Dynamic City-Regions in India Presentations for five (5 ... - Unido

Brief History of Pune and Maharashtra Region:
Maharashtra, the 3 rd largest and the 6 th well development infrastructure state in India, was created in 1960,
from the Marathi-speaking regions of what was previously known as Bombay State. Maharashtra is one of
the leading states for industrial development in the country and continues to attract the largest quantum of
investments, both domestic and foreign.
The State offers well-developed Infrastructure, excellent educational facilities, quality-trained manpower, a
professional work and ethic/conducive business environment. No wonder that a joint survey of leading Indian
States conducted by the World Bank along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), found that
Maharashtra has the best investment climate.
Table 17.General Information table
Capital
Area
Population(Census
1991)
Principal Languages
Urbanisation
Ratio(1991)
Mumbai
3,08,000 sq km
78.9 million
Marathi
38.7%
Literacy Rate(1991) 63.1%
Major Minerals
Major Industries
Major Crops
Coal, Limestone.
Food products, beverage, tobacco cotton textiles, paper & printing, rubber petroleum, coal, chemicals
Pharmaceuticals metal products, electrical machinery & apparatus, transport equipment.
Rice, wheat and variety of pulses, groundnut, safflower, cotton, Sugarcane, tobacco, orange, banana, mango,
grape, cashew nut, sweet lime.
Pune attraction
Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra, lies at the banks of the Mutha and Mula River, surrounded by hills
and has natural settings with pleasant climate. Pune is a significant milestone in the history of India, and
today, it is very much a modern city, but still retains its old values and traditions. While it has always been a
corporate stopover, Pune has its mix culture which, makes it interesting for sight seeing within the city. Pune
city being located in Mumbai-Pune Industrial belt is amongst an important industrial centre in the country.
Number of industries ranging from small scale to large scale is situated in and around Pune.
Pune is the second largest city in Maharashtra with the following reasons contribute to its attractiveness for
investment:
1. Proximity and accessibility to Mumbai.
2. Affordable Real Estate Prices.
3. Better infrastructure, power, road, water, telecom etc
4. Available of skilful labour and entrepreneurs
5. A salubrious climate.
Pune is considered to be an educational and cultural centre of Maharashtra and it has been described as the
Oxford of the East, Detroit of India and one that is poised to becoming the San Jose of Asia. It had changed
its profile to an industrial city in late 1970’s. It stands at the other end of the 'Knowledge Corridor', an
expressway in the form of a superhighway promoted by the Maharashtra State Government, linking its
economic capital Mumbai with Pune as the Knowledge Capital of the State.
The proximity of Pune to Mumbai and the availability of infrastructure facilities, existence of transport and
communication services and also the presence of skilled and unskilled manpower attracted a large number of
industries to this region especially after a ban was imposed on Mumbai’s further industrial expansion in 1960.
Barring a few major industries which have been set up on the eastern side of Pune city, most industries are
developed around the Pune-Mumbai Highway north of Kirkee Cantonment in the vicinity of Pimpri Chinchwad.
The process of migration of people from different parts of the country as well as from the neighbouring
areas also continued because of employment opportunities created by rapid industrialisation. It also resulted
in acute housing problem and increase in slum settlements.
The three I's, in the form of Institutions, Infrastructure and Industries are gifting the Mumbai-Pune corridor
with the great support and facilities to create more opportunities and wealth for the state and for the country.
Under the Maharashtra government's 3As, i.e.; Anytime, Anyhow, Anywhere (AAA), the objective for
enhancing the IT policy for empowerment through connectivity, properly reached its goals. An economic
perspective of the developments that have taken place and consideration of the emerging trends resulting from
various initiatives makes it apparent that Pune emerges as the IT capital of the 21st Century. A sound
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