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Maharashtra
Maharashtra Geography
Maharashtra encompasses an area of 308,000 km˛ (119,000
mi˛), the third largest in India after Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra is bordered by the states of
Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east,
Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, Karnataka to the south,
and Goa to the southwest. The state of Gujarat lies to the
northwest, with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar
Haveli sandwiched in between. The Arabian Sea makes up
Maharashtra's west coast.
The Western Ghats are a hilly range running parallel to
the coast, at an average elevation of 1,200 metres (4,000
feet)). To the west of these hills lie the Konkan coastal
plains, which is 50 – 80 kilometres in width. To the east
of the Ghats lies the flat Deccan Plateau. The Western
Ghats form one of the three watersheds of India, from
which many South Indian rivers originate. To the north of
the state, near the Madhya Pradesh border, lies the
Satpura Range.
The Western Ghats form the source of several major rivers
of Maharashtra, notable among them being Godavari and the
Krishna. The rivers, along with their tributaries, flow
eastwards into the Bay of Bengal, irrigating most of
central and eastern Maharashtra. The Ghats are also the
source of numerous small rivers which flow westwards
emptying into the Arabian Sea. To the north of the state,
the rivers Tapi and Narmada flow westwards into the
Arabian Sea, irrigating most of northern Maharashtra. To
the east are major rivers like Vainganga that flow to the
south and eventually to Bay of Bengal.
The plateau is composed of black basalt soil, rich in
humus. This soil is well suited for cultivating cotton,
and hence is often called black cotton soil.
Maharashtra Districts
Maharashtra is divided into thirty-five districts, which
are grouped into six divisions: Aurangabad, Amravati,
Konkan, Nagpur, Nashik, and Pune. These are official
revenue divisions of government of Maharashtra.
Geographically, historically and according to political
sentiments Maharashtra has five main regions: Vidarbha or
Berar (Nagpur and Amravati divisions), Marathwada (Aurangabad
Division), Kandesh and Northern Maharashtra (Nashik
Division), Desh or Western Maharashtra (Pune division),
and Konkan (Konkan Division).
Districts
Thane , Mumbai (Suburban) , Mumbai (City) , Raigarh ,
Ratnagiri , Sindhudurg , Nashik , Ahmednagar , Pune ,
Satara , Sangli , Kolhapur , Nandurbar , Dhule , Jalgaon ,
Buldana , Aurangabad , Jalna , Parbhani , Beed , Latur ,
Osmanabad , Solapur , Amravati , Akola , Washim , Hingoli
, Nanded , Wardha , Yavatmal , Nagpur , Chandrapur ,
Bhandara , Bhandara , Gondia , Gadchiroli.
Maharashtra Economy
Maharashtra's gross state domestic product for 2004 is
estimated at $106 billion in current prices.
Maharashtra's is India's leading industrial state
contributing 23% of national industrial output. 64.14% of
the people are employed in agriculture and allied
activities. Almost 46% of the GSDP is contributed by
industry. Major industries in Maharashtra include chemical
and allied products, electrical and non-electrical
machinery, textiles, petroleum and allied products. Other
important industries include metal products, wine,
jewellery, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, machine
tools, steel and iron castings and plastic wares. Food
crops include mangoes, grapes, bananas, oranges, wheat,
rice, jowar, bajra, and pulses. Cash crops include
groundnut, cotton, sugarcane, turmeric, and tobacco. The
net irrigated area totals 33,500 square kilometres.
Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra houses the headquarters
of almost all major banks, financial institutions,
insurance companies and mutual funds. Within Mumbai is
located Bollywood, the centre of India's Hindi film and
television industry. India's largest stock exchange Bombay
Stock Exchange, which is the oldest in whole of Asia, is
located in the city. After successes in the information
technology in the neighbouring states, Maharashtra has set
up software parks in Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, and Nashik. |
