAE, and Sri Lanka), Gulf Bridge International, and BRICS (submarine cable), BRICS (connecting India with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa). The 3,175-km-long, 8-fiber-paired i2i has the world's largest design capacity of 8.4 terabits per second. Work to lay a 2,300-km undersea optical submarine cable connecting Andaman and Nicobar Islands to mainland India through Chennai, carrying 100 Gbit/s optical waves, is slated to begin in December 2019 and completed by March 2020. It will connect Port Blair and the islands of Havelock Island, Havelock, Little Andaman (Hutbay), Car Nicobar, Kamorta Island, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, Andaman, Long Island and Rangat with Indian mainland. , eight mobile phone service companies operate seven GSM networks including Airtel, Aircel, BSNL, Vodafone, Tata Docomo GSM, Idea, Reliance GSM and three CDMA networks including MTS, Reliance CDMA, Tata Docomo CDMA in the city. 2G Mobile internet connections are provided by all the operators, and 3G and 4G mobile broadband are provided by few operators in the city. There are four land line companies providing commercial and domestic broadband Internet services. Chennai was the first Indian city to deploy Wi-Fi internet access in a widespread manner. , there were 9.8 million mobile phone users in Chennai. In 2010, Chennai had the fourth highest number of active Internet users in India, with 2.2 million users. As of 2018, the city topped in broadband speed among Indian cities, with a recorded download speed of 32.67 Mbit/s.Power
Major power plants in the city include North Chennai Thermal Power Station, GMR Vasavi Diesel Power Plant, Ennore Thermal Power Station, Basin Bridge Gas Turbine Power Station, Madras Atomic Power Station and Vallur Thermal Power Project. According to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), , the city consumes about 20 percent of the electricity in the state of Tamil Nadu. The peak evening demand of the city is 1,500 MW which is about 50 percent of the state's peak evening demand of 3,000 megawatt. This includes 37 percent consumption by the industrial sector, 30 percent by the domestic sector, 18 percent by the agricultural sector, and 11.5 percent by the commercial sector. The peak power consumption is for four months between May and August, with the city consuming the highest during June because it is when the summer peaks. On 20 June 2013, the city consumed the highest of 52,785 MU. , the city consumes around 3.83 crore units of power a day or 1,400 crore units annually. Hourly consumption of power in the city is about 2,000 to 3,000 MW. Availability of power in the city has become a concern in recent years due to increasing demand and slow-paced addition of power plants, due to which scheduled power cuts have become increasingly common. However, this situation was eradicated by the end of 2014. , the total electricity consumption by the street lamps in the city is 27 MW, costing about per month. The 426 sq km of the city has over 248,000 streetlights, including 88,000 in the newly expanded areas.Health care
Chennai is known for its advanced medical facilities, including both government-run and private hospitals. The government-aided hospitals include Government General Hospital, Chennai, General Hospital, Adyar Cancer Institute, Tambaram TB Sanatorium, TB Sanatorium, and National Institute of Siddha. The National Institute of Siddha is one of the seven apex national-level educational institutions that promote excellence in Indian system of medicine and Ayurveda. Major hospitals in Chennai include Apollo Hospitals, Apollo Hospitals, Apollo Speciality Hospital, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chettinad Health City, Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, MIOT Hospitals, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Fortis Malar Hospital, Lifeline Hospitals, Vasan Healthcare, Dr Mehta Hospitals, Global Hospitals & Health City, Sankara Nethralaya and Vijaya Medical & Educational Trust. Chennai attracts about 45 percent of health tourists from abroad and 30 percent to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. The city has been termed ''India's health capital''. The city has more than 12,500 beds in its hospitals, including about 5,000 in multi-specialty hospitals in the private sector and over 6,000 beds in the public sector. This works to 2.1 beds per 1,000 population against the national average of less than one bed per 1,000 population and the World Health Organization's norms of three beds per 1,000 persons, higher than any other city in the country.Waste management
The city generates 4,500 tonnes of garbage every day of which 429 tonnes are plastic waste. The city has three dumpyards, one each at Perungudi, Kodungaiyur, and Pallikaranai. The corporation has planned to close these yards and create four new dumpyards at Malaipattu, Minjur, Vallur and Kuthambakkam villages, ranging in size from to . The civic body also spends 400 crore a year on solid-waste management.Tourism and hospitality
With temples, beaches and centres of historical and cultural significance, including the UNESCO Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram, Chennai is one of the most-visited cities in India. The city serves as the gateway to the South India, southern part of India with tourists landing in the city and then visiting the rest of the region. Chennai was the most-visited Indian city by foreign tourists in 2009 and issued the third-highest number of visas on arrival in 2014. In 2011, Chennai was ranked the 41st most visited city, with 3,174,500 tourists, a 14-percent increase from 2010. About 830,620 domestic tourists arrived in Chennai in March 2011. Chennai's leading tourist countries-of-origin are Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France and the United States. In 2015, the city received 4,243,700 foreign tourists, making it the third-most-visited city in India after Delhi and Mumbai and 43rd-most visited city in the world by foreign tourists. , the city had 21 List of hotels in Chennai, luxury hotels in the five-star category, with over 4,500 rooms in the inventory. The collective luxury room inventory across four- and five-star categories as of 2018 is around 7,000. About 85 percent of the room demand in Chennai comes from business travellers.Entertainment
Chennai is the base for Tamil cinema, sometimes nicknamed as ''Kollywood'', alluding to the neighbourhood of Kodambakkam where a number of film studios are located. Many film personalities have gone on to become politicians including C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. Chennai hosts major film studios, including AVM Productions, the oldest surviving studio in India. , there are 120 cinema screens and multiplexes. Major multiplexes include SPI Cinemas, Sathyam Cinemas, Escape cinemas, Devi and Mayajaal. Chennai's expansive theatre network stages many Tamil plays of many genres: political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama. English plays are popular in the city, along with the more common Tamil-language plays.Recreation
The zoo, beaches and wildlife parks form the primary recreation areas of the city. Chennai has a 19+ km coastline with its corporation limits. The city boasts two popular beaches, the Marina Beach, Marina and the Elliot's Beach, Elliot's. Marina Beach, The Marina spans between the deltas of Cooum and Adyar, and is the second-longest urban beach in the world. Elliot's Beach lies south of the Adyar delta. Covelong Beach lies along the Coromandal Coast.Shopping
Chennai is home to several malls, due to its status as an Information technology industry, IT hub. Major ones include Express Avenue, Express Avenue (EA), Chennai Citi Centre, Citi Centre, Abhirami Mega Mall, Abirami mega mall, Spencer Plaza, Ampa Skywalk, Phoenix Market City (Chennai), Phoenix Market City and Forum Vijaya Mall. Chennai is an important gold market in India contributing to 45 percent of the 800-tonne annual national gold uptake. The city is also the base to the World Gold Council's India operations. The city's retail industry is majorly concentrated in T. Nagar which accounts for major share jewellery and clothes sold in Chennai. According to the 2012 report by property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, ''Main Streets Across the World'', Khader Nawaz Khan Road at Nungambakkam ranked 10th position in the list of 'Top 10 Global Highest Retail Rental Growth Markets 2012', with 36.7 percent jump in rents.Transport
Air
The Chennai International Airport is the fourth-busiest in India in terms of passenger traffic behind New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It handled about 15.2 million passengers in 2013–2014; in terms of international passengers, Chennai is the third-busiest airport behind Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, and Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. Chennai handles 400 flights a day, again placing it fourth among Indian airports. The city is connected to major hubs across Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa through more than 30 national and international carriers. The existing airport is undergoing modernisation and expansion with an addition of , while a new greenfield airport is to be constructed at an estimated cost of 2,000 crore in Sriperumbudur on of land. The new airport is said to be likely to handle cargo spillover traffic from the existing one.Rail
Chennai hosts the Southern Railway headquarters, Chennai, headquarters of the Southern Railway (India), Southern Railway. The city has four main railway terminals. Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Chennai Beach and Tambaram. Chennai Central station, the city's largest, provides nationwide access, whereas Chennai Egmore provides access to destinations primarily within Tamil Nadu; however, it also handles a few inter–state trains. A fifth terminal has been proposed to decongest Chennai Central. The Chennai suburban railway network, one of the oldest in the country, facilitates transportation within the city. It consists of four broad gauge sectors terminating at two locations in the city, namely Chennai Central and Chennai Beach. While three sectors are operated on-grade, the fourth sector is primarily an Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System, elevated corridor, linking Chennai Beach toMetro rail
Chennai Metro is a rapid-transit system serving the city and was partially commenced on 29 June 2015. To improve the city's public transportation system and prepare the city for the future commuting needs, the Chennai Metro was planned and approved by the state cabinet during 2007 for which construction began on 2009. Phase I of the Chennai Metro network consists of the Blue Line and the Green Line covering a length of 45.1 kilometres (28.0 mi) consisting of 40 List of Chennai metro stations, stations with Alandur metro station, Alandur and Chennai Central metro station, Chennai Central serving as interchanges. 55% of the corridors in Phase I are underground and the rest are elevated. The first stretch of Phase I, covering seven stations from Koyambedu to Alandur over a distance of , began operation on 29 June 2015. As of March 2019, the entire Phase 1 stretching from Chennai Central railway station, Chennai Central to Alandur on the Green Line (Chennai Metro), Green line and Washermanpet to Chennai International Airport on Blue Line (Chennai Metro), Blue line are commercially operational, bringing the total operational network over 45 km. With this, the entirety of Phase I is operational. In December 2016, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) announced the Phase-2 of Chennai Metro for a length of 104 km consisting of 104 stations, subject to approval from the State and Central governments. The Phase 2 was subsequently approved in late 2018, with certain provisos, and soil testing for the various stations are in full swing with construction set to begin in late 2019/ early 2020. As of April 2019 ridership has risen considerably to around 100,000 daily commuters, post the inaugural of the entire Phase I. Phase I-A, which is an extension of the Blue Line (Chennai Metro), Blue line from Washermanpet to Thiruvottiyur is expected to be inaugurated by June 2020.Road
As of 2019, the city corporation maintains about 471 bus route roads and 33,0000 interior roads. The Chennai–Mumbai and Chennai–Kolkata prongs of the Golden Quadrilateral system of National Highway (India), National Highways start from the city. In addition, four major National Highway (India), National Highways (NH), namely, National Highway 4 (India, old numbering), NH 4 to Mumbai (via Bangalore and Pune), National Highway 5 (India), NH 5 to Kolkata (linked via National Highway 6 (India), NH 6) (via Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar), National Highway 45 (India), NH 45 to Theni (via Villupuram, Tiruchirapalli and Dindigul) and National Highway 205 (India), NH 205 to Madanapalle (via Tirupati (city), Tirupati) originate in the city, connecting it to other Indian cities. Chennai is connected to other parts of the state and the Union Territory of Puducherry by State Highway (India), state highways. The government has constructed grade separators and Overpass, flyovers at major intersections, and built Inner Ring Road, Chennai, Inner Ring Road and Outer Ring Road, Chennai, Outer Ring Road. The Anna Flyover, Gemini flyover, built in 1973, crosses over the arterial road, and eases the traffic movements towards Anna Salai and towards the Kathipara Junction, Kathipara Flyover. , according to the Transport Department, there were 25.8 lakh two–wheelers and 5.6 lakh four–wheelers in the city, and the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus fleet were 3,421, equaling 0.1% of all vehicles in the city. When opened, the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) was the largest bus station in Asia. It is the main intercity bus station of Chennai, administered by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, seven government-owned transport corporations, which operate intercity and interstate bus services. There are many private bus companies. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai), MTC provides an exclusive intracity bus service, consisting of 3,421 buses on 724 routes, which provides transportation to 55.2 lakh passengers daily. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates Volvo air-conditioned services from Chennai to nearby Pondicherry (city), Pondicherry, Vellore, Hosur and Trichy. The other means of road transport in the city include vans, regionally known as ''Maxi Cabs'', auto rickshaws, on-call metered taxis and tourist taxis. Chennai outer ring road is 62.3 km long connecting NH 45 (GST Road) at Perungalathur, NH 4 (GWT Road) at Nazarathpet, NH 205 (CTH Road) at Nemilicherry (Thiruninravur), NH 5 (GNT Road) at Nallur and TPP road at Minjur under the process by Chennai Metropolitan Area.Sea
The city is served by two major ports, Chennai Port, one of the largest artificial ports in India, and Ennore Port. Chennai Port is the largest in the Bay of Bengal, with an annual cargo tonnage of 61.46 million (2010–2011), and the second-largest container-hub in India, with an annual container volume of 1.523 million TEUs (2010–2011). The port handles transportation of automobiles, motorcycles and general industrial cargo. The Ennore Port with an annual cargo tonnage of 11.01 million (2010–2011), handles coal, ore and other bulk and rock mineral products. Royapuram fishing harbour is used by fishing boats and Kattupalli Shipyard near Ennore Port was inaugurated in January 2013.Media
Newspaper publishing started in Chennai with the launch of a weekly, ''The Madras Courier'', in 1785. It was followed by the weeklies ''The Madras Gazette'' and ''The Government Gazette'' in 1795. ''The Spectator'', founded in 1836, was the first English newspaper in Chennai to be owned by an Indian and became the city's first daily newspaper in 1853. The first Tamil newspaper, ''Swadesamitran'', was launched in 1899. First Telugu journal printed from Madras was ''Satya Doota'' in 1835 and ''Andhra Patrika'' found in 1908 was the most successful Telugu newspaper from Madras. The major English dailies published in Chennai are ''The Hindu'', ''The New Indian Express'', ''The Deccan Chronicle'' and ''The Times of India'' and many more. The evening dailies are, ''The Trinity Mirror'' and ''News Today''. , ''The Hindu'' was the city's most read English newspaper, with a daily circulation of 267,349. The major business dailies published from the city are ''The Economic Times'', ''The Hindu Business Line'', ''Business Standard'', ''Mint (newspaper), Mint'' and ''The Financial Express (India), The Financial Express''. The major Tamil dailies include the ''Dina Thanthi'', ''Dinakaran'', ''Dina Mani'', ''Dina Malar'', ''The Hindu (Tamil), The Hindu Tamil'', ''Tamil Murasu'', ''Makkal Kural'' and ''Malai Malar''. ''Malayala Manorama'' and ''Mathrubhumi'' are the major Malayalam dailies while major Telugu dailies include ''Eenadu'', ''Vaartha'', ''Andhra Jyothi'' and ''Sakshi''. If one types in ''Chennai'' in the input box and submits, the list is displayed. The one and only Hindi Newspaper published from Chennai is the ''Rajasthan Patrika''. The Local weekly Newspapers circulated to residents are T. Nagar Times, Pillar Times, Arcot Road Talk, Chrompet Times. Chennai's First Corporate Leisure Newspaper, ''The Shopping Express''. Magazines published from Chennai include ''Ananda Vikatan'', ''Kumudam'', ''Kalki (Tamil magazine), Kalki'', ''Kungumam (magazine), Kungumam'', ''Puthiya Thalaimurai'', ''Thuglak'', ''Frontline magazine, Frontline'' and ''Sportstar'' Doordarshan runs two terrestrial television channels and two satellite television channels from its Chennai centre, which was set up in 1974. Private Tamil satellite television networks such as Sun TV (India), Sun TV, Raj Network, Raj TV, Zee Tamizh, Star Vijay, Jaya TV, Makkal TV, Vasanth TV, Kalaignar TV, Captain TV and PuthiyaThalaimurai TV broadcast out of Chennai. The Sun Network one of India's largest broadcasting companies is based in the city. While the cable TV service is entirely controlled by the state government, direct–to–home (Direct broadcast satellite, DTH) is available via DD Direct Plus, Dish TV, Tata Sky, Videocon DTH, Sun direct DTH, Reliance Big TV and Digital TV. Chennai is the first city in India to have implemented the Conditional Access System for cable television. Radio broadcasting began in 1924 by the Madras Presidency Radio Club. The radio station at the Rippon Buildings complex was founded in 1930 and was then shifted to All India Radio in 1938. The city has four amplitude modulation, AM and 11 frequency modulation, FM radio stations operated by All India Radio, Anna University and Suryan FM, Radio Mirchi, BIG FM 92.7, BIG FM, Hello FM, Radio City (Indian radio station), Radio City, Radio One (India), Radio One among others.Education
Chennai is home to some of the best educational institutions in the country. The city ranks second among Indian metropolitan city centres with a 90.33 percent literacy rate. Chennai has a mix of public and private schools, some of which also receive financial support from the government. The public school system is managed by the Chennai Corporation with an enrollment of 142,387 students in over List of schools in Chennai, 330 schools. Tamil and English are the primary medium of instruction, though some schools also use Telugu and Urdu as medium of instruction in their schools. Public schools run by the Chennai Corporation are all affiliated with the Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, Tamil Nadu State Board, while private schools may be affiliated with either of the Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). A few schools are affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board or the Montessori, Montessori system. Education in Chennai starts with two years of Kindergarten from age three onward and then follows the Indian Education in India, 10+2+3 plan, ten years of school, two years of higher secondary education, and three years of undergraduate education. English is the medium of instruction in the majority of institutions for higher education. The University of Madras, founded in 1857, is one of India's first three modern universities. Colleges for science, arts, and commerce degrees are typically affiliated with the University of Madras, which has six campuses in the city. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and the College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University are two well-known centres for engineering education in the city. The Indian Army's Officers Training Academy is also headquartered in the city. Chennai has a plethora of libraries, including British Council Library, American Library, Connemara Public Library, and Anna Centenary Library. The Connemara Public Library is one of four National Depository Centres in India that receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in the country. The Anna Centenary Library is the largest library in Asia. Chennai has two Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR research institutions namely Central Leather Research Institute and Structural Engineering Research Centre. Chennai Book Fair, an annual book fair organised in Chennai by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI), is the largest exhibition for Tamil book publishers to display their books. The fair is typically held for about 10 days between the last week of December and the third week of January.Sports and recreation
Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. It was introduced in 1864 with the foundation of the Madras Cricket Club. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium established in 1916 is among the oldest cricket stadiums in India. The stadium was also one of the venues of the ICC Cricket World Cup, 1987,1996 and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cups. Chemplast Cricket Ground located at the IIT Madras campus is another important venue for cricket matches. Prominent cricketers from the city include former cricket captains Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, S. Venkataraghavan and Kris Srikkanth, Kris Srikkanth. A cricket fast bowling academy called the MRF Pace Foundation, whose coaches include T. A. Sekhar and Glenn Mcgrath, is based in Chennai. Being home to the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team Chennai Super Kings, the city hosted the finals of the IPL's Indian premier league 2011, 2011 and 2012 Indian Premier League, 2012 series. The city's professional Association football, football club Chennaiyin FC competes in Indian Super League, the country's top tier association football league associated with Asian Football Confederation, Asian Football Federation and recognized by FIFA. The club uses the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium nicknamed the Marina Arena as their home ground and are champions of the Indian Super League in 2015 and 2018. Chennai was the venue of the 1995 South Asian Games. Chennai is home to a World Series Hockey (WSH) team, the Chennai Cheetahs. The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium is associated with Field hockey, hockey and was venue for the international hockey tournament the 2005 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy, 2005 Men's Champions Trophy and the 2007 Men's Hockey Asia Cup, 2007 Men's Asia Cup. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is associated for hosting association football, Football and athletic competitions, it also houses a multi–purpose indoor complex for competition in volleyball, basketball and table tennis. Water sports are played in the Velachery Aquatic Complex. Tennis sport is popularising among the city youths, Since 1997 Chennai has been host to the only ATP World Tour event held in India, the Chennai Open which has been shifted to Pune as Maharashtra Open from 2017. Vijay Amritraj, Mahesh Bhupathi Ramesh Krishnan and Somdev Devvarman are tennis players from Chennai. Chennai is home to Chennai Slam, two-time national champion of India's top professional basketball division, the UBA Pro Basketball League. Madras Boat Club (founded in 1846) and the Royal Madras Yacht Club (founded by Francis Spring, Sir Francis Spring in 1911) promote the sailing sports in Chennai, and organise national and international sailing events. Automobile racing in India has been closely connected with Chennai since its beginnings shortly after independence. Motor racing events are held on a special purpose track in Madras Motor Race Track, Sriperumbudur, which has also been the venue for several international competitions. Formula One driver Karun Chandhok was born in Chennai. Horse racing is held at the Guindy Race Course, while rowing competitions are hosted at the Madras Boat Club. The city has two 18-hole golf courses, the Cosmopolitan Club (Chennai), Cosmopolitan Club and the Gymkhana Club, Chennai, Gymkhana Club, both established in the late nineteenth century. The city has a rugby union team called the Chennai Cheetahs. Home to the country's first FIDE titles#International Master (IM), international chess master, the first Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster, the first FIDE titles#Woman Grandmaster (WGM), female grandmaster, the first Arbiter (chess), international arbiter, and 12 of the 34 world chess grandmasters from India, Chennai is often dubbed "India's chess capital". Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand grew up and resides in Chennai. Other sports persons of repute from Chennai include table tennis players Sharath Kamal and two–time world carrom champion, Maria Irudayam. Chennai was the host of the World Chess Championship 2013 match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. In 2022, Chennai hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad, in which 1,400 players from across 187 countries will participate.City based teams
International relations
Foreign missions
The consular presence in the city dates back to 1794, when William Abbott was appointed US consular agent for South India. , there were 43 List of diplomatic missions in Chennai, foreign representations in Chennai, including consulates general, deputy high commissions and honorary consulates. The Consulate General of the United States, Chennai, American Consulate in Chennai is one of the top adjudication posts in the world and the number one in processing employment-based visas. It was ranked among the top globally in issuing 'L' and 'H' category visas for workers and professionals and was ranked eighth globally in terms of all category of visas being issued. The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which is the office of the field officers in charge of immigration and registration activities in the city, is located at Shastri Bhavan at Haddows Road.Twin towns – Sister cities
Chennai has Twin towns and sister cities, sister city relationships with the following cities of the world:See also
* Areas of Chennai * List of people from Chennai * Timeline of Chennai historyNotes
References
External links