Raipur

Raipur district, like the rest of the Chhattisgarh plain, was once known as Dakshina Kosala and considered to be under Maurya Empire. In Arang near Raipur, a Gupta inscription dated to the 6th century CE shows Gupta hegemony over the region. In the 7th century CE, the region was ruled by a Buddhist kingdom in Bhandak in modern-day Maharashtra and was described by Xuanzang. A branch of this family later migrated to Sirpur in present-day Mahasamund district, and later took control of the entirety of Dakshina Kosala. This kingdom's prosperity reached its height with Tivaradeva. His son inscribed almost all temples in Sirpur. They were later ousted by the Sharabpuriyas, who took control of the rest of Chhattisgarh and ruled for several centuries. By the early 9th century the Kalachuris gained control of the region. The Kalachuris of Ratnapura ruled Ratnapur until the 13th century. …

Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred to as the "rice bowl of India", where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown. The Mahanadi River flows to the east of the city of Raipur, and the southern side has dense forests. The Maikal Hills rise on the north-west of Raipur; on the north, the land rises and merges with the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which extends north-east across Jharkhand state. On the south of Raipur lies the Deccan Plateau. Raipur has a tropical wet and dry climate, and temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, except from March to June, which can be extremely hot. The temperature in April–May sometimes rises above 48 °C (118 °F). These summer months also have dry and hot winds. The city receives about 1,300 millimetres (51 in) of rain, mostly in the monsoon season from mid June to early October. …

Raipur, being the capital city of Chhattisgarh, has attracted large amounts of industrial development. As it is the state capital, the government and service sectors make up a large part of the city's economy and workforce. Manufacturing industries are also well-developed in the city, with a large number of industrial zones. Raipur is also regarded as one of the best cities to do business. It is abundantly rich in mineral resources and is among the biggest producers of steel and iron in the country. There are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, at least 6 steel plants, 60 plywood factories, 35 ferro-alloy plants, and 500 agro-industries in the city. In addition, Raipur also has over 800 rice milling plants. Dalmia Cement (Bharat) is planning to set up an integrated cement manufacturing unit with a capacity of 2.5 million TPA in Raipur. …

Some major roads in Raipur are National Highway 53 (NH-53), National Highway 30 (NH-30), Great Eastern Road, Pandri Road, Baloda Bazar Road, Nardha Raipur Road, VIP Road, and Atal Path Expressway. The Raipur–Naya Raipur Expressway, also known as Atal Path Expressway, is a 12.7 km (7.9 mi) access-controlled expressway connecting Raipur to Naya Raipur. It has been made to ease the traffic on the GE road and provide faster access to Dhamtari road from Raipur railway station. It serves 4 flyovers and 1 elevated corridor, crossing over GE road and NH-53 in between two ends of the expressway. The proposed Durg–Raipur–Arang Expressway, Raipur-Ranchi-Dhanbad Expressway and the under-construction Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway will pass through and start from Raipur, which after completion, will enhance connectivity and commute further with other cities to and from Raipur. …

As of the 2011 census, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,433, of which 519,286 are males and 490,801 are females—a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 124,471 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 64,522 are boys and 59,949 are girls—a ratio of 929 girls per 1000 boys. There are 769,593 literates (420,155 males, 349,438 females). The effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%. The urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555, of which males constitute 578,339, females constitute 544,216—a sex ratio of 941 females per 1000 males and 142,826 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 846,952 literates with an effective literacy rate of 86.45%.