KNOWLEDGE OF PUNJAB

Punjab, the richest state in India that throbs with the vibrant culture of equally vibrant people, has always moved on the path of prosperity despite all odds. A state where dreams of moving with the times have blossomed among the lush green fields and fertile soil. With its inimitable style of transforming every potential opportunity into a success story through enterprise and endeavor Punjab has always been at the forefront in the development story of India. Punjab – The Food basket and Granary of India", has been awarded National Productivity Award for agriculture extension services for consecutively ten years from 1991-92 to 1998-99 and 2001 to 2003-04.

Punjab is now well on its way to rapid industrialization through coordinated development of Small, Medium and Large scale industries. Punjab has been declared one of the best States in India in terms of rail, road and transport network as per National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), 2007. Ludhiana (Punjab) has been adjudged as the best place for doing business in India as per the World Bank Study, 2009. With the up-gradation of Amritsar International Airport & another International Airport coming up in Mohali, Punjab is geared to be one of the finest and easily accessible tourist as well as business destinations in South Asia.  State Government has undertaken setting up of new power projects at Gidderbaha, Talwandi Sabo, Rajpura and Goindwal Sahib which will make Punjab a power surplus state by 2012. Punjab is already home to many large Indian Companies & MNCs like Ranbaxy, Hero Group, Avon Cycles, Gujarat Ambuja, Trident Group, Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala), Sonalika, M & M, Godrej, Phillips, Oswal Woolen Mills, HCL, Nestle, Smithkline Beecham, ICI, Quark, Dell, IDS Infotech, etc. to name a few.

The area of Punjab can be divided into

Malwa is a region of Punjab and parts of Haryana between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. People of Malwa are known for being great fighters, and warriors. The Malwa area makes up majority of the Punjab region consisting 11 districts. Cities such as Ludhiana, Patiala, Bhatinda and Mohali located in the Malwa region

Majha is a historical region of the Indian Punjab comprising the modern districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran.  It lies between two of the five great rivers of the Punjab: the Ravi and the Sutlej.

Doaba is the region of Indian Punjab surrounded by the rivers Beas and Sutlej. The name "Doaba" literally translates to "land of two rivers" ("Do" two, "Ab" river; Punjabi). It is one of the most fertile regions of the world, and was the centre of the Green Revolution in India. To this day, it remains one of the largest per capita producers of wheat in the world. The biggest cities in Doaba are Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Adampur, Nawansher and Phagwara.

Geographical area

The geographical area of Punjab is 50,362 sq. km (1.5% of India's total IT lies in North-west of India. Its average elevation is 300 m from the sea level.

Location

Punjab extends from the latitudes 29.30° North to 32.32° North and longitudes 73.55° East to 76.50° East. It is bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu and Kashmir, on the northeast by Himachal Pradesh and on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan. Due to the presence of a large number of rivers, most of the Punjab is a fertile plain. The southeast region of the state is semi-arid and gradually presents a desert landscape. A belt of undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas.

State Capital

The state capital of Punjab is Chandigarh.

Cities/ Towns

There are 14 cities and 157 towns in Punjab. Punjab has some very valuable historical, colorful great cities .The major cities in Punjab are Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Bathinda. The State of Punjab in western India is one of the most fertile regions of the earth. The cities have rich culture of self dependence, self reliance and hard work.

Literacy Rate

The literacy rate in Punjab is 76.7%

Urban-Rural ratio

Being an agricultural state, a large part of the population lives in the rural area. Approx. 66% of people live in rural areas while the rest 34% is urban resident.

Sex ratio

Sex ratio defined as number of females per 1000 males in the population. According to the 2011 census there are 893 females per 1000 males in Punjab.

Religion

Sikhism is the most practiced faith in Punjab, and roughly 60% of the population belongs to the Sikh faith. 37% of the population practices Hinduism. The Punjabi language, written in the Gurmukhi script is the official and most commonly used language in the state. Other languages that are spoken in Punjab are Hindi, and English.

Climate

Punjab is situated in the North-Western part of India. The Punjab Climate is determined by the extreme hot and extreme cold conditions. The region lying near the foot hills of Himalayas receive heavy rainfall whereas the region lying at a distant from the hills, the rainfall is scanty and the temperature is high.

Punjab’s climate comprises of three seasons. They are the summer months that spans from mid April to the end of June. The rainy season in Punjab is from the months of early July to end of September. The winter season in Punjab is experienced during the months of early December to the end of February. The transitional Seasons in Punjab are the post monsoon season and the post winter season.

The state of Punjab has 20 districts which comprise of sub-divisions, tehsils & blocks.

Punjab has 20 districts:

 »         Amritsar

»          Bathinda

»          Barnala

»          Faridkot

»          Fatehgarh Sahib

»          Ferozepur

»          Gurdaspur

»          Hoshiarpur

»          Jalandhar

»          Kapurthala

»          Ludhiana

»          Mansa

»          Moga

»          Muktsar

»          Mohali

»          Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar

»          Patiala

»          Rup Nagar

»          Tarn Taran

»          Sangrur