 National Capital Territory of Delhi
Delhi History
Delhi has seen the rise and fall of many empires which have left behind a plethora of monuments that attest to the grandeur and glory of bygone ages. Traditionally, Delhi is said to be the site of the magnificent and opulent Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. A village called Indarpat existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century. The ancient historic village was obliterated to make place for construction of New Delhi by the British.
Excavations have unearthed sherds of the grey painted ware (ca. 1000 BC) that some archaeologists associate with the age of the Mahabharata, but no coherent settlement traces have been found. Some locate Indraprastha in the Purana-Qila area.
The earliest architectural relics age back to the Mauryan Period (ca 300 BCE); since then, the site has seen continuous settlement. In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan King Ashoka (273-236 BCE) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were later brought to the city by Firuz Shah Tughluq. The famous Iron pillar near the Qutub Minar was commissioned by the emperor Kumara Gupta I of the Gupta dynasty (320-540) and transplanted to Delhi at some time in the 10th century. Eight major cities have been situated in the Delhi area. The first four cities were in the southern part of present-day Delhi.
Delhi Geography
Delhi is located at 28.38° N and 77.13° E and lies in northern India. It borders the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on the south and Haryana on the west. Delhi can be divided into three major geographical regions: the Yamuna flood plain, the ridge and the Gangetic Plains. The low-lying Yamuna flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture. However, these plains are prone to recurrent floods. With an average altitude of 293 m above sea level, [4] the ridge forms the most dominating feature in this region. It originates from the Aravalli Hills in the south and encircles the west, northeast and northwest portions of the city. The Great Gangetic Plains are located in the south of the city and cover most of Delhi.
Delhi Economy
With an estimated Gross Domestic Product of 478 billion INR (2005 figure), Delhi is an important commercial center in South Asia. According to the economic survey of Delhi, carried out in 2000-01, Delhi had a per capita income of 38,860 INR and recorded an annual economic growth rate of 9.9%. In 2001, the tertiary sector contributed 78.4% of Delhi's GDP followed by Secondary and Primary sectors with 20.2% and 1.4% contribution respectively. The city enjoys a considerably high literacy rate (81.7%). [9] Delhi's workforce constituted 32.84% of the population showing an increase of 51.9% between 1991 and 2001. This massive increase in the workforce was primarily due to migration of unemployed people from neighbouring states. As a consequence, Delhi's unemployment rate increased from 5.7% to 12.7% during the period 1992 to 2000. In December 2000, 991,000 people were registered with various employment exchange programs in Delhi.
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