Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to be the fifth fastest growing city in the world from 2019 to 2035 with an average growth of 8.41%. It has been proposed as one of the

Smart Cities A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return ...

in Maharashtra and is one of the top ten cities in India in Smart City Project execution. In the latest rankings of 100 developing smart cities given by the Union

Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

, Nagpur stood first in Maharashtra state and second in India. Known as the "Orange City", Nagpur has officially become the greenest, safest and most technologically developed city in the Maharashtra state. Nagpur is the seat of the annual winter session of the Maharashtra state assembly. It is a major commercial and political center of the

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of Maharashtra. In addition, the city derives unique importance from being an important location for the Dalit Buddhist movement and the headquarters for the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

organization

RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...

. Nagpur is also known for the

Deekshabhoomi Deekshabhoomi is a sacred monument of Navayana Buddhism located at Nagpur city in Maharashtra state of India, where Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, embraced Buddhism with approximately of his followers mainly scheduled caste peoples on Ashoka Vijaya ...

, which is graded an A-class tourism and pilgrimage site, the largest hollow

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 ...

among all the Buddhist stupas in the world. The regional branch of Bombay High Court is also situated within the city. According to a survey by

ABP News ABP News is an Indian Hindi-language free-to-air television news channel owned by ABP Group. The news channel was launched in 1998 originally as STAR News before being acquired by ABP Group. It won the Best Hindi News Channel award in the 21st ...

Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Pa ...

, Nagpur was identified as the best city in India topping in

livability Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

, greenery,

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

, and

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

indices in 2013. The city was adjudged the 20th cleanest city in India and the top mover in the western zone as per Swachh Sarvekshan 2016. It was awarded as the best city for innovation and best practice in Swachh Sarvekshan 2018. It was also declared as open defecation free in January 2018 under

Swachh Bharat Mission Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India in 2014 to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management. It is a restructured version of ...

. It is also one of the safest cities for women in India. The city also ranked 25th in Ease of Living index 2020 among 111 cities in India. It was ranked the 8th most competitive city in the country by the Institute for Competitiveness for the year 2017. It is famous for Nagpur oranges and is sometimes known as the Orange City for being a major trade center of oranges cultivated in large part of the region. It is also called the ''Tiger Capital of India'' or the ''Tiger Gateway of India'' as many tiger reserves are located in and around the city and also hosts the regional office of

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Re ...

. The city was founded in 1702 by the Gond King

Bakht Buland Shah Bakht Buland Shah was a ruler of the Rajgond dynasty. He added to his kingdom, the territories of Chanda and Mandla, and portions of Nagpur, Balaghat, Seoni, Bhandara and the adjoining Rajput kingdom of Kherla/Khedla. The present districts of ...

of Deogarh and later became a part of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

under the royal

Bhonsale The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest ac ...

dynasty. The

British 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 Southea ...

took over Nagpur in the 19th century and made it the capital of the

Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the B ...

. After the first re-organisation of states, the city lost its status as the capital. Following the informal Nagpur Pact between political leaders, it was made the second capital of

History

Etymology

Nagpur is named after the Great river Nag which flows through the city. The old Nagpur city (today called 'Mahal') is situated on north banks of the river Nag. The suffix ''pur'' means "city" in many Indian languages. One of the earlier names of Nagpur was "Fanindrapura". It derives its origin from the

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

word ''fana'' (फण; meaning hood of a cobra). Nagpur's first newspaper was named ''Fanindramani'', which means a jewel that is believed to be suspended over a cobra's hood. It is this jewel that lights up the darkness, hence the name of the newspaper.

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

claimed that both the city and the river are named after the 'Nags' who were opponents of the Indo-Aryans. During

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule, the name of the city was spelt and pronounced as "Nagpore".

Early and medieval history

Human existence around present-day Nagpur can be traced back 3000 years to the 8th century BCE. ''Mehir'' burial sites at the Drugdhamna (near the Mhada colony) indicate that the

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

culture existed around Nagpur and is still followed. The first reference to the name "Nagpur" is found in a 10th-century copper-plate inscription discovered at Devali in the neighbouring

Wardha district Wardha district (Marathi pronunciation: �əɾd̪ʰaː is in the state of Maharashtra in western India. This district is a part of Nagpur Division. The city of Wardha is the administrative headquarters of the district. Hinganghat, Pulgaon, Ar ...

. The inscription is a record of grant of a village situated in the Visaya (district) of Nagpura-Nandivardhana during the time of the Rastrakuta king Krsna III in the

Saka year The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...

862 (940 CE). Towards the end of the 3rd century, King Vindhyasakti is known to have ruled the Nagpur region. In the 4th century, the

Vakataka Dynasty The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the ...

ruled over the Nagpur region and surrounding areas and had good relations with the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

. The Vakataka king Prithvisena I moved his capital to Nagardhan (ancient name Nandivardhana), from Nagpur. After the Vakatakas, the region came under the rule of the

kingdoms of the

Badami Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

, the

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

. The

Paramara The Paramara dynasty (IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmara clan of the Rajputs. The dynasty was established in either th ...

s or Panwars of

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

appear to have controlled the Nagpur region in the 11th century. A ''

prashasti ''Prashasti'' (IAST: Praśasti, Sanskrit for "praise") is an Indian genre of inscriptions composed by poets in praise of their rulers. Most date from the 6th century CE onwards. Written in the form of poetry or ornate prose, the ''prashastis'' s ...

'' inscription of the

king

Lakshmadeva Lakshmadeva ( IAST: Lakṣma-deva) was a member of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa region in central India. According to one theory, he ascended the Paramara throne after his father Udayaditya, and reigned during the 1080s CE. According to another ...

(r. c. 1086–1094) has been found at Nagpur. Subsequently, the region came under the

Yadavas of Devagiri The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of t ...

. In 1296,

Allauddin Khilji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

invaded the Yadava Kingdom after capturing

Deogiri Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devagiri Fort or Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th century–14th century CE), for a br ...

, after which the

Tughlaq Dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...

came to power in 1317. In the 17th century, the

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 ...

conquered the region, however during Mughal era, regional administration was carried out by the Gond kingdom of Deogarh in the Chhindwara district of the modern-day state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. In the 18th century,

Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest a ...

s of the

established the

Nagpur Kingdom The Kingdom of Nagpur was an Indian kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. It came under the rule of the Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century and became part of the Maratha Empire. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the st ...

based in the city.

Modern history

The king who actually founded Nagpur was Bakht Buland Shah of Deogarh. An able administrator, he incentivised large-scale immigration of Marathi Hindu cultivators to increase economic activity. After Bhakt Buland Shah, the next Raja of Deogarh was

Chand Sultan Chand Sultan (1706-1739) was a Muslim king of Nagpur. He was the eldest son and successor of Bakht Buland Shah of Deogarh. He ascended the throne of Deogarh in 1706 and shifted his capital from Deogarh to Nagpur. He carried out further reforms i ...

, who resided principally in the country below the hills, fixing his capital at Nagpur, which he turned into a walled town. On Chand Sultan's death in 1739, Wali Shah, an illegitimate son of Bakht Buland, usurped the throne and Chand Sultan's widow invoked the aid of the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

leader Raghoji Bhosale of Berar in the interest of her sons Akbar Shah and Burhan Shah. The usurper was put to death and the rightful heirs placed on the throne. After 1743, a series of Maratha rulers came to power, starting with Raghoji Bhosale, who conquered the territories of Deogarh,

Chanda Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of Metre (poetr ...

and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

by 1751. Nagpur was burnt substantially in 1765 and again partially in 1811 by marauding

Pindari The Pindaris were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal army, later the Maratha army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817� ...

s. However, the development of the city of Nagpur continued. In 1803 Raghoji II Bhosale joined the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

against the

in the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...

, but the British prevailed. After Raghoji II's death in 1816, his son Parsaji was deposed and murdered by Mudhoji II Bhosale. Despite the fact that he had entered into a treaty with the British in the same year, Mudhoji joined the Peshwa in the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha te ...

in 1817 against the British but suffered a defeat at Sitabuldi in present-day Nagpur. The fierce battle was a turning point as it laid the foundations of the downfall of the

Bhosale The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest ac ...

s and paved the way for the British acquisition of Nagpur city. Mudhoji was deposed after a temporary restoration to the throne, after which the British placed Raghoji III Bhosale, the grandchild of

Raghoji II Raghuji Bhonsale II (died 22 March 1816) or Raghuji II Bhonsale was the Maratha ruler of the Kingdom of Nagpur in Central India from 1788 to 1816. Reign Raghuji was adopted as an infant by his uncle Janoji Bhonsle to be his chosen heir. Janoj ...

, on the throne. During the rule of Raghoji III (which lasted until 1840), the region was administered by a British resident. In 1853, the British took control of Nagpur after Raghoji III died without leaving an heir. Nagpur

From 1853 to 1861, the

Nagpur Province Nagpur Province was a province of British India that covered parts of the present-day states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the province. In 1861, Nagpur Province was merged into the C ...

(which consisted of the present Nagpur region,

Chhindwara , other_name = Corn city , nickname = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , p ...

, and

) became part of the

and came under the administration of a commissioner under the British central government, with Nagpur as its capital. Berar was added in 1903. The advent of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP) in 1867 spurred its development as a trade centre.

Tata group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...

started its first textile mill at Nagpur, formally known as Central India Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. The company was popularly known as "Empress Mills" as it was inaugurated on 1 January 1877, the day queen

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

was proclaimed Empress of India. The

non-co-operation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.K. B. Hedgewar Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1 April 1889 – 21 June 1940), also known by his moniker Doctorji, was an Indian physician and the founding ''Sarsanghachalak'' (or "Chief") of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Hedgewar founded the RSS in Nagpur ...

, who in 1925 founded the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family" ...

(RSS), a Hindu nationalist organisation in Mohitewada Mahal, Nagpur with an idea of creating a Hindu nation. After the 1927 Nagpur riots RSS gained further popularity in Nagpur and the organisation grew nationwide.

After Indian independence

After India gained independence in 1947,

became a province of India. In 1950, the Central Provinces and Berar was reorganised as the Indian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

with Nagpur as its capital. When the Indian states were reorganised along the linguistic lines in 1956, Nagpur and Berar regions were transferred to the

state of Bombay Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding S ...

, which was split into the states of

and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in 1960. At a formal public ceremony held on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur,

and his supporters converted to

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 gra ...

, which started the Dalit Buddhist movement that is still active. In 1994, the city of Nagpur witnessed its most violent day in modern times: in the Gowari stampede, police fired on

Gowari Gowari is an Indian caste of cattleman or herdsmen, predominantly living in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The number of scheduled tribal groups in India is more than 700. In which Gowari was also kept. In the censuses conducted ...

protestors demanding Scheduled Tribe status and caused a mass panic. Nagpur completed 300 years of establishment in the year 2002. A big celebration was organised to mark the event.

Geography

Topography

Nagpur is located at the exact centre of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, close to the geometric center of the quadrilateral connecting the four major metros of India, viz.

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

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 second- ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. The city has the Zero Mile Stone locating the geographical centre of India, which was used by the British to measure all distances within the Indian subcontinent. The city lies on the

Deccan plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

of the Indian subcontinent and has a mean altitude of 310.5 meters above sea level. The underlying rock strata are covered with alluvial deposits resulting from the flood plain of the Kanhan River. In some places, these give rise to granular sandy soil. In low-lying areas, which are poorly drained, the soil is alluvial clay with poor permeability characteristics. In the eastern part of the city, crystalline

metamorphic rocks Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

such as gneiss, schist and granites are found, while in the northern part yellowish sandstones and clays of the lower

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

formations are found. Nagpur city is dotted with natural and artificial lakes. The largest lake is

Ambazari Lake Ambazari lake ( Marathi : अंबाझरी तलाव) is situated near the Southwest border of Nagpur, in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the 11 lakes in Nagpur and is the largest lake in the city. The Nag River of Nag ...

. Other natural lakes include

Gorewada Lake Gorewada Lake (gore-wada) means “gore” Britishers “wada” spot is an artificial lake made by Britishers is situated on the north-west corner of Nagpur city. It is created with a dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the fl ...

and Telankhedi lake. Sonegaon and Gandhisagar Lakes are artificial, created by the city's historical rulers. Nag river, Pilli Nadi, and nallas form the natural drainage pattern for the city. Nagpur is known for its greenery and was adjudged the cleanest and second greenest in India after

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

in 2010.

Climate

Nagpur has

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(''Aw'' in

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

) with dry conditions prevailing for most of the year. It receives about 163 mm of rainfall in June. The amount of rainfall is increased in July to 294 mm. Gradual decrease of rainfall has been observed from July to August (278 mm) and September (160 mm). The highest recorded daily rainfall was 304 mm on 14 July 1994. Summers are extremely hot, lasting from March to June, with May being the hottest month. Winter lasts from November to February, during which temperatures drop below 10 °C (50 °F). The highest recorded temperature in the city was 47.9 °C on 29 May 2013, while the lowest was 3.5 °C on 29 December 2018.

Extreme weather

The average number of

heat wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

days occurring in Nagpur in the summer months of March, April and May is 0.5, 2.4 and 7.2 days, respectively. May is the most uncomfortable and hottest month with, for example, 20 days of heat waves being experienced in 1973, 1988 and 2010. The summer season is characterised by other severe weather activity like

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transporte ...

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

storms and

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

s. Generally, hailstorms occur during March and dust storms during March and April. These occur infrequently (1 per 10 days). Squalls occur more frequently with 0.3 per day in March and April rising to 0.8 per day in May. Due to the heat waves in the city the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...

with the help of New York-based National Resources Defense Council has launched a heat wave program since March 2016.

Administration

Vidhan Bhavan (State Legislative Assembly) Nagpur - panoramio

Nagpur was the capital of

for 100 years. After the State Reorganisation in 1956, Nagpur and

region become part of the new Maharashtra State. With this Nagpur lost the capital status and hence a pact was signed between leaders, the Nagpur Pact. According to the pact, one session of state legislature and the state legislative council takes place in

Vidhan Bhavan, Nagpur Vidhan Bhavan, Nagpur is the building in the Civil lines locality of Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra state of India, where Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature is held. The foundation stone of the building was laid in 1912 ...

.Usually the winter session takes place in the city exception being in 1966, 1971 and 2018 when the monsoon session took place in the city. Nagpur has a district court and its own bench of the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ol ...

which was established on 9 January 1936. The city consists of six

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...

constituencies namely Nagpur West, Nagpur South, Nagpur South West, Nagpur East, Nagpur North and Nagpur Central. These constituencies are part of the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency.

Local government

The Municipal Council for Nagpur was established in 1864. At that time, the area under the jurisdiction of the Nagpur Municipal Council was 15.5 km² and the population was 82,000. The duties entrusted to the Nagpur Municipal Council were to maintain cleanliness and arrange for street lights and water supply with government assistance. The Municipal Corporation came into existence in March 1951. Nagpur is administered by the

Nagpur Municipal Corporation Nagpur Municipal Corporation is the municipal body administering Nagpur, in Maharashtra state in Central India. History Nagpur Municipal Council was established in 1864. At that time, Nagpur Municipal Council's geographical area was 15.5 ...

(NMC), which is a democratically elected civic governing body. The Corporation elects a Mayor who along with a Deputy Mayor heads the organisation. The mayor carries out the activities through various committees such as the Standing Committee, health and sanitation committee, education committee, water works, public works, public health and market committee. Since January 2021, the mayor of Nagpur is Dayashankar Tiwari, The administrative head of the corporation is the Municipal Commissioner, an

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

(IAS) officer appointed by the state government. The Municipal Commissioner along with the Deputy Municipal Commissioners, carry out various activities related to engineering, health and sanitation, taxation and its recovery. Various departments such as public relations, library, health, finance, buildings, slums, roads, street lighting, traffic, establishment, gardens, public works, local audit, legal services, waterworks, education, octroi and fire services manage their specific activities. The activities of NMC are administered by its zonal offices. There are 10 zonal offices in Nagpur – Laxmi Nagar, Dharampeth, Hanuman Nagar, Dhantoli, Nehru Nagar, Gandhi Baugh, Sataranjipura, Lakkadganj, Ashi Nagar and Mangalwari. These zones are divided into 145 wards. Each ward is represented by a corporator, a majority of whom are elected in

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. NMC has various departments including healthcare, education, and a fire brigade dedicated for each service and project of the city.

Nagpur Improvement Trust Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) () is a local civic government body with the task of developing new areas within the city limits of Nagpur, India and maintaining existing city infrastructure. This trust works along with Nagpur Municipal Corporati ...

(NIT) is a local planning authority which works with the NMC and carries out the development of the civic infrastructure and new urban areas on its behalf. NIT is headed by a chairman, an

Officer appointed by the state government. Since the 1990s the urban agglomeration had rapidly expanded beyond the city's municipal boundaries. This growth had presented challenges for the future growth of the city and its fringes in an organised manner. With a view of achieving balanced development within the region, the

(NIT) was notified as the Special Planning Authority (SPA) for the Nagpur Metropolitan Area (NMA) and entrusted with the preparation of a Statutory Development Plan as per provisions of the MRTP Act, 1966. The notified NMA comprises areas outside the Nagpur city and includes 721 villages under 9 tehsils of the Nagpur District spreading across an area of 3,567 km². In 1999, the government of Maharashtra declared that the Nagpur Metropolitan Area shall comprise all of Nagpur city, Nagpur Gramin (rural areas near Nagpur),

Hingna Hingna is a town, tehsil and taluka in Nagpur district in Maharashtra state. Now Hingna is part of Nagpur Metropolitan Region and emerging as an industrial suburb of Nagpur city due to presence of various industrial developments. The Nagpur r ...

, Parseoni,

Mauda Mouda, (or Mauda) is a town and a Tehsil in the Ramtek subdivision of the Nagpur district in the Nagpur Revenue Division. It is situated in the Berar region in the state of Maharashtra, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hin ...

and

Kamptee Kamptee is a suburb of Nagpur city and a municipal council in Nagpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is part of the Nagpur metropolitan region development authority. It is the administrative center for Kamptee taluka. It i ...

Taluka 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 ...

and parts of

Savner Saoner is a city and tehsil headquarters in north part of Nagpur district in state of Maharashtra, India. The town is governed by Savner municipal council. It is from Nagpur city. Saoner is located on the bank of Kolar River. It is historically ...

Kalmeshwar Kalameshwar-Bramhani is a city and a municipal council also a major Industrial hub in Nagpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is connected to National Highways NH-353I, NH-353J & NH-547E. Demographics India census, Kalmeshw ...

Umred Umred is a town and a municipal council in the Nagpur district of Maharashtra, India. According to the 2011 census the city has a population of 53971. Geography Umred is located at 20° 51' 14N and 17° 19' 29E, at an elevation of 290 meters ...

and

Kuhi Kuhi is a town and a tehsil in the Umred subdivision of the Nagpur district in Nagpur, India. Kuhi is located 40 km from Nagpur District.Kuhi is two town areas. One is Kuhi and other is Bhojapur. It comes under the revenue division of Berar regi ...

. The boundaries of the "Metro region" around the municipal corporation limits of the city have been defined as per the notification. In 2002, the government extended the jurisdiction of the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) by 25 to 40 kilometres. This new area was defined under clause 1(2) of NIT Act-1936 as "Nagpur Metropolitan Area". Maharashtra State Cabinet in 2016 had paved the way for NIT to become Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) NMRDA was notified by the

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

in March 2017. NMRDA has been made on the lines of

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation oRegional Plan for MMRand the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The MMRDA was se ...

. NMRDA has been mandated to monitor development in the metropolis comprising 721 villages across nine tehsils in the district. The body is headed by Metropolitan Commissioner, an

Officer appointed by the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

as was with the NIT chairman. Currently, NIT is the planning authority for developing projects around the city in land owned by it. The Maharashtra government had appointed

Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...

(L&T) as the implementation partner to convert Nagpur into the country's first large scale, integrated,

smart city A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return ...

. The state government had also decided to develop the city complete with five hubs, from textile centres to defence sector. Nagpur was selected from

among other cities under Government of India's

Smart Cities Mission National Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Devel ...

. City was selected in the third round of selection. For the implementation of the projects under

a special purpose vehicle was formed which was named Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd. Nagpur Police is headed by a Police Commissioner who is of the rank of Additional Director General of Police of

Maharashtra Police Maharashtra Police (IAST: ''Mahārāṣṭra Polīs Sēvā'', formerly ''Bombay State Police'') is the law enforcement agency responsible for the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is headed by Director General of Police, Rajnish Seth (IPS), and h ...

. Nagpur Police is divided into 5 Zones, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, while traffic zones are divided into eight zones each headed by an inspector. The State C.I.D Regional Headquarter are situated in Nagpur. along with State Reserve Police Force Campus

Utility services

Originally, all the utility services of the city were carried out by NMC departments, but from 2008 onwards privatisation had started for major utility services. The Orange City Water Private Limited (OCW), a joint venture of Veolia Water India Pvt. Ltd and Vishwaraj Infrastructure Ltd., manages the water supply for the city as well as Nagpur Municipal Corporation's water treatment plants at Gorewada, all the elevated service reservoirs, ground service reservoirs, master balancing reservoirs commonly known as water tanks. This joint venture was established in November 2011 and was awarded the contract to execute 24x7 water supply project and operational and maintenance of waterworks for 25 years. Kanak Resources Management Ltd. was awarded the contract for garbage collection in the city as per Nagpur Bin Free Project in 2009 by NMC. It was replaced by AG Enviro Infra Project Pvt Ltd and BVG India in 2019. In

electricity supply Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

, which was first managed by

MSEB Maharashtra State Electricity Board (or MSEB) ( Marathi language, Marathi:महाराष्ट्र राज्य विद्युत मंडळ) is a Government of Maharashtra, state government electricity regulation board operating w ...

was then replaced by

MSEDCL Mahavitaran or Mahadiscom or MSEDCL (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. It is the largest electricity distribution utility in India (2nd largest ...

. After some years the distribution franchisee system was introduced to reduce the losses in the divisions and so Spanco Nagpur Discom Ltd.(SNDL) was awarded the distribution franchisee for 15 years to manage three of the four divisions from Nagpur Urban circle namely, Civil Lines, Mahal and Gandhibagh on 23 February 2011 by

. The power distribution and maintenance for the fourth division i.e. Congress Nagar division was still managed by

. As SNDL mounted losses it intimated

to takeover the franchises as it was unable to maintain the franchisee areas under it.

thus took over all the Nagpur urban circle areas as in September 2019. Nagpur Fire Brigade has nine fire stations at various locations in the city.

India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...

which is a governmental postal department has two head post offices and many post offices and sub-post offices at various locations in the city and are part of the logistics services in the city along with various other private operators.

Health care

NMC in collaboration with

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

and

Non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

conducts and maintains various health schemes in the city. City health line is an initiative started by NMC dedicated to the health of citizens of Nagpur. This includes providing computerised comparative information and action in the field to local citizens. NMC runs three indoor patient hospitals including Indira Gandhi Rugnalaya at LAD square, Panchpaoli Maternity Hospital in Panchpaoli and Isolation Hospital in Immamwada. Besides, the civic body runs three big diagnostic centres at Mahal, Sadar and also at Indira Gandhi Rugnalaya. Apart from these, NMC has 57 outpatient dispensaries (OPDs), including 23 health posts sanctioned under Union Government's schemes, 15 allopathy hospitals, 12 ayurvedic hospitals, three homoeopathy hospitals, three naturopathy hospitals and one Unani hospital. In 2013,

declared Nagpur the country's best city for health care services. The city is home to numerous hospitals, some run by the government and some private and consists of various super-specialty and multi-specialty ones. Recently various cancer speciality hospitals providing treatment until tertiary care for cancer patients have been established in the city making it a natural medical hub for nearby areas and boosting healthcare system in the city. Nagpur is a health hub for Central India and caters to a large geographical area arbitrarily bounded by Delhi in the north, Kolkata in the east, Mumbai-Pune in the west and Hyderabad in the south. People from

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

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 ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

regularly come to Nagpur for their health needs. Nagpur boasts of super-specialty physicians and surgeons serving its population in both public sector government-run hospitals and well equipped private hospitals catering to all strata of society.

AIIMS The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , Government of India. These institutes ha ...

has also been established in

MIHAN The Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) is an airport project for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. It is the biggest economical development project currently underway in India in terms of invest ...

, Nagpur. According to 2005 National Family Health Survey, Nagpur has a fertility rate of 1.9 which is below the replacement level. The infant

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...

was 43 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 50 per 1,000 live births. About 57% slum and 72% non-slum children have received all the mandatory vaccines which include BCG,

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

and full courses of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

and

DPT DPT may refer to: Science and medicine * Dpt (unit) (dioptre/diopter), most commonly a unit measuring refraction and power in a lens or curved mirror *Dermatopontin, a human extracellular matrix protein *Dipropyltryptamine, a psychedelic tryptamin ...

. In Nagpur, 78 percent of poor children are anaemic, including 49 percent who have moderate to severe anaemia. About 45% of children under five years of age and 31% of women are underweight. The poor people from the city mostly cite the reason of the lack of a nearby facility, poor quality of care and excessive waiting time for not visiting any government hospitals for treatment. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) of 2015-16 for Nagpur, households having improved drinking water source is 95.3%, households having improved

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

facility is 77.3% and households having

clean fuel Clean fuel may refer to type of fuel used for transport or a type of fuel used for cooking and lighting. With regards to cooking, the Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for ...

for cooking is 87.6%.

Health Insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

coverage among households in the city are 19.5%. Female sterilisation is more prominent than male sterilisation in Nagpur. Institutional births in the city is 97%. Children below 5 years who are anaemic are 43.50%, while women and men in the age group of 15 to 49 years who are anaemic are 45.00% and 21.20%, respectively.

Military establishments

Nagpur is an important city for the Indian armed forces. Maintenance Command of

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

has its current headquarters at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur. It houses

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition to ...

helicopters and the IAF carriers

IL-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commer ...

and handles the

maintenance, repair, and operations The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure, and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential install ...

of all aircraft, helicopters and other equipment. The ordnance factory and staff college of ordnance factory Ambajhari and National Academy of Defence Production for Group A officer of ordnance factories are in the western part of the city.

Sitabuldi Fort Sitabuldi Fort ( Marathi: सीताबर्डी किल्ला), site of the Battle of Sitabuldi in 1817, is located atop a hillock in central Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. The fort was built by the British after they won this area fo ...

is managed by the Uttar Maharashtra and Gujarat sub area hq.of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and citizens are allowed to visit the premises on Republic day, Maharashtra day and Independence day. The 'raison d'être' for Kamptee, the military cantonment, is still operational.

Cantonment houses the Officers Training Academy for National Cadets Corps, which is the only one of its kind. It is also the regimental centre of one of the oldest and most respected regiments in the Indian Army, the

Brigade of the Guards The Brigade of The Guards is a mechanised infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised as the first "all India", "all class" infantry unit of the Army where troops from all parts of India serve together, as opposed to other regiments that ...

. Guards, located at Kamptee, are the only regiment in the Indian Army which have won two PVC (

Param Veer Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...

), the highest gallantry awarded to soldiers for wartime operations. There are also other military establishments and a well equipped military hospital to care for the health of the armed forces personnel. The Army Postal Service centre is also operational in the cantonment since 1948, to provide training to personnel of Department of Post who volunteer themselves for the Army. Nagpur's

National Civil Defence College The National Civil Defence College,(abbreviated as NCDC) was formerly known as Central Emergency Relief Training Institute (CERTI), which was founded on 29 April 1957 in Nagpur district of Maharashtra in India. It is the first disaster management tr ...

provides civil defence and disaster management training to pupils from all over India and abroad. Indian Air Force's IL-76 transport planes nicknamed "Gajraj" are also based in Nagpur.

Demographics

Population

2011 census, Nagpur municipality has a population of 2,405,665. The total population constitute, 1,225,405 males and 1,180,270 females. The total children (ages 0–6) are 247,078, of whom 128,290 are boys and 118,788 are girls. Children form 10.27% of total population of Nagpur. The total number of slums number 179,952, in which 859,487 people reside. This is around 35.73% of the total population of Nagpur. The municipality has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

of 963 females per 1,000 males and child sex ratio of 926 girls per 1,000 boys. 1,984,123 people are literate, of whom 1,036,097 are male and 948,026 are female. Average literacy rate of Nagpur city are 91.92%. Men are 94.44% and women are 89.31% literate.

Religion

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

is the majority religion in Nagpur city with 69.46% followers.

is the second most popular religion in Nagpur city with 15.57% following it. Nagpur is famous for the Buddhist site of

. In Nagpur city,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

is followed by 11.95%,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

by 1.15%,

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

by 0.90% and

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

by 0.68%. Around 0.10% stated 'Other Religion' and approximately 0.20% stated 'No Particular Religion'.

Language

is the most-spoken language, spoken by 60.63% of the population.

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Chhattisgarhi Chhattisgarhi ( / ) is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken by approximately 16 million people from Chhattisgarh & other states. It is mostly spoken in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. It is closely related ...

(2.29%), Sindhi (1.79%),

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

(1.16%) and Punjabi (0.91%). There are also small numbers of

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 S ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and Gondi speakers in the city.

Economy

Nagpur is an emerging metropolis. Nagpur's nominal GDP was estimated to be around 1,406,860 million in 2019–20, making it the largest economic center in entire central India. Nagpur district has a per-capita GDP of 270,617 as of 2019-20 financial year, being the highest in the central India In 2004, it was ranked the fastest-growing city in India in terms of the number of households with an annual income of ₹10 million or more. Nagpur has been the main centre of commerce in the region of

since its early days and is an important trading location. Although, Nagpur's economic importance gradually declined relative to

and

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

after the merging of

into Maharashtra because of a period of neglect by the state government, the city's economy later recovered.

The city is important for the banking sector as it hosts the regional office of Reserve Bank of India, which was opened on 10 September 1956. The Reserve Bank of India has two branches in Nagpur, one of which houses India's entire gold assets. Sitabuldi market in central Nagpur, known as the heart of the city, is the major commercial market area. Nagpur is home to ice-cream manufacturer Dinshaws, Indian dry food manufacturer Haldiram's, Indian ready-to-cook food manufacturer Actchawa, spice manufacturer Suruchi International, Ayurvedic products company Vicco Group, Vicco and Baidyanath group, Baidyanath. and Explosives & Ammunition company Solar Industries. For centuries, Nagpur has been famous for its orange gardens in the country, hence the name "Orange City". Orange cultivation has been expanding and it is the biggest marketplace for oranges in the country. The Maharashtra Agro Industrial Development Corporation has its multi fruit processing division called Nagpur Orange Grower's Association (NOGA) which has an installed capacity of 4,950 MT of fruits per annum. Orange is also exported to various regions in the country as well to other countries. Nagpur is also famous for the cotton and silk which is woven by its large Koshta, Koshti population of handloom weavers which are around 5,000. Nagpur and the

region have a very prominent power sector as compared to the rest of Maharashtra. Koradi Thermal Power Station and Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station are two major thermal power stations located near Nagpur and operated by MSPGCL. NTPC Limited, NTPC has a super thermal power plant called Mauda Super Thermal Power Station in

around 40 km from Nagpur and Vidarbha Industries Power Limited (a subsidiary of Reliance Power) is situated at Butibori TCS Nagpur Campus

The Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur, Multi-modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) is an ongoing project for the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. The government of Maharashtra formed a special purpose entity, Maharashtra Airport Development Company, for the development of

Prominent Information Technology companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, TCS, Mahindra Satyam, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HCL, GlobalLogic, Persistent Systems, Infosys and Hexaware are located at various IT parks in Nagpur . Tata Advanced Systems, erstwhile TAL Manufacturing Solutions, has its facility in the Special Economic Zone, SEZ for manufacturing structural components for Boeing and Airbus. Air India, Air India Engineering Services Limited and AAR Corp, AAR-Indamer have their MRO Facility in the Special Economic Zone, SEZ. Dassault Aviation, Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) and Thales Group, Thales Reliance Defence System also have their manufacturing facilities in

. Pharmaceutical company Lupin Limited, Lupin also has its facility in the SEZ. Apart from

Special Economic Zone, SEZ the city has three prominent MIDC areas nearby. The Butibori industrial area is one of the largest in Asia in terms of area. The estate's largest unit is Indo Rama Synthetics, which manufactures synthetic polyester yarn. Other units in Butibori include the power transmission company Gammon India Limited (T & D), Gammon India Ltd. (Infra), KEC, Calderys, Calderys India, Unitech Power Transmissions Limited, ACC Nihon Castings Ltd and Electrolux. CEAT Tyres has its Tire, tyre manufacturing plant in Butibori The

industrial estate on the western fringes of the city is made up of around 900 small and medium industrial units. The major ones among them are the tractor manufacturing plant of Mahindra and Mahindra, casting units of NECO Ltd., Candico), Bharat Containers making aluminium aerosol cans Pix Transmissions, and Sanvijay Rolling & Engineering Ltd. (SREL).

MIDC has 164 industrial plots. JSW Steel, KTM Textile, ESAB India Ltd, ZIM Pharma Ltd, Metlok Pvt. Ltd., Unijuels life sciences, Chemfield Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd., Minex Injection Product Private Ltd., Minex Metallurgical Co.Ltd. and Porohit Textile are a few big names. Owing to rich natural resources in the region, mining is a major activity. Several government organisations related to the mining industry are based in Nagpur, which includes Western Coalfields, Western Coalfields Limited (one of the eight fully owned subsidiaries of Coal India Limited), MOIL (company), MOIL and Indian Bureau of Mines.

Education

Nagpur is a major education hub in Central India. There are two types of schools in the city. NMC (Government) run schools and private schools run by trusts. These schools follow the 10+2+3 plan, 10+2+3/4 plan (15 years of schooling leading to the first degree), the first ten years constituting school education consisting of four years primary level, three years of upper primary level and three years of high school level with a public examination at the end of tenth class and 12th class constituting the Secondary and Higher Secondary Board Examination, respectively. This is followed by either a general degree course in a chosen field of study or a professional degree course, such as law, engineering and medicine. These schools are governed by either of the following boards: Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Central Board of Secondary Education, Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and The International Baccalaureate (IB). Admission to professional graduation colleges in Nagpur is through Maharashtra Health and Technical Common Entrance Test, MHT-CET, Joint Entrance Examination – Main, JEE (Main), Common Admission Test, CAT, Common Law Admission Test, CLAT, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, GATE, Common Management Admission Test, CMAT, Graduate Management Admission Test, GMAT and National Eligibility and Entrance Test, NEET. Nagpur has four state universities: Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (founded in 1923 as Nagpur University, one of the oldest in the country and having more than 600 affiliated colleges), Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University, Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University and Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, Maharashtra National Law University. Hislop College established in 1883 is one of the oldest college in Nagpur, named after Scottish missionary Stephen Hislop (1817–1863), who was a noted evangelist, educationist and geologist. Vasantrao Naik Government Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (established in 1885 as Morris college) is an old college in the city. College of Agriculture is another old college in the city, founded in 1906 by the then British Government. It is one of the first five agriculture colleges in the country. Nagpur has four government medical colleges: Government Medical College (Nagpur), Government Medical College, Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur, Government Dental College and Government Ayurvedic College, and also a private MBBS institute, N. K. P. Salve Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center. Medical colleges in the city are affiliated to Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been established in 2018 and it has started its classes from Government Medical College (Nagpur), GMCH campus temporarily until its own campus gets constructed. VNIT Nagpur main

Most engineering colleges in the city are affiliated with Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (established 1942) is a chemical engineering and technology institute located in Nagpur and managed directly by Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. Government Polytechnic, Nagpur (established 1914) is one of the oldest polytechnic in India. Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, located in the city, is the only National Institutes of Technology, NIT in Maharashtra. Indian Institute of Information Technology, Nagpur, Indian Institute of Information Technology has been established as a PPP with Tata Consultancy Services, TCS and Ceinsys (erstwhile ADCC Infocad) as industry partners in 2016. Other prominent engineering colleges in the city include G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering Nagpur, Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management, Kavikulguru Institute of Technology and Science, KDK College of Engineering, Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering and Government College of Engineering, Nagpur, Government College of Engineering, Cummins College of Engineering for Women, Nagpur, Cummins College Of Engineering For Women, Nagpur. Nagpur has two major management institutes, Indian Institute of Management Nagpur, Indian Institute of Management established in 2015 and Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur, Institute of Management Technology, private management college, established in 2004. IIM, Nagpur initially started batches at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur, VNIT Campus since the construction of the IIM building was ongoing at Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur, MIHAN. Former President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated the permanent campus of IIM Nagpur on 8 May 2022. Symbiosis International University has its campus in the city which contains two of its institute namely Symbiosis Institute of Business Management and Symbiosis Law School. G.S. College of Commerce and Economics, established in 1945, is the first commerce institute in the region to get autonomous status. Nagpur also has other centrally funded institutes like National Power Training Institute, Central Institute for Cotton Research, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Central Power Research Institute, National Academy of Direct Taxes,

, National Research Centre for Citrus, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya is also a premier institute in the city. Nagpur also has an IGNOU and YCMOU regional centre.

Culture

Cultural events and literature

The city contains people from other Indian states as well as people belonging to the world's major faiths, and yet is known for staying calm during communal conflicts in India. Nagpur plays host to cultural events throughout the year. Cultural and literary societies in Nagpur include

Sahitya Sangh (for development of

Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (promotion and spreading

) and

Sahitya Sammelan (for promoting

). Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on

Literature were held twice in Nagpur city. Nagpur also hosts the annual Orange City Literature festival since 2019 and Vidarbha Literary Fest since 2020, featuring local and international authors. Nagpur is the head office of Aadim Samvidhan Sanrakshan Samiti (working for the rights of scheduled tribes). The South-Central Zone Cultural Centre also sponsors cultural events in Nagpur city, such as the Orange City Craft Mela and Folk Dance Festival,

which is noted for its numerous folk-dances such as the human tiger. Newspapers are published from Nagpur in Marathi, English and Hindi. In addition, the

organises a week-long Kalidas Festival, a series of music and dance performances, by national level artists.

in partnership with Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation organises Nagpur Mohotsav at Yeshwant Stadium, in which many distinguish artists participate. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation also organises the Orange City International Film Festival (OCIFF) annually, in association with Saptak, Pune Film Foundation, Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh, and Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU). The Nagpur Central Museum (est. 1863) maintains collections are mainly for Vidarbha region. Three brothers Ghulam Ali (Kotwal), Mohammad Saaduddin (Subedar) and Mohammad Saladuddin (Minister and Kotwal) from Jhajjar are remembered as great scholars of Urdu and Persian during the reign of Maharaja Senasaheb Subha Chhatrapati Raghuji Bapusaheb Bhonsle III. They founded 'Jhajjar Bagh' at Hansapuri (Now Mominpura). In this location, they built their residence 'Aina-e Mahal', a well and a Masjid (now Masjid Ahle Hadith). 'Jhajjar Bagh' also known as 'Subedar ka Bada' was located where nowadays Mohammad Ali Road at Mominpura, Jamia Masjid, Mohammad Ali Sarai and Furqania Madrasa are located. The state government has approved a new safari park of international standards besides

. In 2013 NMC erected the gigantic Namantar Shahid Smarak in memory of Namantar Andolan martyrs. The Orange City LGBT Pride March, Orange City LGBTQ Pride March is also held annually in Nagpur, along with the Nagpur LGBT Queer Carnival during the pride month

Religious places and festivals

, the largest hollow

or the largest dome shaped monument and an important place of the Dalit Buddhist movement, Buddhist movement is, located in Nagpur. Every year on the day of Vijayadashami, i.e. Dussehra, followers of B. R. Ambedkar, Ambedkar visit Deekshabhoomi to mark the Refuge in Buddhism, conversion ceremony of Ambedkar and his followers in Nagpur into

that took place on 14 October 1956. It has been given 'A' grade tourist place status by Maharashtra Government in March 2016. 14 April, which is the birthdate of Ambedkar, is celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti.

has a good presence in Nagpur. There are nearly 30 Jain temples. The old ones are Sengan Jain temple Ladpura, Parwarpura Jain temple, Kirana oli Jain temple, and Juna oli Jain temple. In west Nagpur Shri 1008 Shantinath Digamber Bhagwan temple is situated. Gonesh

The most famous temple in Nagpur is Tekdi Ganesh Mandir, and is said to be one of the Swayambhu ("self-manifested") temples in the city. Sri Poddareshwar Ram Mandir and Shri Mahalaxmi Devi temple of Koradi are important Hindu temples. Religious events are observed in the city throughout the year. Ram Navami is celebrated in Nagpur with ''shobha yatra'' with a procession of floats depicting events from the Ramayana. Processions are also held on important festivals of other religions such as Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din, Vijayadashami, Eid-e-Milad, Eid E Milad, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Durga puja, Ganesh Chaturthi and Moharram. Like the rest of India, Nagpurkars celebrate major Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi and Navrati, Dussera with enthusiasm. Celebrations lasting for several days are held on Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja (Hinduism), Puja festivals in virtually every small locality in the city. Tajdin

The city also contains a sizeable Muslim population, and famous places of worship for Muslims include the Jama Masjid-Mominpura and Bohri Jamatkhana-Itwari. The most famous shrine ''(dargah)'' of Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin is at Tajabad. Annual Urs is celebrated in great enthusiasm and unity on 26th of Muharram. Nagpur Is also called as Tajpur as the holy shirine of Sufi Saint Baba Tajuddin. The St. Francis De Sales Cathedral is located in Sadar as well as the All Saints Cathedral church. There are many south Indian temples in Nagpur like Sarveshwara Devalayam, where all south Indian festivals are celebrated like Sitarama Kalyanam, Radha Kalyanam Dhanurmasa celebration with Andal Kalyanam, Balaji temple in seminary hills where every year Bramhotsavam to Lord Balaji and Lord Kartikeya is celebrated here. There are 2 Ayyapa temples, one at Ayyapa Nagar and the other at Harihara Nagar, Raghvendraswami Mutt, Murugananda Swami Temple at Mohan Nagar, Nimishamba Devi temple Subramanyiam devastanam at Sitabuldi and many more such south Indian temples are here in Nagpur as there is quite a good populations of south Indians in Nagpur. Seminary Hill

Marbat Festival is a unique festival for Nagpur and is organised every year a day after the bullock festival of 'Pola'. The tradition of taking out the Marbat processions of 'kali' (black) and 'pivli' (yellow) Marbats (idols), started in 1880 in the eastern part of the city. A number of 'badgyas' (mascots), representing contemporary symbols of evil, comprise another feature of the annual processions. This festival dates back to the 19th century when the Bhonsla dynasty ruled. There is a Parsi Zoroastrian Agiary (Dar-e-Meher) in Nagpur, where the Parsi New Year is celebrated by the Parsi community in Nagpur.

Arts and crafts

The tradition of painting in Nagpur was patronised by the Royal House of the Bhonsle, Bhonsales as well as common people. Illustrated manuscripts, including of the Bhagavat, Jnaaneshwari, Shakuntala, and Bhagavad Gita, Geeta, and the folk patachitras related to some festivals are available besides murals. The community of artists was called (painters), and this community has today turned to sculpt. Textile was once an important industry in Nagpur. Good quality cotton was produced in abundant quantities thanks to a suitable soil and climate. With the introduction of the railways, cotton sales and goods transport flourished. Besides cotton textiles, silk and wool weaving was also practised in the district. Silk sarees and pagota, patka, dhoti, and borders were woven with the silk thread.

Cuisine

The Vidharbha region has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varhadi cuisine or Saoji cuisine. Saoji or Savji cuisine was the main cuisine of the Savji community. This traditional food is famous for its spicy taste. The special spices used in the gravy include black pepper, dry coriander, bay leaves, grey cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and ample use of poppy seeds. Non-vegetarian food especially chicken and mutton are commonly eaten in Saoji establishments in Nagpur. There are numerous ''Savji bhojanalays'' in Nagpur which are so popular in Maharashtra that the renowned Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor once featured Savji mutton on one of his TV shows and the recipe is listed on his website. Nagpur is also famous for its oranges, which have some typical qualities have recently begun to attract international attention. Numerous beverages are made out of the oranges. Santra Barfi is also a famous dish, arising from Orange (fruit), orange which is produced locally in Nagpur. Mominpura is a majority Muslim area of the city and it is famous for its Mughlai cuisine, Mughal dishes and Biryani. The city is also famous for rare black chickens called Kadaknath, ''Kadaknath Chicken'' which are cooked in varhadi style. Nagpur is also famous for ''tarri poha'', a variety of flattened rice, and has many food joints; each having their own way of preparing and serving it. Samosa, ''Samosas'' are also famous in Nagpur and is available at many restaurants and food spots. Another famous food is ''Patodi and Kadhi''.

Tourism

Tiger reserves

Nagpur is surrounded by many tiger reserves and acts as a gateway, hence called Tiger capital of India. Tiger reserves such as Pench Tiger Reserve is situated around 100 km from the city and can be reached through NH44 in Nagpur Jabalpur road. Tadoba National Park is situated south of the city and is around 141 km from the city. Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Navegaon National Park, Melghat, Melghat Tiger Reserve and Kanha Tiger Reserve are the other tiger reserves which are located at a radius of 200 km from the city. The city has its own reserved forest area at Seminary Hills and Gorewada Zoo, Gorewada.

Zoos, Gardens and Lakes

Maharajbagh zoo is an existing zoo which is located in the heart of the city near Sitabuldi and consists of a variety of animals. The zoo is going through fund crunches and does not have a proper plan for which the Central Zoo Authority had derecognised the zoo in November 2018. Its recognition has since been extended under the directions from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, MoEFCC. Gorewada Zoo is an upcoming international zoo project which is being set up beside

It is being jointly developed by Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra and Essel Group. The city consist of various natural and man made lakes. Khindsi Lake,

and

are the natural lakes of the city while Futala Lake, Shukrawari Lake, Sakkardara Lake, Zilpi Lake and Sonegaon lake are the man made lakes. Futala Lake is being redeveloped and the world'd second largest Lighting and Musical fountain is constructed in the lake. It will be available for a public show on tickets. The city also has various gardens which consist of Ambazari Lake, Ambazari Garden, Telankhedi Garden, Satpuda Botanical Garden, Japanese Garden and Children's Traffic Park.

Divyang Park

Virendra Kumar Khatik, Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social justice and Empowerment 26 August 2022 announced that the central government with the help of the state government will create Maharashtra's First ever "Divyang Park" and the procedure in this endeavor has started. This park will be peculiar and will have different types of facilities for Divyangjans such as textiles pathways, smell, and touch gardens, sensory gardens, Skill training facilities, sports, rehabilitation facilities, and infotainment.

Religious places

Nagpur boasts many religious structures that hold importance for differing religious beliefs.

and Dragon Palace are important religious places for Buddhists across India and the world.

is the place where B. R. Ambedkar with millions of his followers embraced

in the year 1956. Dragon Palace Temple is situated at

which is around from the city. It also has a state of the art Vipassana centre which was inaugurated by President of India Ram Nath Kovind on 22 September 2017. Other prominent religious structures include Ramtek, Ramtek Fort Temple at Ramtek which is a temple built inside a fort and is away from Nagpur, Adasa Ganpati Temple located near

is one of the eight Ashta Vinayaks in

, Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin, Baba Tajjuddin Dargah, Shri Shantinath Digambar Jain Mandir at Ramtek, Shree Ganesh Mandir Tekdi, located near Nagpur Railway Station and one of the Swayambhu temple of Lord Ganesha, Sai Baba Mandir at Wardha road, Telankhedi Hanuman Temple, List of Swaminarayan temples, Swaminarayan Temple, Koradi Temple, located at Koradi, Shri Poddareshwar Ram Temple, Balaji Temple, All Saints Cathedral and Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar.

Museums

Nagpur Central Museum, Painting Gallery, Oct 2019

The city also has some museums which are Nagpur Central Museum and Narrow Gauge Rail Museum. Raman Science Centre is a premium Science Centre of Central India, that has of late become a must see feature on the city's tourist landscape with many scientific experimental edutainment installations which also has a planetarium and a unique facility called the Science on a Sphere inside. Amusement parks such as Fun N Food Village, High Land Park, Fun Planet and Dwarka River Farms and Amusement Park are located in the city.

Sports

Nagpur is a big center for cricket in Vidarbha owing to the presence of the Vidarbha Cricket Association. Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) is the governing body of cricket activities in the

region in Maharashtra. It is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Nagpur is one of the few Indian cities that has more than one international cricket stadium, the older one being the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground situated in Civil Lines, and the new one, the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, inaugurated in 2008 is situated in Jamtha, Wardha Road on the outskirts of the city. Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium has been built on Wardha road with a seating capacity of 45,000 people at a cost of . It is one of the fifteen test cricket venues in the country. Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground has been the venue for the 1987 Cricket World Cup, 1987 Reliance World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup, 1996 Wills World Cup. Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium has been the venue for the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2016 ICC World Twenty20. The stadium also hosts certain matches of the Indian Premier League and had been the home city for the now defunct Deccan Chargers in the 2010 Indian Premier League, 2010 season and was also the home city for Kings XI Punjab along with Mohali in the 2016 Indian Premier League, 2016 season. Vidarbha Cricket Association also has a cricket academy at the main centre in Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground and three more centres. It also has its own cricket teams which play in various formats as mandated by Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI. The Vidarbha cricket team had won the Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup consecutively in 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, 2017-18 and 2018–19 Ranji Trophy, 2018-19 season. NPLNagpur

Vidarbha Hockey Association is a body governing field hockey in the Vidarbha, Vidarbha Region and is affiliated to Hockey India as an associate member. Vidarbha Hockey Association Stadium is the hockey ground owned and managed by Vidarbha Hockey Association. Nagpur District Football Association(NDFA) is the district governing body for association football, football in Nagpur,

and is affiliated with the Western India Football Association, the state sports governing body. The Nagpur District Football Association is a district level football body and conducts various matches among the schools and clubs. It has its own league. NDFA Elite division Champions League, another football tournament, was held at Nagpur annually since 2010 until 2014 by Lokmat Group in Yeshwant Stadium. Indian Friends Football Club(IFFC), Rabbani, Rahul CLub and Young Muslim Football Club (YMFC) are renowned football clubs in the city. Other clubs include, Rabbani Club, Rahul Club, City Police, South East Central Railway, Qidwai Club, SRPF, New Globe and City Club. Nagpur FC has its own Football Academy in Dhanwate National College, Congress Nagar. Slum Soccer is a social initiative started by Vijay Barse for young runaways and former drug addicts to rehabilitate them through football. Badminton tournaments in the city are organised by Nagpur District Badminton Association (NDBA) which is affiliated to Maharashtra Badminton Association which in turn is a member of Badminton Association of India. Nagpur District Table Tennis Association organises table tennis tournaments at district level and is affiliated to Maharashtra Table Tennis Association. The city also has a divisional sports complex which consist of Indoor stadium and other gymnastic facilities. The city's major indoor arena is Vivekananda Nagar Indoor Sports Complex located near Mankapur. The arena hosts several political events, concerts and sports events like badminton, basketball, lawn tennis. The city also has various running events, for general public, organised by various institutions.

Media

''The Hitavada'' is the largest selling broadsheet English daily newspaper of Central India. It was founded in 1911 by freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Nagpur. Other English dailies circulated in the city include ''The Times of India'', ''The Indian Express'', ''The Economic Times'' and Marathi dailies circulated in city include Nava Rashtra''Sakal''. ''Lokmat'newspaper in Nagpur,'Tarun Bharat'', ''Deshonatti'', ''Maharashtra Times'', ''Punya Nagari'',
Lokshahi
is Marathi news channel in Maharashtra'', ''Sakal'', Nagpur-news.in, Nagpur Today News, ''Divya Marathi'' and ''Loksatta'' are other Marathi dailies available.

newspapers such as''Nava Bharat'', ''Dainik Bhaskar'' and ''Lokmat Samachar'' are also circulated. Employment ''News'', which is published weekly, is also circulated in Hindi, English and Urdu. All India Radio is the oldest radio broadcaster in the city and has its office in the Civil Lines area. Vividh Bharati, the entertainment radio station, and Gyan Vani, the educational radio station, are the FM radio stations of All India Radio and are available in the frequency 100.6 FM & 107.8 FM, respectively. Other private FM broadcasting channels with their frequencies include Radio City (Indian radio station), Radio City at 91.1 FM, Red FM 93.5, Red FM at 93.5 FM, My FM at 94.3 FM, Radio Mirchi at 98.3 FM, Radio Mirchi, Mirchi Love FM at 91.9 FM and Big FM (Indian radio station), Big FM at 92.7 FM. Television broadcasting in Nagpur began on 15 August 1982 with the launch of Doordarshan, the Government of India's public service broadcaster. It transmits DD National and DD News, which are free-to-air terrestrial television channels and one regional satellite channel called DD Sahyadri. Private satellite channels started in the 1990s. Lord Buddha TV and Awaaz India TV are Free-to-air television which are based in the city and are available in various cable operators and Satellite television, DTH platforms Satellite TV channels are accessible via Cable television, cable subscription, Direct-broadcast satellite, direct-broadcast satellite services or IPTV, internet-based television. Cable TV operators or multi system operators in the city include UCN cable network, GTPL, In cable, BCN and Diamond cable network. All the List of DTH Operators in India, DTH operators in the country are available in the city viz. Airtel digital TV, DD Free Dish, Dish TV, Sun Direct, D2h and Tata Play.The city also has its own Regional DTH operator UCN which serves the

region of

headquartered in the city itself. Broadband Internet service is available in the city and is provided by various Internet service providers. Wi-Fi is available in major educational institutions and certain areas in the city, including government institutions under Smart City plan by NSSCDCL. As of 2019, 3G services in the city are provided by BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone Idea Limited, and 4G services in the city are provided by Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea Limited and BSNL.

Transport

Rail

Railways started in Nagpur way back in 1867 when portion of Bombay-Bhusaval-Nagpur line was opened for traffic and train service from Nagpur to Calcutta was started in 1881. Today, a total of 254 trains stop at Nagpur railway station. These include passenger, express, mail, Duronto Express, Duronto, Rajdhani Express, Rajdhani, Garib Rath Express, Garib Rath trains. Of these 65 are daily trains and 22 terminate/originate from Nagpur. Almost 1.6 lakh passengers board/leave Nagpur Railway Station Nagpur Junction railway station, Nagpur railway station, one of the oldest and busiest Stations of India was inaugurated in its present from on 15 January 1925 by the then Governor Sir Frank. Apart from the Nagpur Junction railway station, Nagpur railway station, Ajni railway station, Ajni Railway Station and Itwari railway station, Itwari Railway Station are the important stations of the city. Other railway stations in the city include Ajni, Motibagh, Kalamna, Itwari and Godhani. Nagpur-Ajni rail route which is just long, is the shortest train run in Indian Railways primarily meant for crew to travel from Nagpur station to the workshop at Ajni. The city is the divisional headquarters for the Central Railway (India), Central Railway and South East Central Railway Indian Railways#Railway zones, Zone of Indian Railways. Nagpur is a city with two divisional headquarters, a rare distinction it shares with Lucknow, which has headquarters for two different divisions in Northern Railway Zone (India), Northern Railway zone and North Eastern Railway (India), North Eastern Railway zone.

Nagpur Metro Rail

The Nagpur Metro project was announced by the state government of Maharashtra with the expenses of Indian rupee, INR 4,400 Cr and 3,800 Cr for its first phase which consists of two corridors – north–south corridor and east–west corridor of . The site inspection began in March 2012 with initiatives from

. The project is executed by a SPV called Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (erstwhile Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.). In July 2015, the project was approved by the government of Maharashtra. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated operations on Nagpur Metro on 7 March 2019 via video conferencing along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Cabinet Minister Nitin Gadkari. On 15 August 2022, Nagpur Metro made the record for single-day ridership of 90,758 passengers.

Nagpur broad-gauge Metro Rail

The Nagpur broad-gauge Metro is a commuter rail project planned Nagpur and extending up to adjacent districts of Wardha and Bhandara. The project is estimated to cost Indian rupee, INR 418 Cr and consists of four routes, each originating from Nagpur and terminating at Narkhed, Ramtek, Wardha and Bhandara.

Road

Nagpur is a major junction for roadways as India's two major National highways of India, national highways, Srinagar-Kanyakumari (National Highway 44 (India), National Highway 44) and Mumbai-Kolkata (National Highway 53 (India), NH 53 Economic Corridor1(EC1)) pass through the city. National Highway 47 (India), National Highway 47 connects Nagpur to Bamanbore in Gujrat. Nagpur is at the junction of two Asian Highway Network, Asian Highways namely AH43 Agra to Matara, Sri Lanka and AH46 connecting Kharagpur, West Bengal, Kharagpur, India to Dhule, India. The highway to Mumbai via Aurangabad, a shorter route, was re-built on the national highway basis. This highway significantly reduces the distance travelled by National Highway 6 (India), NH 6 and National Highway 3 (India), NH 3 between two cities. The new proposed Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway between Nagpur and Mumbai will be and projected to cost . In 2009, NHAI announced the extension of the existing NH 204 to Nagpur via Kolhapur-Sangli- Solapur-Tuljapur-Latur-Nanded-Yavatmal-Wardha and connecting it to the National Highway 7 (India)(old numbering), NH-7 at Butibori near Nagpur. The entire NH 204 highway has been included in the national highway mega projects for upgradation to 4-lane. One more national highway National Highway 547 (India), NH-547

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-Narsinghpur has connected with National Highway 47 (India), NH 47 at Savner near Nagpur providing another optional connectivity with the northern part of India. Maharashtra State road transport Corporation (MSRTC) runs cheaper transport service for intercity, interstate, and intrastate travel. It has two bus stations in Nagpur: Nagpur Bus Sthanak (CBS-1) at Ganeshpeth and MorBhawan (CBS-2) at Jhansi Rani Square, Sitabuldi. It operates 1600 daily services from CBS-1 to long and short distances within the state and to places in other surrounding states. It also operates 750 daily services from CBS-2 to short distances within

. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation, civic body through its bus operators (three red and one green) plies 487 buses by which over 1.60 lakh people commute. The city bus operation is named as Nagpur Mahanagar Parivahan Limited, Aapli Bus. The operators consist of diesel fuel, diesel, ethanol and CNG run buses. A total of 5500 trips of 123 routes are covered by city buses. A common mobility card called MAHA-CARD has also been issued which will help people commute with buses and upcoming metro rail. A Green bus project featuring India's first ethanol-powered buses was established in August 2014. Autorickshaws and private taxi operators under Ola Cabs and Uber also ply in city.

Air transport

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport is operated by MIHAN, Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) and owned by Airports Authority of India. Nagpur's Air Traffic Control (ATC) is the busiest in India, with more than 300 flights flying over the city every day in 2004. In October 2005, Nagpur's Sonegaon Airport was declared an international airport and was renamed Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport. Nagpur is well connected by direct flights to

, Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow,

, Bangalore,

, Indore, Ahmedabad and Belagavi operated by Air India, IndiGo, Go First and Star Air (India), Star Air. Air Arabia operates a 4 times a week to and fro flight between Nagpur and Sharjah (city), Sharjah and Qatar Airways operates a daily direct flight to and from Doha. The Nagpur Airport has received Special Achievement Award 2012–2013 from Airports Authority of India. Nagpur became the first airport in India to commission the INDRA system and also has Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, ADS-B system. No other airport in the country had commissioned INDRA yet. Nagpur Airport became the first airport in the country to receive an ISO 27000 certificate. In fact, Nagpur is not only the first in India but also the first in world to be certified for Air navigation service provider (ANSP). There are seven airports in the world which have ISO 27000, but none of them have it for ANSP. The government of India has identified Nagpur Airport as one of the safe airports for diverted flights and emergency landing. In fact, many flights have used the airport during emergencies. This is because all international and domestic airlines had already been informed by the government to go to Nagpur during emergencies. The availability of excellent fire fighting equipment, air traffic control equipment with latest radar, along with availability of good hospitals and hotels in the city, made the airport a good choice during emergencies. Nagpur Airport has an annual capacity of 10 lakh passengers, but it handles more passengers than its capacity. Airport expansion and improvement of service is in the cards and privatisation of the airport has been proposed by the government.

Notable people

Sister cities

* Jinan, Shandong, China

References

External links

* *
Gorewada Zoo Nagpur
{{Authority control Nagpur, Cities and towns in Nagpur district Neighbourhoods in Maharashtra Vidarbha Cities in Maharashtra Metropolitan cities in India