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Maharashtra occupies the western and central part of the country and has a long coastline stretching nearly 720 km along the Arabian Sea. The Sahyadri mountain ranges provide a natural backbone to the State on the west, while the Satpuda hills along the north and Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri ranges on the east serve as its natural borders. The State is surrounded by Gujarat to the North West, Madhya Pradesh to the North, Chhattisgarh to the East, Telangana to the South East, Karnataka to the South and Goa to the South West. The State enjoys tropical monsoon climate. The hot scorching summer from March onwards is normally followed by monsoon in early June. The rich green cover of the monsoon season persists during the mild winter that follows through an unpleasant October transition. The seasonal rains from the western sea-clouds are very heavy and the rainfall is over 400 cm on the Sahyadrian crests. The Konkan on the windward side is endowed with heavy rainfall, declining northwards. East of the Sahyadri, the rainfall diminishes to a meagre 70 cm in the western plateau districts. The rains slightly increase eastwards in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. Maharashtra is the second largest state in India in terms of population and has geographical area about 3.08 lakh sq. km. The State has 36 districts which are functioning under six revenue divisions viz. Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati and Nagpur, with effective machinery for planning at the district level. For local self-governance in rural areas, there are 34 Zilla Parishads, 351 Panchayat Samitis and 27,920 Gram Panchayats. The urban areas are governed through 26 Municipal Corporations, 230 Municipal Councils, 111 Nagar Panchayats and seven Cantonment Boards. Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India, houses the headquarters of most of the major corporate & financial institutions. India's main stock exchanges & capital market and commodity exchanges are located in Mumbai.
The State has 233 lakh ha of land under cultivation and area under forest is 52.0 lakh . Many irrigation projects are being implemented to improve irrigation. A watershed development programme is being implemented to ensure that soil and water conservation measures are implemented speedily in the un- irrigated area.The Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyaan has been launched to make Maharashtra �a drought-free state by 2019� and every year 5,000 villages are targeted to make them free of water scarcity.Animal husbandry is an important agriculture related activity. The State�s share in livestock and poultry population in India is about 6.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively.
Maharashtra is one of the highly industrialised states and is a major IT growth centre. It is pioneer in Small Scale Industries and continues to attract industrial investments from both, domestic as well as foreign institutions. The State has given importance to primary education, which has resulted in consistent improvement in literacy rate. The literacy rate of the State is 82.3 per cent against 73.0 per cent at All-India level as per the Population Census 2011. Free education upto XIIth class is provided to girls studying in Government aided schools. Excellent higher educational institutions in the fields of engineering, medical and management are located here. As per India Human Development Report 2011, India�s Human Development Index is 0.467 whereas; it is 0.572 for the State. The State has well spread road network of 2.99 lakh km (maintained by Public Works Department and Zilla Parishads). All weather roads and fair weather roads connect about 99 per cent villages. The surface transport facilities and connectivity with sea ports and airports have resulted in good transport system.The State is well known for its administrative acumen and innovative ideas. It is first to implement Women Policy and engendering the budget by establishing separate �Women & Child Development� department. It is pioneer in implementing its �Employment Guarantee Scheme� which is replicated by the Government of India. Maharashtra is not just a geographical expression but an entity built on collective efforts of its people. Natural as well as cultural diversities have helped in the development of a unique Marathi culture. It has its own spiritual dimension and known as Land of Saints. It has produced many renowned personalities covering almost every aspect of human development. The State has sizable contribution in sports, arts, literature and social services. Monuments such as Ajanta, Ellora & Elephanta caves, Gateway of India and architectural structures like Viharas & Chaityas, Forts and pilgrimage places attract tourists from all over the world. In addition to this, for eco-tourism there are six National Parks, 48 Wild Life Sanctuaries and four conservation reserves in the State. The world famous film industry, popularly known as �Bollywood� is located in the State.