Maharashtra is a major state of India, located in the Western part of India.  It is the third largest state of India by size and the second largest by population.

Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra also known as the commercial capital of India. Maharshtra is considered as India’s most industrialized state, specifically the Mumbai-Pune belt. 

Maharashtra contributes around 15% of the country’s industrial output and around 14-15% of its total GDP. This state is a leader among Indian states in terms of commercial, industrial production, trade, transport and education.

Agriculturally too, the state is one of India’s more advanced and well irrigated among all Indian states.

Administratively, the state of Maharashtra is partitioned into 36 Districts and six Revenue Divisions, namely:

·      Mumbai (Konkan)

·      Nashik

·      Aurangabad

·      Amravati

·      Nagpur

·      Pune (Western Maharashtra)

In Maharashtra each district is headed by a District Collector who is responsible for the revenue administration and being at this position the District Collector has to carry multifaceted disciplinary responsibilities of both, the District Collector as well as the DM.

Maharashtra shares its state boundaries with 6 other Indian states:

·      Gujarat,

·      Madhya Pradesh

·      Chhattisgarh

·      Telangana

·      Karnataka

·      Goa

Area : 307000 Sq.Km

GDP : 311040 (Crore Rs)

Per Capita Income : 215000 (Rs)

Population : 1124 (Lakhs)

Maharashtra or the Great Land has a glorious past which forms a halo for the state. The name Maharashtra is believed to be originated from Rathi, which means chariot driver.

The historical reign of Maharashtra includes the rule of the Vakatakas, the Islamic influence from the reign of the Delhi sultanate, the Maratha Empire started by the great Shivaji and later the rule of the Peshwas added more glitter to the glory. The whole state was broken down into number of princely states which was later reunited after the independence into a single state of Maharashtra.

1960 was the most important year for Maharashtra because in this year the Bombay Re-organization Act was passed and then Maharashtra legally became a separate state of India. 

Maharashtra has fabulous connectivity with the rest of the country as well as with rest of the world. All the cities of Maharashtra are well connected by Railways, Airports, Sea Ports and Roadways.

Airport Connectivity :

Maharashtra is well connected to rest of the world with three major airports in the state:

·      Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport

·      Pune Airport

·      Nagpur’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport.

·      Aurangabad Airport is a customs airport connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, etc.

Mumbai Airport is the second busiest airport in India after Delhi.

Railway Connectivity :

This state is connected with diverse parts of India by the Indian Railways. Mumbai being the headquarters of the Central and Western railways while on the other side Nagpur, which is in close proximity to the geographical centre of India, has efficient rail  connectivity with all the metropolitan cities of India.

Road Connectivity :

Maharashtra has an extensive road network that includes national and state highways ,major district roads, other district roads ,and village roads. It has 18 National Highways which connect Maharashtra to six neighbouring states and the rest of the country.

Metro Connectivity: 

Maharashtra has metro rail and mono rail networks. Currently Mumbai Metro is operational while metro at Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and Pune are under construction.

The current length of Mumbai Monorail System is 19.5 km and is set to become the fifth-largest monorail system in the world with proposed 135km track by 2031. The Maharashtra government is also planning three new networks in the state: Navi Mumbai Monorail, Pune Monorail and Nagpur Monorail.

Bus Connectivity :

The MSRT buses and the BEST bus services are used by the passengers to go from one place to the other. Other than these, private cars, auto rickshaws, taxis and intra-city buses also run efficiently throughout the state

Port/Water transport Connectivity :

As Maharashtra is situated on the Arabian Sea, the two principal seaports of Maharashtra namely Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port are both a part of the Mumbai region. There are around 48 other minor ports in Maharashtra, most of them handle passenger traffic and have a limited capacity.

Maharashtra ranks 15th among the Indian in Human Development Index.

The Economy of Maharastra is the largest in India, with a gross state domestic product of Rs 28.28 trillion.

Mumbai is one of the most visited cities of Maharashtra and some of the famous places include: Film Industry, Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Juhu Beach, Chowpatty Beach, Essel World, etc.

The Indian state of Maharashtra is home to a number of pilgrimage spots and religious sites, belonging to different religions. Some of the famous religious places in Maharashtra are: Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Haji Ali Dargah, Mount Mary Church, The Statue of Ahimsa, Iskon Temple, etc.

The State continues to attract industrial investments from both, domestic as well as foreign institutions. It has become a leading automobile production hub and a major IT growth centre which has boast the number of special export promotion zones.

Maharashtra is well known as Education Hub of India as the literacy rate is high.

Some of the top-notch Universities in Maharashtra are:

• Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
• Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
• Symbiosis International university
• Savitribai Phule Pune University
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research