Patna ( ), historically known as

Pataliputra Pataliputra ( IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

, is the capital and largest city of the state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. According to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. Covering and over 2.5 million people, its urban agglomeration is the 18th largest in India. Patna serves as the seat of

Patna High Court The Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar. It was established on 9 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915. The court is based in Patna, the administrative capital of the state of Bihar, ...

. The

Buddhist 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 ...

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 ...

and

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an 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 time cycle being ...

pilgrimage centres of Vaishali,

Rajgir Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

, Nalanda, Bodh Gaya and

Pawapuri Pawapuri or Pavapuri (also called Apapapuri, meaning "the sinless town") is a holy site for Jains located in the Nalanda district of Bihar state in Eastern India. It is located about 19 kilometers from Rajgir and 101 kilometers from Patna, th ...

are nearby and

Patna City Patna City, popularly known as Patna Saheb or Patna Sahib, is a city and one of the 6 Sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district, Bihar, India. Patna City is an old area of Patna. Patna City history belongs to Patliputra. It is regarded as ve ...

is a sacred city for

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s as the tenth

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

was born here. The modern city of Patna is mainly on the southern bank of the river

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. The city also straddles the rivers

Sone The sone () is a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure. The study of perceived loudness is included in the topic of psychoacoustics and employs methods of psychophysics. Doubling the perceived loudness doubles the son ...

Gandak The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and the Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area amounts to , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, it is notabl ...

and

Punpun Punpun is a satellite town in the Patna Metropolitan Region, Patna district, in the Indian state of Bihar. Geography It is located 10 km south of Patna. The name Punpun comes from the nearby Punpun River, a tributary of the Ganges Riv ...

. The city is approximately in length and wide. One of the

oldest continuously inhabited places in the world This is a list of present-day cities by the time period over which they have been continuously inhabited as a city. The age claims listed are generally disputed. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "c ...

, Patna was founded in 490 BCE by the king of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

. Ancient Patna, known as

, was the capital of the Magadh Empire through

Haryanka The Haryanka dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India, which succeeded the Pradyota dynasty and Barhadratha dynasty. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near the pres ...

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word ''shunga' ...

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...

and

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County *Pala, Järva County, vi ...

dynasties. Pataliputra was a seat of learning and fine arts. It was home to many astronomers and scholars including

Aryabhata Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the ''Aryabhatiya'' (which ...

Vātsyāyana Vātsyāyana was an ancient Indian philosopher, known for authoring the ''Kama Sutra''. He was a brahmin, and lived in India during the second or third century CE, probably in Pataliputra (modern day Patna in Bihar). He is not to be confused ...

and

Chanakya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭil ...

. During the

Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

period (around 300 BCE) its population was about 400,000. Patna served as the seat of power, and political and cultural 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 ...

during the

and

empires. With the fall of the Gupta Empire, Patna lost its glory. It was revived again in the 17th century by the British as a centre of international trade. Following the partition of Bengal presidency in 1912, Patna became the capital of

Bihar and Orissa Province Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then Indian C ...

. Until the 19th century it was a major trading and commercial hub in India. After independence there were a few downturns but its economy was still stable. After the separation of Jharkhand from Bihar, it lost its glory. Now trials are made to develop the city. As per the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (Government of Bihar), Nominal GDP of

Patna District Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Patna, the capital of Bihar, is the district headquarters. The Patna district is a part of Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Sub-divisions ( ...

was estimated at INR 63,176.55 crores in 2011-12. As of 2011-12, Patna already recorded per capita gross domestic product of 1,08,657, way ahead of many other Indian cities and state capitals. Using figures for assumed average annual growth, Patna is the 21st fastest growing city in the world and 5th fastest growing city in

according to a study by the

City Mayors Foundation The City Mayors Foundation, also known as City Mayors, is an international think tank dedicated to urban affairs. It has been active since 2003 and runs the biennial World Mayor award, as well as providing pro bono consultancy services. Unlike Eu ...

. Patna registered an average annual growth of 3.72% during 2006–2010. As of 2011-12, GDP per capita of Patna is ₹1,08,657 and its GDP growth rate is 7.29 per cent. In June 2009, the

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

ranked Patna second in India (after

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

) for ease of starting a business.

Etymology

The name of this city has changed with time. One of the oldest cities of India, there are several theories regarding the origin of the modern name Patna (

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 ...

: পাটনা;

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: पटना;

Kaithi Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern and Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In particular, it was us ...

: 𑂣𑂗𑂢𑂰;

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly r ...

: ਪਟਨਾ; Urdu: پٹنہ). It is

etymologically Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words an ...

derived from ''Patan'' (Devanagari: पटन), the name of the

goddess, Patan Devi. Patan Devi Mandir is still in old Patna near Gulzarbagh mandi along with another, Patan Devi Mandir, near

Takht Sri Patna Sahib Takhat Sri Patna Sahib also known as Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji, Patna Sahib, is a one of the five Takhats of the Sikhs, located in Patna, Bihar, India. The construction of the Takhat was commissioned by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the 18th c ...

. Many believe Patna derived its name from Patli, a tree variety that was found in abundance in the historic city. It is also seen on the state tourism's logo. The place is mentioned in Chinese traveller

Fa Hien Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, ...

's records as Pa-lin-fou. The city has been known by various names through more than 2,000 years of existence – Pataligrama,

, Kusumapura, Kusumdhwaja Pushpapuram, Padmavathi, Azimabad and the present-day Patna. Legend ascribes the origin of Patna to the mythological King Putraka who created Patna by magic for his queen Patali, literally "trumpet flower", which gives it its ancient name Pataligrama. It is said that in honour of the queen's first-born, the city was named Pataliputra. ''Gram'' is Sanskrit for village and ''Putra'' means son. Legend also says that the

Emerald Buddha The Emerald Buddha ( th, พระแก้วมรกต , or ) is an image of the meditating Gautama Buddha seated in a meditative posture, made of a semi-precious green stone (jasper rather than emerald or jade), clothed in gold. and about ...

was created in Patna (then Pataliputra) by

Nagasena Nāgasena was a Sarvastivadan Buddhist sage who lived around 150 BC. His answers to questions about Buddhism posed by Menander I (Pali: ''Milinda''), the Indo-Greek king of northwestern India, are recorded in the '' Milinda Pañha'' and the Sa ...

in 43 BCE.

History

Ancient Era

Traditional Buddhist literature attributes foundation of Patna 490 BCE as

Ajatashatru Ajatasattu (Pāli ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit ) in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain histories, (c. 492 to 460 BCE or early 5th century BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East ...

, the king of Magadha, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly

Rajagrha Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the ...

(today Rajgir) to a strategically chosen place to better combat the Licchavis of Vaishali. He chose the site on the bank of the Ganges and fortified the area.

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

travelled through this place in the last year of his life. He prophesied a great future for this place even as he predicted its ruin due to flood, fire and feud. According to Dieter Schlingloff, the Buddhist accounts may have presented the grandeur of Patna as a prophecy and that its wooden fortifications unlike other early historic Indian cities indicate that it might be much older than thought but only archaeological excavation and C14 dates of its wooden palisades which is presently lacking may establish this.

Mauryan Empire

Statue of Matrikas found near Agam Kuan, Patna, 1895

Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but ha ...

, the Indo-Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, gave one of the earliest accounts of the city. He wrote that the city was on the confluence of the rivers ''Ganga'' and ''Arennovoas'' (Sonabhadra – Hiranyawah) and was long and wide.

, the Greek ambassador to India, described the city as the greatest city on earth during its heyday. The Shungas ultimately retained control of Pataliputra and ruled for almost 100 years. The Shungas were followed by the Kanvas and eventually by the Guptas. A number of Chinese travellers came to India in pursuit of knowledge and recorded their observations about

in their travelogues. One such famous account was recorded by a Chinese Buddhist traveller Fa Hien, who visited India between 399 and 414 CE, and stayed here for many months translating Buddhist texts. When Chinese Buddhist Monk

Faxian Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...

visited the city in 400 A.D, he found the people to be rich and prosperous; they practised virtue and justice. He found that the nobles and householders of the city had constructed several hospitals in which the poor of all countries, the destitute, the crippled and the diseased can get treatment. They could receive every kind of help gratuitously. Physicians would inspect the diseases, and order them food, drink, and medicines. Image:Magadha.GIF, Pataliputra as a capital of the Magadha Empire. Image:Maurya empire in 265 BCE.jpg, Pataliputra as a capital of Maurya Empire.
The Maurya Empire at its largest extent under

Ashoka the Great Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Image:SungaEmpireMap.jpg , Pataliputra as a capital of Shunga Empire.
Approximate greatest extent of the Shunga Empire (c. 185 BCE). File:Gupta Empire 320 - 600 ad.PNG , Pataliputra as a capital of

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 Gold ...

.
Approximate greatest extent of the

Gupta and Pala empire

City of Patna, on the River Ganges, 19th century

In the years that followed, many dynasties ruled the Indian subcontinent from the city, including the Gupta dynasty and the

kings. With the disintegration of the Gupta empire, Patna passed through uncertain times. Bakhtiar Khilji captured Bihar in the 12th century and destroyed everything, and Patna lost its prestige as the political and cultural centre of India. Guru Gobind Singh (22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, was born as Gobind Rai in Patna to

Guru Teg Bahadur Guru Tegh Bahadur ( Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ਼ ਬਹਾਦਰ (Gurmukhi); ; 1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675) was the ninth of ten Gurus who founded the Sikh religion and the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 167 ...

, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, and his wife

Mata Gujri Mata Gujri (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਤਾ ਗੁਜਰੀ; ''mātā gujarī''; 1624–1705), also spelt as Mata Gujari, was the wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism, and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism. Bio ...

. His birthplace, Patna Sahib is one of the most sacred sites of pilgrimage for Sikhs.

Mughal Empire

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 ...

was a period of unremarkable provincial administration from

. The most remarkable period during the Middle Ages was under the

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

emperor

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

, who revived Patna in the middle of the 16th century. He built a fort and founded a town on the banks of the Ganges. Sher Shah's fort in Patna does not survive, although the Sher Shah Suri mosque, built in Afghan architectural style, does. Mughal emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

reached Patna in 1574 to crush the rebellious Afghan Chief Daud Khan. One of the navratnas from Akbar's court, his official historian and author of " Ain-i-Akbari"

Abul Fazl Abul is an Arabic masculine given name. It may refer to: * Abul Kalam Azad * Abul A'la Maududi * Abul Khair (disambiguation), several people * Abul Abbas (disambiguation), several people * Abul Hasan * Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi * Abu'l-Fazl ibn ...

refers to Patna as a flourishing centre for paper, stone and glass industries. He also refers to the high quality of numerous strains of rice grown in Patna, famous as

Patna rice Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 ...

in Europe. By 1620, the city of Patna was being described as the "chiefest mart towne of all Bengala" (i.e. largest town in Bengal) in northern India, "the largest town in Bengal and the most famous for trade". This was before the founding of the city of Calcutta.

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

acceded to the request of his favourite grandson, Prince Muhammad Azim, to rename Patna as

Azimabad Azimabad ( hi, अज़ीमाबाद, ur, ) was the name of modern-day Patna during the eighteenth century, prior to the British Raj. Today, Patna is the capital of Bihar, a state in North India. In ancient times, Patna was known as Pata ...

, in 1704 while Azim was in Patna as the subedar. Patna or Azimabad did see some violent activities, according to Phillip Mason, writing in the book "The Men Who Ruled India". "Aurangzeb had restored the poll-tax (Jazia) on unbelievers and this had to be compounded for. In Patna, Peacock the Chief of the factory was not sufficiently obliging and was seized, forced to walk through the town bare-headed and bare-footed and subjected to many other indignities before he paid up and was released." Little changed during this period other than the name. With the decline of the Mughal empire, Patna moved into the hands of the Nawabs of Bengal, who levied a heavy tax on the populace but allowed it to flourish as a commercial centre. The mansions of the Maharaja of

Tekari Raj Tekari Raj (sometimes spelled Tikari Raj) was a zamindari estate belonging to a family of the Bhumihar Brahmin community in South Bihar. They controlled 2,046 villages on their estate, which covered a area, near to the town of Gaya. Rajas o ...

dominated the Patna riverfront in 1811–12. In 1750, the future Nawab of Bengal,

Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...

revolted against his grandfather,

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequent Mar ...

, and seized Patna, but quickly surrendered and was forgiven.

Portuguese Empire

As trade grew, settlements of the Portuguese empire expanded to the Bengal Gulf. Since at least 1515 the Portuguese were at Bengal as traders, and later in 1521 an embassy was sent to Gaur to be able to create factories in the region. The Bengal Sultan after 1534 allowed the Portuguese to create several settlements as Chitagoong e Satgaon. In 1535 the Portuguese were allied with the Bengal sultan and held the Teliagarhi pass 280 km from Patna helping to avoid the invasion by the Mughals. By then several of the products came from Patna and the Portuguese send in traders, establishing a factory there since 1580 at least. The products were shipped out down the river until other Portuguese ports as Chittagoon e Satgaoon, and from there to the rest of the empire.

British Empire

During the 17th century, Patna became a centre of international trade. In 1620, the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

established a

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

in Patna for trading in

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

and

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

. Soon it became a trading centre for

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitra ...

. Francois Bernier, in ''Travels in the Mogul Empire'' (1656–1668), says ". It was carried down the Ganges with great facility, and the Dutch and English sent large cargoes to many parts of the Indies, and to Europe". This trade encouraged other Europeans, principally the French, Danes, Dutch and Portuguese, to compete in the lucrative business. Peter Mundy, writing in 1632, described Patna as "the greatest mart of the eastern region". After the decisive Battle of Buxar of 1764, as per the treaty of Allahabad

was given the right to collect tax of this former Mughal province by the Mughal emperor. Patna was annexed by the company in 1793 to its territory when Nizamat (Mughal suzerainty) was abolished and the British East India Company took control of the province of Bengal-Bihar. Patna however continued as a trading centre. In 1912, when the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

was partitioned, Patna became the capital of the British province of Bihar and Orissa, although in 1936

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 S ...

became a separate entity with its own capital. Till date, a major population of Bengalis live in Patna particularly. File:Sir Charles D'Oyly - Street in Patna - Google Art Project.jpg, Street in Patna, 1825 (British, active in India) File:Golghar at Bankipur, near Patna, 1814-15.jpg,

Golghar The Golghar or Gol Ghar (गोलघर), ("Round House") is a large granary located to the west of the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, capital of Bihar state, India. History According to a contemporary inscription at its base, the Golghar in Patna ...

at Bankipore, near Patna, 1814–15

Indian Independence Movement

People from Patna were greatly involved in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. Most notable movements were the

Champaran Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. Notable people * Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor * Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpuri l ...

movement against the

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

plantation and the 1942

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

. National leaders who came from the city include Swami Sahajanand Saraswati; the first President of the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

, Dr. Rajendra Prasad; ''Bihar Vibhuti'' ( Anugrah Narayan Sinha); Basawon Singh (Sinha); and ''Loknayak'' (

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' ( Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for l ...

Post-Independence

Patna remained the capital of

after India gained independence in 1947, even as

was partitioned again in 2000 when

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

became a separate state of the Indian union. On 27 October 2013, six people were killed and 85 others were injured in a series of co-ordinated bombings at an election rally for

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

candidate

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

. On 3 October 2014, 33 people were killed and 26 injured in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan during Vijaya Dashmi celebrations.

Geography

Topography

Patna is on the southern bank of the river

. The total area of Patna is . Of this, the municipal area constitutes . The suburban area covers . It has an average elevation of . A characteristic feature of the geography of Patna is its confluence of major rivers. During the

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

, Patna was part of the

. After

Nalanda district Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nalanda i ...

was carved out of

Patna district Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Patna, the capital of Bihar, is the district headquarters. The Patna district is a part of Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Sub-divisions ( ...

in 1976, Patna was purged of all hilly regions. It is an alluvial, flat expanse of land. The land in the district is too fertile and is almost entirely cultivated with no forest cover. Alluvial soil found here is ideal for cultivation of rice, sugarcane and other foodgrains. The area under cultivation is studded with mango orchards and bamboo groves. In the fields along the banks of river Ganges, weeds such as ammannia, citriculari, hygrophile and sesbania grow. But palmyra, date palm and mango orchards are found near habitations. Dry stretches of shrubbery are sometimes seen in the villages far from the rivers. Trees commonly found are bel, siris, jack fruit and the red cotton tree. Patna is unique in having four large rivers in its vicinity. It is the largest riverine city in the world. The topography of Patna city is saucer shaped as per Patna City Development Plan prepared in 2006. The bridge over the river Ganges named

Mahatma Gandhi Setu Mahatma Gandhi Setu (also called Gandhi Setu or Ganga Setu) is a bridge over the river Ganges in Bihar, India, connecting Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north. Its length is and it is the third-longest river bridge in India. It was inau ...

is 5575m long and is the longest river bridge in the India. Patna comes under India's seismic zone-IV, indicating its vulnerability to major

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, but earthquakes have not been common in recent history. Patna also falls in the risk zone for floods and cyclones.

Climate

Patna has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

under the

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 ...

: (Cwa) with extremely hot summers from late March to June, the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season from late June to late September and chilly winter nights and foggy or sunny days from November to February. Highest temperature ever recorded was in the year 1966, the lowest ever was on 9 January 2013, and highest rainfall was in the year 1997. The table below details historical monthly averages for climate variables.

Air pollution

Pollution is a major concern in Patna. According to the CAG report, tabled in the

Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the Bihar Legislature where the first elections were held in 1952. The total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated ...

in April 2015, respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) level (

PM-10 Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The te ...

) in Patna was 355, three-and-a-half times higher than the prescribed limit of 100 micro-gram per cubic metre, primarily due to high vehicular and industrial emissions and construction activities in the city. In May 2014, a

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 ...

survey declared Patna the second most air polluted city in India, only after

, with the survey calculating the airborne particulate matter in the state capital's ambient air (

PM-2.5 Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...

) to be 149 micro-grams, six times more than the safe limit, which is 25 micro-grams. Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments, such as

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

. The dense smog in Patna during winter season results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year.

Economy

Patna has long been a major agricultural hub and centre of trade. Its most active exports are

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

, and medium-grained

. There are several sugar mills in and around Patna. It is an important business and luxury brand centre of eastern India. The economy of Patna has seen sustained economic growth since 2005. The economy has been spurred by growth in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, along with

Green revolution The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...

businesses. In 2009, the

stated Patna as the second best city in India to start up a business. As of 2011-12, GDP per capita of Patna is 1,08,657 and its GDP growth rate is 7.29 per cent. Patna is the 21st fastest growing city in the world and the fifth fastest-growing city in India, and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.72%. The major business districts of the city are Bander Bagicha,

Exhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Overview The road gets i ...

Gandhi Maidan Marg Gandhi Maidan or Gandhi Maidan Marg is one of the most important thoroughfares in Patna, India. It is a historical place and is considered as a landmark of the city. Gandhi Maidan is the main market and commercial area of Patna with Ashok Rajpat ...

Frazer Road Frazer Road (officially ) is a mixed residential-cum-commercial neighbourhood in Patna. This is the road most frequently heard after coming out from the Patna Junction as it connects Patna Junction to Gandhi Maidan Marg - the two major hubs ...

, Indrapuri and

Maurya Lok Maurya Lok Complex or Maurya Lok is one of the oldest and major business districts and shopping areas of Patna, India. It contains shopping complexes, restaurants and many government offices. It is controlled by Patna Municipal Corporation. Se ...

. Earlier Patna was an international trading hub and a major textile center. Going back to the 19th century when silk factory was set up here, so many foreign traders came to visit it and have some income. After the independence the economy was still stable. After the independence many vegetables and vegetable oils were manufactured in the city. Until 1980s up and down in economy was there. But till the 1990s, when liberalisation came in India, Patna didn't receive any global funds and foreign investments. The trading and economic environment were fully destroyed. There were many fertiliser plants and sugar mills. But to week ecosystem, company saw loses and it was also get closed. A large number of manufacturing companies

Hero Cycles Hero Cycles Limited, based in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, Punjab, is an Indian company that manufactures bicycles and bicycle related products. Pankaj M Munjal is the chairman and managing director of Hero Cycles. History Hero Cycles was estab ...

Britannia Industries Britannia Industries Limited is an Indian company specialised in food industry, part of the Wadia Group headed by Nusli Wadia. Founded in 1892 and headquartered in Kolkata, it is one of India's oldest existing companies and best known for it ...

, PepsiCo,

Sonalika Tractors Sonalika Tractors is an Indian agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was founded in 1995 in Punjab, India. It is the 3rd largest manufacturer of tractors in India, with the capacity to produce 3.00,000 tractors a year, as of June 2017. ...

and

UltraTech Cement UltraTech Cement Limited is an Indian cement company based in Mumbai, and a part of Aditya Birla Group. UltraTech is the largest manufacturer of grey cement, ready-mix concrete Ready-mix concrete (RMC) is concrete that is manufactured i ...

have come with there manufacturing plants in Patna metropolitan area. World's second largest leather cluster is in Fatuha at Patna. Patna is also emerging as an IT based economy. Tata Consultancy Services-Patna got operational in 2019 at its new office. Many business park are introduced to the city. File:SBI Patna.JPG, State Bank of India- Patna Regional office at East

File:Software Technology Park of India, Patna..jpg, Software Technology Park of India, Patna File:RBI Patna.JPG, Reserve Bank of India's regional office at South Gandhi Maidan Marg, Patna

Demographics

With an estimated population of 1.68 million in 2011, Patna is the 19th most populous city in India and with over 2 million people, its urban agglomeration is the 18th largest in India. Residents of Patna are referred to by the demonym Patnaite. According to 2011 census data, Patna city had a population of 1,683,200 (before expansion of the city limits) within the

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

limits, with 894,158 men and 789,042 women. This was an increase of 22.2 per cent compared to the 2001 figures. 11.32 per cent of the population was under six years of age, with 102,208 boys while 88,288 are girls. The overall

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

is 83.37%, with the male literacy rate being 87.35% and the female literacy rate being 79.89%. The sex ratio of Patna is 885 females per 1,000 males. Child sex ratio of girls is 877 per 1000 boys. The urban agglomeration had a population of 2,046,652 of which 1,087,864 are males and 958,788 are females with 82.73% literacy. Patna is the second largest city in

eastern India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha fr ...

. According to the 2011 census of India, Patna's major religion is

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 ...

with 86.39% followers.

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 the second most popular religion in Patna with approximately 12.27% following it.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and Buddhism, with smaller followings, are also practised in Patna. During the last census report, around 0.01% stated other religions and approximately 0.49% stated no particular religion. Roughly 0.25% of Patna's population lives in slums which makes Patna, the city with the lowest percentage of people living in slum in India. Like other fast-growing cities in the developing world, Patna suffers from major

urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...

problems including unemployment, poor public health and poor civic and educational standards for a large section of the population. In 2015, the National Sample Survey Organisation revealed that, for females, Patna had highest unemployment rate 34.6% and for males it was the second highest with a rate of 8% in 2011–12.

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 ...

is the official language of the state of

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

Magadhi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...

, named after Magadha, the ancient name of South Bihar is most widely spoken. Other spoken dialects and languages include

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

, Maithili,

and Oriya.

Administration

The Patna sub-division (

Tehsil 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 ...

) is one of the 6 Tehsils of the

. It is headed by an IAS or state Civil service officer of the rank of Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). The SDM of Patna Tehsil reports to the

District Magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reve ...

(DM) of Patna District.

Blocks

The Patna Tehsil is divided into 3

Block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

s, each headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO). List of Blocks is as follows: # Patna # Sampatchak #

Phulwari Sharif Phulwari or Phulwari Sharif is Block and town in Patna district in the Indian state of Bihar. The current metro plan of Patna has one route in Phulwari Sharif.It includes in Patna Metropolitan Region and one of the fastest growing area of ...

Government

Civic administration

The civic administration of Patna is run by several government agencies and has overlapping structural divisions. At least five administrative definitions of the city are available; listed in ascending order of area, those are:

Patna division Patna Division is one of the nine administrative units of Bihar, a state in the east of India. Patna is the headquarters of the division. Established in 1829, it is one of the oldest divisions of the state. History of administrative districts i ...

(also the

Patna Police ''Patna Police'' (Hindi: पटना पुलिस) is the police service responsible for law enforcement within Patna district, including the capital city of Patna in an Indian state of Bihar. Patna Police is the largest police service in th ...

area), the

Patna Metropolitan Region Patna Metropolitan Region (Hindi: पटना महानगरीय क्षेत्र) is an official definition of the metropolitan area surrounding the Bihar capital city Patna in India. It is also known as the Patna metropolitan area, ...

(also known as Patna Planning area), "Greater Patna" or

PRDA Patna Regional Development Authority abbreviated as ''PRDA'', is a body of the Government of Bihar that is responsible for the infrastructure development of the Patna Metropolitan Region (PMR). It was established by the Bihar State Government w ...

area, which adds to the PMC area a few areas just adjacent to it and

Patna Municipal Corporation Patna Municipal Corporation or Patna Nagar Nigam, PMC, is the civic body that governs Patna, the capital of Bihar in India.Municipal Corporation mechanism in India was introduced during British Rule with formation of municipal corporation in ...

area. The Patna Municipal Corporation, or PMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 75 wards, which accommodates a population of 1.7 million as per 2011 Census. The municipal corporation consists of democratically elected members, each ward elects a Councillor to the PMC. The PMC is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis. As Patna's apex body, the corporation discharges its functions through the mayor-in-council, which comprises a mayor, a deputy mayor, and other elected members of the PMC. The Mayor is usually chosen through indirect election by the councillors from among themselves. The functions of the PMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation. The Municipal Commissioner is the chief Executive Officer and head of the executive arm of the Municipal Corporation. All executive powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner who is 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. Although the Municipal Corporation is the legislative body that lays down policies for the governance of the city, it is the Commissioner who is responsible for the execution of the policies. The Commissioner is appointed for a fixed term as defined by state statute. The powers of the Commissioner are those provided by statute and those delegated by the Corporation or the Standing Committee. As of June 2017, the

won PMC Mayor seat; the mayor is Sita Sahu, while the deputy mayor is Vinay Kumar Pappu. The Patna Municipal Corporation was ranked 4th out of 21 Cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.6 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3. The revenue district of Patna come under the jurisdiction of a

District Collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

(District Magistrate). The Collectors are in charge of the general administration, property records and revenue collection for the Central Government, and oversee the national elections held in the city. The

Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited ( hi, बिहार शहरी आधारभूत संरचना विकास निगम लिमिटेड), commonly abbreviated as BUIDCO, is the urban planning age ...

Limited (BUIDCO) and the Patna Metropolitan Area Authority, are responsible for the statutory planning and development of

. Patna Metropolitan Area Authority was established in 2016. It is the superseding agency for the former

Patna Regional Development Authority Patna Regional Development Authority abbreviated as ''PRDA'', is a body of the Government of Bihar that is responsible for the infrastructure development of the Patna Metropolitan Region (PMR). It was established by the Bihar State Government w ...

(PRDA), which was dissolved in 2006. In addition to city government, numerous commissions and state authorities—including the Ministry of Tourism, the Bihar Health Department, the Bihar Water Resources Department, National Ganga River Basin Authority, Bihar State Pollution Control Board and the Bihar Public Service Commission—play a role in the life of Patnaites. As the capital of Bihar, Patna plays a major role not only in state politics but in central politics as well. In October 2016, Bihar cabinet approved the Patna master plan 2031 which envisages development of a new airport at

Bihta Bihta is a town and Block in Patna district, Bihar state, India. Bihta is part of Maner Assembly constituency and Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. It is located around west of Patna. Bihta is also an upcoming satellite town of Patna. It l ...

. As of August 2015, the area of Patna city (along with its urban agglomeration) is . Patna master 2031 is the second master plan of city which has been passed ever, after the last plan was approved for 1961-1981. Patna master plan covers six urban local bodies - Patna Municipal Corporation, Danapur Nagar Parishad, Phulwarisharif Nagar Parishad, Khagaul Nagar Parishad, Maner Nagar Panchayat and Fatuha Nagar Parishad. The new master plan proposed to increase the area of Patna city to to transform it as a metropolitan city. 5 satellite towns have also been proposed in the master plan at

Naubatpur Naubatpur is a satellite town in Patna Metropolitan Region located inside Patna district within the Indian state of Bihar. Geography It is located 15 km west of Patna. The nearest airport is the Patna Airport, 18.5km NorthEast of the ...

Fatuha Fatuha also spelled Fatwah or Fatwa, is a Satellite town in proposed Patna Metropolitan Region, in the Patna district in the India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countri ...

and Khusrupur. Patna has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a

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 ...

under

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

's flagship

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 ...

. With the grade of a Smart City, Patna will have highly up-to-date and radical provisions like uninterrupted electric supply, first-rate traffic and transport system, superior health care and many other prime utilities. Under this scheme, the city will use digital technology that will act as the integral mechanism of the aforesaid facilities and thereby further elevate the lifestyle of the citizens. A special purpose vehicle company named the Patna Smart City Limited has been formed to implement the smart city projects. On 22 November 2017, Eptisa Servicios de Ingenieria SL of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

was chosen as the project management consultant.

Politics

As the seat of the

Government of Bihar The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a ju ...

, The city has several federal facilities, including the

Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also * Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; o ...

: Governor's house, the

; the state secretariat, which is housed in the Patna Secretariat; and the

. The Patna High Court is one of the oldest High Court in India. The Patna High Court has jurisdiction over the state of Bihar. Patna also has lower courts; the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. The

, commanded by Senior Superintendent of Police, is overseen by the Bihar Government's Home Department. The Patna district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

, and 14 representatives to the state legislative assembly.

Utility services

Groundwater fulfills the basic needs of the people, administered by Patna Jal Parishad under Patna Municipal Corporation. The public water supply system comprises 98 tube wells that pump water directly to the distribution mains. Around 23 overhead reservoirs of which only the one's at Agam Kuan,

Gulzarbagh Gulzarbagh is a neighbourhood of Patna in the Bihar state of India. It is located at 25°36'0N 85°12'0E with an altitude of 45 metres (150 feet).It has very much historical importance, especially for Jain religion. First Jain council was held ...

Press,

Guru Gobind Singh Hospital Guru Gobind Singh Hospital (GGSH) is located in Patna City (Patna Sahib), Patna. The hospital has been attached by the state health administration to the AIIMS Patna till the latter's complex to accommodate patients comes up in 2014. Patna high c ...

and High Court serves the city. The sewerage system in Patna was set up in 1936. At present, there are four sewage treatment plants at Saidpur, Beur, Pahari and Karmali Chak. In 2019, the central government has started the process ''Nirmal Ganga'', which is to build new sewerage infrastructure at Patna's Karmalichak as well as in Barh, Naugachia and Sultanganj. The new infrastructure will be capable of preventing the flow of 67 million litre of sewage into Ganga. As of 2011, the city's electricity consumption is about 601 kWh per capita, even though the actual demand is much higher. Electricity supply to the city is regulated and distributed by the

South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) is a public sector undertaking (PSU) controlled by the Government of Bihar. It was formed on 1 November 2012 under section 14 of the Electricity Act of 2003, and is the successor to the ers ...

managed by Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (the holding company and a successor company of erstwhile Bihar State Electricity Board). The city forms the Patna Electricity Supply Unit (PESU) Circle, which is further divided into two wings namely Patna East (consists

Kankarbagh ''Kankarbagh'', or ''Kankarbagh Colony'', is a neighborhood and residential area in Patna, Bihar, India. It is one of the largest colonies of Asia, and in terms of population, it is the second largest. Overview Established back in 1916, Kank ...

, Bankipore, Rajendra Nagar Divisions) and Patna West (Consists

Danapur Danapur is a Indian satellite town and one of the 6 sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district of Bihar state.Pataliputra Pataliputra ( IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

, Gardanibagh, Dak Bungalow divisions). Direct–to–home (DTH) is available via

DD Free Dish DD Free Dish (previously known as DD Direct Plus) is an Indian free-to-air satellite television provider. DD Free Dish DTH service is owned and operated by Public Service Broadcaster Prasar Bharati. It was launched in December, 2004. In March 2 ...

Airtel digital TV Bharti Telemedia Limited, doing business as Airtel Digital TV, is an Indian direct-broadcast satellite service provider owned and operated by Bharti Airtel. Its satellite service, launched in October 2008, transmits digital satellite televisi ...

Dish TV Dish, dishes or DISH may refer to: Culinary * Dish (food), something prepared to be eaten * Dishware, plates and bowls for eating, cutting boards, silverware Communications * Dish antenna a type of antenna * Dish Network, a satellite televisio ...

Tata Sky Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; it ...

Videocon d2h Videocon Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group had 17 manufacturing sites in India and plants in Mainland China, Poland, Italy and Mexico. It was the third largest picture tube manufactu ...

Sun Direct Sun Direct is an Indian direct broadcast satellite service provider. Sun Direct was launched in December 2007. It transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in India. Sun Direct uses MPEG-4 digital compression, transmittin ...

and

Reliance Digital TV Independent TV, formerly Reliance Big TV, was an Indian direct to home (DTH) television operator. It was a subsidiary of Reliance Communications Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) was an Indian mobile network provider headquartered in ...

. Cable companies include Darsh Digital Network Pvt. Ltd., SITI Maurya Cablenet Pvt. Ltd etc. The Conditional Access System for cable television was implemented in March 2013. Patna comes under the Patna Telecom District of the

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bhar ...

(BSNL), India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider. Both

Global System for Mobile Communications The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such as ...

(GSM) and

Code division multiple access Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...

(CDMA) mobile services are available. Apart from telecom, BSNL also provides broadband internet service. Among private enterprises,

Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...

Reliance Jio Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, doing business as Jio, is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all ...

, Reliance GSM/CDMA,

Idea Cellular Idea Cellular (commonly referred to as Idea, and stylised as ''!dea'') was an Indian mobile network operator based at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Idea was a pan-India integrated GSM operator and had 220.00 million subscribers as of June 2018. Id ...

Aircel Aircel Ltd. was an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G data services. Maxis Communications held a 74% stake and Sindya Securities and Investments held the remaining 26%. Aircel was founde ...

Tata Teleservices Tata Tele Business Services Limited (TTBSL), formally known as Tata Tele Services Limited (TTSL), is an Indian broadband, telecommunications and cloud service provider based in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group, an Indian conglome ...

(

Tata DoCoMo Tata Docomo was an Indian mobile network operator, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Teleservices. In October 2017, Bharti Airtel announced a merger deal with Tata Teleservices and the acquisition of Tata Docomo. As of 21 July 2019, all Tata ...

Virgin Mobile Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Ara ...

and Tata Indicom),

Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, ...

(Formerly Uninor & Now Acquired by Bharti Airtel),

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

and

Videocon Telecom Videocon Telecommunications Limited, formerly Videocon Mobile Services, was an Indian cellular service provider that offered GSM mobile services in India under the brand name Videocon. The company was a subsidiary of the Videocon Group, and was ...

are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city. Patna was the second Indian city, after

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, which offered free WiFi connectivity to its citizens in February 2014. By surpassing the previous record-holder,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Patna's WiFi zone is the world's longest free WiFi zone, which covers a 20-km stretch from

NIT Patna National Institute of Technology Patna (NIT Patna), formerly Bihar School of Engineering and Bihar College of Engineering, is a public engineering institution located in Patna in the Indian state of Bihar. It was renamed as NIT Patna, by the G ...

Ashok Rajpath Ashok Rajpath is a road in Patna, the capital of Bihar. It is named after Ashoka, an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BCE to 232 BCE. It connects Patna with Patna city or Patna Sa ...

Danapur Danapur is a Indian satellite town and one of the 6 sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district of Bihar state.East – West Highway corridor. The NH 30, NH 31 and NH 2 passes through the city. The

, Patna-

Danapur Danapur is a Indian satellite town and one of the 6 sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district of Bihar state.Bailey Road, Harding Road and

old bypass Road are the major corridors. Patna was one of the first places in India to use horse-drawn trams for public

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

. Public transportation is provided for by buses,

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

s and

local trains Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

. Auto rickshaws are said to be the lifeline of the city.

BSRTC Bihar State Road Transport Corporation or BSRTC is a state-owned road transportation company in Bihar with compared to other Indian states it is facing financial crisis in term of government funding, which degrade its process of expanding basic ...

has started City bus service on all major routes of Patna. App based cab service is available within city.Piyush Kumar Tripathi
"Ola! City taps app & go habit"
, ''The Telegraph'' (Calcutta), 18 May 2016 Patna is about 70.02KM away from

Chhapra Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...

Air transport

Patna Airport known as

Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport Jayprakash Narayan International Airport is an international airport serving Patna, the capital of Bihar, India. It is named after the independence activist and political leader, Jayprakash Narayan. It is the 14th busiest airport in India. To ...

is classified as a restricted international airport. The arrival of several low-cost carriers and a number of new destinations have caused a growth in air traffic in recent years, as has an improvement in the situation with regard to law and order. For the period April to December 2009 the airport ranked first in a survey of 46 airports in the country in terms of percentage growth of domestic passengers as well as domestic aircraft movement. The

Airport Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and ...

(AAI) has proposed to develop a civil enclave at

Bihta Air Force Station The Bihta Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Bihta, Bihar, India. The military airfield, lies 40 kilometres southwest of state capital Patna and is spread over an area of around 900 acres. Civilian Operations In 2016, the Air ...

to serve as the new airport for Patna. The military airfield lies southwest of Patna, in

Railways

Patna is served by several railway stations within. The

Patna Junction railway station Patna Junction (station code PNBE) is a major railway station in the capital city of Patna in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the main railway station serving Patna. It falls under the Danapur division of the East Central Railway zone of the In ...

is the main railway station of the city, and one of the busiest railway stations in India. Patna lies in between

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 ...

Howrah–Delhi main line The Howrah–Delhi main line is a railway line connecting Delhi and Kolkata cutting across northern India. The railway line was opened to traffic in 1866 with the introduction of the "1 Down/2 Up Mail" train. Sections The long trunk line, ha ...

, which is one of the busiest rail routes in India. Patna Junction is directly connected to most of the major cities in India. The city has four additional major railway stations: (adjacent to

), (near Bailey road), (near western outskirts) and (in

area). Danapur is the divisional headquarters of

East Central Railway zone The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Hajipur and comprises Sonpur, Samastipur, Danapur, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, and Dhanbad divisions. History First set up on 8 ...

Danapur railway division Danapur railway division is one of the five divisions of East Central Railway (ECR), a zone of the Indian Railways located at Danapur in Patna district of Bihar state in eastern India. The other railway divisions are Sonpur, Samastipur, Mughals ...

. Patna is well connected with neighbouring Gaya,

Jehanabad Jehanabad is a town in Nagar parishad, Nagar Parishad and is the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Bihar. Jehanabad is famous for Barabar Hill Caves these are the oldest surviving rock-c ...

Bihar Sharif Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...

, Islampur through daily passenger and express train services. And also connected with

Jamalpur Junction Jamalpur Junction railway station, station code JMP, is the railway station serving the Munger– Jamalpur twin cities in the Munger district in the Indian State of Bihar. Location Jamalpur Junction is the main railhead for Munger city. ...

and

Munger Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern ...

. India's longest road-cum-rail bridge,

Digha–Sonpur bridge The Digha–Sonpur bridge ( hi, दीघा-सोनपुर पुल) or J. P. Setu ( hi, जेपी सेतु) is a rail-cum-road bridge across river Ganga, connecting Digha Ghat in Patna and Pahleja Ghat in Sonpur, Saran district ...

has been constructed across river

, connecting

Digha, Patna Digha is a residential neighbourhood in Patna. The area is served by Digha PS under Patna Police. Digha is mostly known for the "Ghats" mean place near Ganga river. Digha is also known for Rnet Software's (software company located in Digha Ban ...

to Pahleja Ghat in Sonpur. The bridge was completed in 2015, It is long and therefore the second longest rail-cum-road bridge in India, after

Bogibeel Bridge The Bogibeel Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra River in the northeastern Indian state of Assam between Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district, which was started in the year 2002 and took a total of 200 months to ...

in Assam. The city is served by several major road highways and state highways, including

National Highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

19, 30, 31, and 83.

Pataliputra Bus Terminal The Pataliputra Inter-State Bus Terminal commonly known as Bairiya ISBT or Bairiya Bus Terminal Patna, located near Kumhrar in Patna is an Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Patna, Bihar, India. It is the first ISBT of Bihar. The Patna ISBT wa ...

is an upcoming ISBT.

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

's longest river bridge, the

(built 1982), is in Patna and connects the city to Hajipur across the Ganga. In recent times, the bridge has been witnessing major traffic chaos and accidents due to exceeding number of vehicles passing over it and regularly overloading the structure. A new six lane road bridge across the Ganges parallel to Mahatma Gandhi Setu is proposed which would connect Kacchi Dargah in

to Bidupur in

Vaishali district Vaishali district is a district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is a part of Tirhut division. Vaishali is known for being the birthplace of Mahavira of the Jain religion. Hajipur, its largest city and district headquarters, is known for its ...

, which will be the longest bridge in India after completion. Patna is well connected with roads to various major cities of

like Hajipur,

, Jamalpur,

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...

, Gaya, and

Purnia Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...

. Patna is East from

, North East from

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- ...

, North from

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

and North West from

. Luxury bus service between Patna and several neighbouring cities is provided by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation and the

Bihar State Road Transport Corporation Bihar State Road Transport Corporation or BSRTC is a state-owned road transportation company in Bihar with compared to other Indian states it is facing financial crisis in term of government funding, which degrade its process of expanding basic ...

. Auto rickshaws are a popular mode of transportation. Prepaid auto services operated by an all-women crew was started in 2013 in Patna, which is the first of its kind in India. Radio Taxi services are also available within city limit as well as outskirts. There are private options such as Ola Cabs.

Metro

Patna Metro Patna Metro is a rapid transit system currently under construction in the city of Patna in Bihar, India. It will be owned and operated by the state-run Patna Metro Rail Corporation and is expected to run on two corridors by 2027. It is being co ...

is an under-construction

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

system for the city. It would be owned and operated by state run Patna Metro Rail Corporation. It will be constructed on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, estimated to cost . It will have 5 lines with a total planned length of km, which will be built in 3 phases. Patna Monorail Project covering the municipal area is also underway. Recently the central government approved Patna metro rail project comprising two corridors (Danapur - Khemnichak and

Patna Junction Patna Junction (station code PNBE) is a major railway station in the capital city of Patna in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the main railway station serving Patna. It falls under the Danapur division of the East Central Railway zone of the In ...

). According to government, the project will be completed until 2025 with an estimated cost of Rs. 133657.7 million. The

– navigable throughout the year – was the principal river highway across the vast Indo-Gangetic Plain. Vessels capable of accommodating five hundred merchants were known to ply this river in the ancient period; it served as a major trade route, as goods were transported from

to the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

and further, to ports in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and Southeast Asia. The role of the Ganges as a channel for trade was enhanced by its natural links – it embraces all the major rivers and streams in both north and south Bihar. In recent times,

Inland Waterways Authority of India Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It was constituted under IWAI Act-1985 by the Parliament of India.http://iwai.nic.in/showfile.php?lid=882 See section 3 of the act Its hea ...

has declared the stretch of river

between Allahabad and Haldia National Inland Waterway and has taken steps to restore and maintain its navigability. The National Waterway-1, the longest Waterway in India, stretches 1620 km in the River Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia via

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

passes through Patna. This National Waterways has fixed terminal at Patna.

Culture

Patna's native language is Magahi or

a language derived from the ancient Magadhi Prakrit, which was created in the ancient kingdom of

, the core of which was the area of Patna south of the

. It is believed to be the language spoken by

. Patna has a vibrant Bengali culture too with many Bengali stalwarts including the first Chief Minister of post-independence West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra Ray, being born here. The numerous Bengali speaking Patnaites have contributed massively into fine arts, culture, education and history of Bihar in general and Patna in particular. However, Magahi was the official language of the

court, in which the edicts of Ashoka were composed. The name ''Magahi'' is directly derived from the name Magadhi Prakrit, and educated speakers of Magahi prefer to call it "Magadhi" rather than "Magahi".Jain Dhanesh, George Cardona, Cardona George, ''The Indo-Aryan Languages'', pp449 Patna has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures"; others are in various stages of decay. Established in 1917 as the Bihar's first museum, the Patna Museum (पटना संग्रहालय) houses large collections that showcase Indian natural history and Indian art. The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library and Sinha Library are historic public libraries of Patna. Several theatres are in or near the central part of the city, including the Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir, the Rabindra Parishad, Premchand Rangshala and the Kalidas Rangalaya, which is home to the Bihar art theatre. Kalidas Rangalaya also hosts the Patliputra Natya Mahotsav, a dance festival. But in the last two decades, the popularity of commercial theatres in the city has declined. The Patna School of Painting or Patna Qalaam, some times also called Company style, is an offshoot of the well-known Mughal Miniature school of painting, which flourished in Bihar during the early 18th to the mid-20th centuries. The practitioners of this art form were descendants of Hindu artisans of Mughal painting who facing persecution under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and who found refuge, via Murshidabad, in Patna during the late 18th century. The Patna painters differed from the Mughal painters, whose subjects included only royalty and court scenes, in that they included as subjects bazaar scenes, scenes of Indian daily life, local dignitaries, festivals and ceremonies, and nature scenes. The paintings were executed in watercolours on paper and on mica, but the style was generally of a hybrid and undistinguished quality. It is this school of painting that inspired the formation of the College of Arts and Crafts, Patna, under the leadership of Shri Radha Mohan, which is an important centre of fine arts in Bihar. Some well known dishes of Bihari cuisine include (parathas stuffed with roasted gram flour), "" (a spiced drink with roasted gram flour as main ingredient), (spicy mashed potatoes), fish curry, Bihari kebab, , malpua, dal pitha (Similar to Momo (dumpling), momos), (Euryale ferox, fox nut) and (a type of snack). Street foods such as samosa, chaat, jalebi, litti chokha, phuchka (a deep-fried crêpe with tamarind sauce), South Indian and Chinese cuisine are favourite among Patnaites. Taj Hotel Patna is under construction at Budh Marg Lodipur. Bihari Women have traditionally worn cotton sari but shalwar kameez and other western attire are gaining acceptance among younger women. Western attire has gained wide acceptance among the urban men, although the traditional dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. Chhath, also called Dala Chhath, is a major ancient festival in Bihar. It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summer, called the Chaiti Chhath, and once about a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is Patna's another important festival; it is an occasion for glamorous celebrations. Among the city's other festivals, are Saraswati Puja, Eid al-Fitr, Eid, Holi, Christmas, Vishwakarma Puja, Makar Sankranti, Raksha Bandhan and Rath Yatra. Cultural events include the Patna Book Fair, Patna Sahib Mahotsav, the Patna Film Festival, Bihar Diwas, Rajgir Mahotsav, Vaishali Mahotsav and the Sonepur Cattle Fair in neighbouring towns. File:Durga Puja 2014 Patna 05.JPG, A murti, or representation, of the goddess Durga shown during the Durga Puja festival File:People Celebrating Chhath Festival.jpg, People Celebrating Chhath Festival the 2nd Day at Morning a tribute to the rising holy God Sun

Tourism

Patna is home to many Tourism in Patna, tourist attractions and it saw about 2.4 million tourists (including day visitors) in 2005. Tourists visiting the city accounted for 41% of the total number of tourists visiting

although Bodh Gaya was the most popular destination for foreign visitors. The cultural heritage of Bihar is reflected in its many ancient monuments. Kumhrar and Agam Kuan are the sites of the ruins of the Ashokan Pataliputra. Didarganj Yakshi remains as an example of Mauryan art.

is Takht (Sikhism), one of the Five Takhts of

and consecrates the birthplace of the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Gobind Singh. There are five other Tourism in Patna#Sikh pilgrimages, Gurdwaras in Patna which are related to different Sikh Gurus; these are Gurdwara Pahila Bara, Gurdwara Gobind Ghat, Gurdwara Guru ka Bagh, Gurdwara Bal Leela, Gurdwara Handi Sahib. and Prakash Punj. Padri Ki Haveli, Patna High Court, High Court,

, Sultan Palace (Patna), Sultan Palace and Patna Secretariat, Secretariat Building are examples of British architecture. Gandhi Maidan is a historic ground in Patna where several freedom movement rallies took place. Nealy built Buddha Smriti Park near

is also becoming a major tourist attraction. The Patna Planetarium (Indira Gandhi Planetarium) is in Patna's Indira Gandhi Science Complex. It claims to be one of the largest planetariums in Asia and to attract a large number of tourists. The Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan (Patna Zoo) is at Bailey Road, Raj Bhawan, Rajbanshi Nagar, and includes over 300 mammals, 300 birds and 450 species of reptiles as of January 2019. In 2015, the

government has built a state-of-the-art Bihar Museum, art landmark museum in Patna at a cost of approximately 530 crores on a site of 13.9 acres at Bailey Road. 5 firms were shortlisted for the architectural design, of which the Japanese firm Maki and Associates was chosen. It is now completed and opened for all. Completed in May 2018, the Sabhyata Dwar was built with a Mauryan art#Architecture, Mauryan-style architecture. It was opened to the general public in December 2018. In 2014, the Bihar government laid the foundation of Samrat Ashok International Convention Centre. It is expected to use more steel than used in raising Eiffel Tower and Indira Gandhi International Airport. Construction of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Science City began in February 2019. The Eco Park, Patna, Eco Park is in Jawaharlal Nehru Marg. It has more than 3,000 varieties of plants and includes several theme parks, a restaurant and a boat trip zone.

Education

Front view of administrative building of IIT Patna

Patna College, Admin Building, June 29 2012

Schools in Patna are either government-run schools or private schools. The schools are affiliated to Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) boards. A number of Bengali medium schools also thrive in Patna. Hindi and English are the primary languages of instruction. A 2012 survey found 1,574 schools: of these, 78% were private unaided schools (most of them at affordable cost), 21% were government schools and 1% were private aided.Baladevan Rangaraju, Professor James Tooley, Dr Pauline Dixon
"The Private School Revolution in Bihar: Findings from a survey in Patna Urban"
Under the 10+2+3 plan, 10+2+3/4 plan, students complete ten years of schooling and then enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated to the Bihar State Intermediate Board, the All-India Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the NIOS or the CBSE, where they select one of three streams: arts, commerce, or science. 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. Patna has important government educational institutions like Patna University, Anugrah Narayan College, Patna, Anugrah Narayan College, Chanakya National Law University, Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bakhtiyarpur College of Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Patna, Patna Science College, Patna Women's College, Patna Law College, Bihar Veterinary College, J.D. Women's College, Birla Institute of Technology, Patna, Patna Medical College Hospital, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Nalanda Medical College Hospital, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, National Institute of Fashion Technology Patna, Chandragupt Institute of Management, Chandragupta Institute of Management, Development Management Institute, National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology, Patliputra University. Patna University was established in 1917 and is the seventh oldest modern university in the Indian Sub-continent. Patna also has a variety of other universities, as well as many primary and secondary schools. Nalanda University (also known as Nalanda International University) is a newly established university in Rajgir, around from Patna. The University, created as a revival of an ancient centre of learning at Nalanda, began its first academic session on 1 September 2014. It will attract students from across the globe.

Sports

As in the Cricket in India, rest of India, cricket is popular in Patna and is played on grounds and in streets throughout the city. There are several sports grounds across the city. The Bihar Cricket Association, which regulates cricket in Bihar, is based in the city. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, basketball, football, badminton, and table tennis, are regularly organised on an inter-locality or inter-club basis. Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000, has served as the venue for two one-day international cricket matches and several national sport events. It was home to the Bihar cricket team. Due to negligence and lack of maintenance, the stadium is in a dilapidated state and no international match has been played here since 1996. In 2013, it was announced by the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar that an Nalanda International Cricket Stadium, international cricket stadium will be constructed at

. The Patna Golf Club was established on 21 March 1916, and is one of the oldest golf courses in India. It has 18 holes in a historic setting in and around Bailey Road, a course. Patna hosted the 2012 Women's Kabaddi World Cup, first ever woman's Kabaddi world cup. It was held at the Patliputra Sports Complex,

from 1 to 4 March 2012. Hosts

won the World Cup defeating Iran in the finals. Patna also hosts the seven league matches of Pro Kabaddi League with its home team as Patna Pirates at the Patliputra Sports Complex. Other famous sports complexes of Patna are Bihar Police, Bihar Military Police's Mithilesh Stadium,

's indoor stadium at Digha etc. File:Cricket (2305682483).jpg, A game of cricket in progress File:Kankarbagh Indoor Stadium.png, Kankarbagh Indoor Stadium at Patliputra Sports Complex during Pro Kabaddi League match

Media

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a number of notable new publications. A monthly magazine named ''Bharat Ratna'' was started in Patna in 1901. It was followed by ''Ksahtriya Hitaishi'', ''Aryavarta'' from Danapur, Dinapure, Patna, ''Udyoga'' and ''Chaitanya Chandrika''. ''Udyog'' was edited by Vijyaanand Tripathy, a famous poet of the time and ''Chaitanya Chandrika'' by Krishna Chaitanya Goswami, a literary figure of that time. The literary activity was not confined to Patna alone but to many districts of Bihar.Ahmad Qeyamuddin, ''Patna Through the ages: Glimpses of History, Society and Economy, Commonwealth Publishers'', New Delhi, 1988 Magahi Parishad, established in Patna in 1952, pioneered

journalism in Bihar. It started the monthly journal, ''Magadhi'', which was later renamed ''Bihan''. Many national media agencies, including the Press Trust of India and Doordarshan's regional offices, are based in the city. ''The Hindu'', ''The Times of India'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''The Economic Times'' and ''The Telegraph (Calcutta), The Telegraph'' are the five principal English-language daily newspapers which have Patna editions. ''The Pioneer (newspaper), The Pioneer'' and ''The Indian Express'', though not printed in the city, are other English-language daily newspapers available in the city. The city's Hindi newspapers include ''Hindustan Dainik'', ''Dainik Jagran'', ''Dainik Bhaskar'', ''Prabhat Khabar'', ''Aj (newspaper), Aaj'' and ''Rashtriya Sahara'', all of which have editions from Patna. There are also daily Urdu newspapers like Qaumi Tanzeem and Farooqi Tanzeem published in Patna. There is also the Hindi and English mixed newspaper tabloid Inext. Patna has several AM and FM radio stations, including many state-owned channels. The city hosts several radio stations, including the state-owned All India Radio's Vividh Bharati, and FM 105. The All India Radio, Patna (officially Akashvani Patna Kendra) was established in 1948. Patna is served by several private channels.

Private FM stations

Notable people

References

External links

Official website of Patna district

Official website of the Municipal Corporation of Patna

The Portuguese on the Bay of Bengal
{{Authority control Patna, 5th-century BC establishments Cities and towns in Patna district Indian capital cities Holy cities Metropolitan cities in India Populated places established in the 5th century BC