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Area |
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1,483 sq km |
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Union Territory Portal |
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Population |
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13,850,507 |
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Capital |
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Delhi |
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Principal Languages |
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Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu & English |
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History and Geography
Delhi finds prominent reference right from the times of the epic Mahabharata. Its control passed from one ruler/dynasty to another, beginning with the Mauryas, Pallavas, Guptas of Central India, and then to the Turk and Afghan during the 13th to 15th centuries, and finally to the Mughals in the 16th century. In the latter half of the 18th century and early 19th century, the British rule was established in Delhi. In 1911, Delhi became the centre of all activities after the capital was shifted from Kolkata. It was made a Union Territory in 1956. Lying in the northern part of the country, Delhi is surrounded by Haryana on all sides except the east, where it borders with Uttar Pradesh. The 69th Constitutional amendment is a milestone in Delhi's history, as it got a Legislative Assembly with the enactment of the National Capital Territory Act, 1991.
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Parliament of India,
New Delhi |
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View exhaustive collection of pictures on India at Photo Gallery section. |
Agriculture
The principal food crops are wheat, bajra, jowar, gram and maize. However, emphasis has now shifted from food crops to vegetables and fruit crops, dairy, poultry-farming, floriculture, etc., as these are more remunerative than food crops in the territory.
Industry
Delhi is not only the largest commercial centre in northern India, but also the largest centre of small industries. These industries are manufacturing a wide variety of items like television, tape recorders, light engineering machines and automobile parts, sports goods, bicycles and PVC goods including footwear textiles, fertilizers, medicines, hosiery, leather goods, software, etc.
Delhi's new millennium industrial policy emphasizes setting up of high-tech and sophisticated industries in electronics, telecommunications, software industries, IT enabling services, etc. The industries, which are non-polluting and encourage high value addition and depend largely on skilled manpower, are being promoted.
Irrigation and Power
Due to fast urbanisation taking place in the rural areas of Delhi, cultivable command area under irrigation is getting reduced day by day. To curb this problem, schemes like, Keshopur Effluent Irrigation Scheme Phase-III'' and Improvement and Extension of Effluent Irrigation System from Coronation Treatment Plant'' have been taken up.
The firm availability of power for Delhi from its own generating units at Rajghat Power Houses, IP Station and Gas Turbines including Badarpur Thermal Station is around 900 MW. The remaining power is drawn from Northern Regional Grid. Delhi has also envisaged a number of generating projects to be taken up.
To streamline the distribution of power, Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) has been privatized, and Delhi is now served by the two of the best electric utilities in India, BSES and Tata Power (NDPL).
Transport
Delhi is well connected by roads, rail and air with all parts of India. It has three airports Indira Gandhi International Airport for the international flights, Palam Airport for national air services, and Safdarjung Airport for training purposes. It has three important railway stations Delhi Junction, New Delhi Railway Station and Nizamuddin Railway Station. Delhi has three inter-state bus terminals at Kashmeri Gate, Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar.
Keeping in view the rising vehicular pollution and chaotic traffic condition in the city of Delhi, it has been decided to start Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). The metro project has started.
Festivals
Being a cosmopolitan city, all major festivals of India are celebrated here. Moreover, some tourism festivals have become regular annual events of Delhi. Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation organises Roshnara Festival, Shalimar Festival, Qutub Festival, Winter Carnival, Garden Tourism and Mango Festival every year.
Tourist Places
Important tourist places are Lal Quila (Red Fort), Jama Masjid, Qutub Minar, India Gate, Laxmi Narain Mandir (Birla Mandir), Humayun's Tomb, Lotus Temple, etc. Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation Limited conducts city sight-seeing and excursion tours. The Corporation has also introduced adventure tourism activities, such as para-sailing, rock-climbing and boating. The Corporation has also developed Delhi Haat, where coffee and food items of different states are available at one place. More such Haats are coming up in different parts of the city. The Garden of five Senses'' in the South District of Delhi attracts a lot of tourists visiting Delhi.
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