New Delhi Overview
Welcome to New Delhi, the capital of India, the third largest city in the
country. The sprawling city divided into Old Delhi and New Delhi, gives the
feel of the old and the new, with its ancient historical monuments interspersed
with soaring skyscrapers, embassies and bustling commercial complexes. The
city, a major travel gate way hub has extreme climates, immense heat waves
during summer and chilly coldness during winter.
Delhi has been
the capital of India since Independence in 1947, but even before that,
the British
moved their capital here from Calcutta in 1911. For much of
its history, Delhi was the centre of power of the various Muslim dynasties
that ruled swathes of the subcontinent from the 12th century onwards.
New Delhi General Facts
Area : 1,483 sq.km
Population : 1,27,82,976
Season : October - March
STD Code : 011
Independance: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
Republic Day: 26 January (1950)
Economy Overview
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture,
handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services.
Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for half of India's
output with less than one quarter of its labor force. About three-fifths of
the work-force is in agriculture, leading the UPA government to articulate
an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to
improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government
controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but
high tariffs (averaging 20% on non-agricultural items in 2004) and limits on
foreign direct investment are still in place. The government in 2005 liberalized
investment in the civil aviation, telecom, and construction sectors. Privatization
of government-owned industries essentially came to a halt in 2005, and continues
to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities
hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate
of more than 7% in the decade since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage
points. India achieved 7.6% GDP growth in 2005, significantly expanding manufacturing.
India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled
in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and
software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about
the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9%
of GDP; government borrowing has kept interest rates high. Economic deregulation
would help attract additional foreign capital and lower interest rates. The
huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental
problem.
New Delhi History
Modern Delhi is really two cities: Old Delhi, packed into the narrow, filthy
streets beneath the Red Fort's imposing walls, and New Delhi, which is its
polar opposite, complete with the grandiose Imperial citadel, broad, leafy
boulevards and well-spaced bungalows, as laid out by Lutyens and Baker in the
1920s. Old Delhi, built by Shah Jahan in the 17th century, is only the latest
of seven cities that have existed in this location since the Muslims first
arrived. Around New Delhi, particularly in the area known as Transjamuna, across
the river from the Old City, are the suburbs and slums that have sprung up
to accommodate a population that has increased, more by migration than by natural
increment, by 46% between 1991 and 2001 (latest figure available). This population
explosion has brought greater poverty and more wretched degradation in its
wake - 45% of Delhi’s inhabitants live in slum accommodation and there
are beggars on every street corner. In India, literacy rates are improving
sharply, but in Delhi, illiteracy continues, marginally, to grow.
Summer in Delhi
is best avoided. From mid-April, the temperature rises inexorably. For much
of May, June and July the thermometer is stuck at around 45°C
(113°F),
before the monsoon brings some relief. The best time to visit is February or
March.
Despite its long history, Delhi as a city is in fact very young. At partition
in 1947, Delhi was radically and permanently changed, more or less overnight.
With the creation of a predominately Hindu India and an exclusively Muslim
Pakistan, there was a mass migration of peoples in both directions and sectarian
bloodletting
on a horrifying scale. Having been largely Muslim, before 1947, at Partition
Delhi became a Hindu and Sikh, Punjabi-speaking city. At the same time, the
population virtually doubled, despite the mass exodus of Muslims. This astonishing,
artificial
demographic change does much to explain Delhi’s brashness and insecurity
- in many respects, it is a city that is only half a century old.
Languages in India
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national,
political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and
primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages:
Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya,
Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular
variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an
official language
Administrative Divisions in India
28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh,
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu
and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal
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