Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. ("Northern Province"), (formerly: United Provinces) is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million , it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity. Were it a nation in its own right, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous country ahead of Brazil, a country thirty-five times larger in territorial area than Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India. Agriculture constitutes a significant part of Uttar Pradesh's economy. The state was India's sixth largest producer of fruits, and became the largest producer of vegetables in 2010.
It shares an international border with Nepal to the north. Other states along Uttar Pradesh's border include Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi to the north and northwest; Rajasthan on the west; Madhya Pradesh on the south; Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south east; and Bihar on the east. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow, the industrial and financial capital of the state is Kanpur. Most of the main offices of state government, judiciary as well as representative central offices are located at Allahabad. The state's highest court is in Allahabad, with a bench in Lucknow.
Varanasi, known as Kashi in ancient times, is one of the holiest places for Hindus. Other important cities are Jhansi, Ayodhya where Lord Ram was born, Mathura where Lord Krishna was born.
On 9 November 2000, the Himalayan portion of the state, comprising the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions and Haridwar district, was formed into a new state 'Uttaranchal', now called Uttarakhand, meaning the 'Northern Segment' state.
Uttar Pradesh has more than 31 larger and smaller rivers among them the Ganges, Yamuna, Sarayu and Ghaghara are larger and of very much religious importance in Hinduism.
In spite of alarming deforestation and poaching of wild life, a diverse flora and fauna exists.
The state’s important plants and animals include the following:
Trees: pine, rhododendrons, silver fir, deodar, saal, oak, teak, sheesham, mango, neem, banyan, peepal, imli, jamun, mahua, semal, gular and dhak.
Medicinal plants: hingan, Dhak, rauwolfia, sepentina, hexandrum, podophyllum.
Large vertebrates: elephant, tiger, bear, neelgai, wild pig, deer, wolf, jackal, fox, langoor, porcupine. The Swamp deer or Barasingha is the state animal of Uttar Pradesh.
Birds: peacock, grey quail, pigeon, swallow, maina, Indian parakeet, crow and duck. The saras crane is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.
Reptiles: crocodile, gharial, goh, snakes, chameleon and other lizards.
Fish: Rohu, catla, khusa, parhan, patra, moi, korouch and singhi.
According to Hindu legend, Lord Rama’s warrior devotee Hanuman had brought life saving Sanjivani herbs from a mountain of Dronagiri (Dunagiri) of the breakaway Uttarakhand, region.
The climate of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly subtropical, but weather conditions change significantly with location and seasons:
Temperature: Depending on the elevation, the average temperatures vary from 12.5–17.5 °C in January to
27.5–32.5 °C in May and June.
Rainfall: Rainfall occurs during the southwest Monsoon, lasting from about June to September. With most of the rainfall concentrated during this four-month period, floods are a recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property, particularly in the eastern part of the state, where the Himalayan-origin rivers flow with a very low north-south gradient.
Snowfall: In the Himalayan region of the State, annual snowfall is common between December and March.
Droughts: Periodic failure of monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India. If it were a separate country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous nation, next only to China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia. About 80% of Uttar Pradesh population is Hindu, while Muslims make up around 18.5% of the population. The remaining population consists of Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Jains.
Banaras Hindu University is a Central University located in Varanasi. The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, set up in 1959 in the industrial city of Kanpur and now known as IIT-Kanpur or IITK ; is one of the famous internationally respected Indian Institutes of Technology. The Indian Institute of Management Lucknow is among premier management schools in India.
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India. Uttar Pradesh is home to largest number of Small Scale industrial units in the country.
Kanpur is the largest economic hub of Uttar Pradesh – followed by Lucknow – that is why Kanpur is assigned the status of economic capital of Uttar Pradesh and is the only city of the State listed in the 'Top 10 Indian cities'. Following are some of the important industrial hubs in the state:
Kanpur is the largest shoe-manufacturing centre in the country with strong leather, engineering, chemical and other booming sector Industries.
NOIDA is among the top IT (Information Technology) destinations of the country while Lucknow is an emerging one.
Meerut, a manufacturing centre of sports goods, sharp tools like scissors and also of gold ornaments, is regularly listed among the top tax-paying cities in the country.
Mirzapur and Bhadohi are manufacturing centres and worldwide exporters of carpets and cotton durries.
Moradabad, a famous production centre of traditional 'Moradabadi' metalware, has emerged now as a major producer and exporter of stainless steel utensils also.
Aligarh is a manufacturing hub of brass, zinc, aluminium, iron door fittings and is also famous for its padlocks. These items are exported all over the world.
Agra was visited by more than 8 million domestic and 825,000 foreign tourists in 2006, followed by Varanasi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Vrindaban, Budaun and Mathura. Agra is also famous for handicraft items, gold jewellery and a number of small scale industries.
Sonebhadra a district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh hase many large scale industries and its southern region, known as the
Energy Capital Of India, has more than a dozen of Power Plants of UPRVUNL and NTPC.
Almost all the major as well as smaller cities of the state are linked through railways. It has largest railway network in the country and the sixth largest railway density. The Railway stations of Lucknow NR, Kanpur Central, Varanasi JN, Agra Cant and Mathura JN are included in the 50 world class railway stations by Indian Railways in its annual budget.
Presently, common sports of Uttar Pradesh are of two distinct genre: the Traditional Sports and the modern sports of mainly European origin. Traditional sports, now played mostly as a past time, include wrestling, swimming, kabaddi and track- or water-sports played according to local traditional rules and without use of modern gears. Modern sports – the indoor, field and track games – are popular, especially among the educated class.
Field hockey is very popular and Uttar Pradesh has produced some of the finest players in India.
Olympic hockey is another popular sport. Cricket has become more popular than field hockey. Greater Noida possess India's first formula-one track named Buddh International Circuit a venue for Indian Grand Prix.
Uttar Pradesh attracts a large number of visitors, both national and international.
The All-India foreign tourists visiting Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the top tourist destinations in India. There are two regions in the state where a majority of the tourists go, viz. the Agra circuit and the Hindu pilgrimage circuit.
The city of Agra, gives access to three World Heritage Sites: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri. Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". The pilgrimage circuit includes the holiest of the Hindu holy cities on the banks of sacred rivers Ganges and the Yamuna: Varanasi (also considered world's oldest city), Ayodhya (birth place of Lord Rama), Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna), Vrindavan (the village where Lord Krishna spent his childhood), and Allahabad (the confluence or 'holy-sangam' of the sacred Ganges-Yamuna rivers). Mathura is world-famous for its colourful celebrations of the Holi festival, which attracts many tourists also. Thousands gather at Allahabad to take part in the Kumbh Mela festival, which is held on the banks of the Ganges. Here over 10 million Hindu pilgrims congregate – proclaimed as one of the largest gathering of human beings in the world. Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, has several beautiful historical monuments such as Bara Imambara and Chhota Imambara. Uttar Pradesh is one of the religious hubs of India. The state is claimed to the birthplace of Hinduism and its derived Vedic and Buddhist beliefs, UP has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, and has many important sites of Hindu pilgrimage. The State also has several sites important to Buddhism.
Uttar Pradesh is often referred to as the 'Hindi heartland of India'.The languages of state administration are Hindi and Urdu.
The people of Uttar Pradesh wear a variety of native- and Western-style dress. Traditional styles of dress include colourful draped garments – such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men – and tailored clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pyjama for men. Men also often sport a head-gear like topi or pagri. Sherwani is a more formal male dress and is frequently worn along with chooridar on festive occasions. European-style trousers and shirts are also common among the men.
This Indian state has more number of metropolitan cities than any other state in India like:-
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India. Agriculture constitutes a significant part of Uttar Pradesh's economy. The state was India's sixth largest producer of fruits, and became the largest producer of vegetables in 2010.
It shares an international border with Nepal to the north. Other states along Uttar Pradesh's border include Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi to the north and northwest; Rajasthan on the west; Madhya Pradesh on the south; Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south east; and Bihar on the east. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow, the industrial and financial capital of the state is Kanpur. Most of the main offices of state government, judiciary as well as representative central offices are located at Allahabad. The state's highest court is in Allahabad, with a bench in Lucknow.
Varanasi, known as Kashi in ancient times, is one of the holiest places for Hindus. Other important cities are Jhansi, Ayodhya where Lord Ram was born, Mathura where Lord Krishna was born.
On 9 November 2000, the Himalayan portion of the state, comprising the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions and Haridwar district, was formed into a new state 'Uttaranchal', now called Uttarakhand, meaning the 'Northern Segment' state.
Uttar Pradesh has more than 31 larger and smaller rivers among them the Ganges, Yamuna, Sarayu and Ghaghara are larger and of very much religious importance in Hinduism.
In spite of alarming deforestation and poaching of wild life, a diverse flora and fauna exists.
The state’s important plants and animals include the following:
Trees: pine, rhododendrons, silver fir, deodar, saal, oak, teak, sheesham, mango, neem, banyan, peepal, imli, jamun, mahua, semal, gular and dhak.
Medicinal plants: hingan, Dhak, rauwolfia, sepentina, hexandrum, podophyllum.
Large vertebrates: elephant, tiger, bear, neelgai, wild pig, deer, wolf, jackal, fox, langoor, porcupine. The Swamp deer or Barasingha is the state animal of Uttar Pradesh.
Birds: peacock, grey quail, pigeon, swallow, maina, Indian parakeet, crow and duck. The saras crane is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.
Reptiles: crocodile, gharial, goh, snakes, chameleon and other lizards.
Fish: Rohu, catla, khusa, parhan, patra, moi, korouch and singhi.
According to Hindu legend, Lord Rama’s warrior devotee Hanuman had brought life saving Sanjivani herbs from a mountain of Dronagiri (Dunagiri) of the breakaway Uttarakhand, region.
The climate of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly subtropical, but weather conditions change significantly with location and seasons:
Temperature: Depending on the elevation, the average temperatures vary from 12.5–17.5 °C in January to
27.5–32.5 °C in May and June.
Rainfall: Rainfall occurs during the southwest Monsoon, lasting from about June to September. With most of the rainfall concentrated during this four-month period, floods are a recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property, particularly in the eastern part of the state, where the Himalayan-origin rivers flow with a very low north-south gradient.
Snowfall: In the Himalayan region of the State, annual snowfall is common between December and March.
Droughts: Periodic failure of monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India. If it were a separate country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous nation, next only to China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia. About 80% of Uttar Pradesh population is Hindu, while Muslims make up around 18.5% of the population. The remaining population consists of Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Jains.
Banaras Hindu University is a Central University located in Varanasi. The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, set up in 1959 in the industrial city of Kanpur and now known as IIT-Kanpur or IITK ; is one of the famous internationally respected Indian Institutes of Technology. The Indian Institute of Management Lucknow is among premier management schools in India.
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India. Uttar Pradesh is home to largest number of Small Scale industrial units in the country.
Kanpur is the largest economic hub of Uttar Pradesh – followed by Lucknow – that is why Kanpur is assigned the status of economic capital of Uttar Pradesh and is the only city of the State listed in the 'Top 10 Indian cities'. Following are some of the important industrial hubs in the state:
Kanpur is the largest shoe-manufacturing centre in the country with strong leather, engineering, chemical and other booming sector Industries.
NOIDA is among the top IT (Information Technology) destinations of the country while Lucknow is an emerging one.
Meerut, a manufacturing centre of sports goods, sharp tools like scissors and also of gold ornaments, is regularly listed among the top tax-paying cities in the country.
Mirzapur and Bhadohi are manufacturing centres and worldwide exporters of carpets and cotton durries.
Moradabad, a famous production centre of traditional 'Moradabadi' metalware, has emerged now as a major producer and exporter of stainless steel utensils also.
Aligarh is a manufacturing hub of brass, zinc, aluminium, iron door fittings and is also famous for its padlocks. These items are exported all over the world.
Agra was visited by more than 8 million domestic and 825,000 foreign tourists in 2006, followed by Varanasi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Vrindaban, Budaun and Mathura. Agra is also famous for handicraft items, gold jewellery and a number of small scale industries.
Sonebhadra a district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh hase many large scale industries and its southern region, known as the
Energy Capital Of India, has more than a dozen of Power Plants of UPRVUNL and NTPC.
Almost all the major as well as smaller cities of the state are linked through railways. It has largest railway network in the country and the sixth largest railway density. The Railway stations of Lucknow NR, Kanpur Central, Varanasi JN, Agra Cant and Mathura JN are included in the 50 world class railway stations by Indian Railways in its annual budget.
Presently, common sports of Uttar Pradesh are of two distinct genre: the Traditional Sports and the modern sports of mainly European origin. Traditional sports, now played mostly as a past time, include wrestling, swimming, kabaddi and track- or water-sports played according to local traditional rules and without use of modern gears. Modern sports – the indoor, field and track games – are popular, especially among the educated class.
Field hockey is very popular and Uttar Pradesh has produced some of the finest players in India.
Olympic hockey is another popular sport. Cricket has become more popular than field hockey. Greater Noida possess India's first formula-one track named Buddh International Circuit a venue for Indian Grand Prix.
Uttar Pradesh attracts a large number of visitors, both national and international.
The All-India foreign tourists visiting Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the top tourist destinations in India. There are two regions in the state where a majority of the tourists go, viz. the Agra circuit and the Hindu pilgrimage circuit.
The city of Agra, gives access to three World Heritage Sites: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri. Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". The pilgrimage circuit includes the holiest of the Hindu holy cities on the banks of sacred rivers Ganges and the Yamuna: Varanasi (also considered world's oldest city), Ayodhya (birth place of Lord Rama), Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna), Vrindavan (the village where Lord Krishna spent his childhood), and Allahabad (the confluence or 'holy-sangam' of the sacred Ganges-Yamuna rivers). Mathura is world-famous for its colourful celebrations of the Holi festival, which attracts many tourists also. Thousands gather at Allahabad to take part in the Kumbh Mela festival, which is held on the banks of the Ganges. Here over 10 million Hindu pilgrims congregate – proclaimed as one of the largest gathering of human beings in the world. Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, has several beautiful historical monuments such as Bara Imambara and Chhota Imambara. Uttar Pradesh is one of the religious hubs of India. The state is claimed to the birthplace of Hinduism and its derived Vedic and Buddhist beliefs, UP has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, and has many important sites of Hindu pilgrimage. The State also has several sites important to Buddhism.
Uttar Pradesh is often referred to as the 'Hindi heartland of India'.The languages of state administration are Hindi and Urdu.
The people of Uttar Pradesh wear a variety of native- and Western-style dress. Traditional styles of dress include colourful draped garments – such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men – and tailored clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pyjama for men. Men also often sport a head-gear like topi or pagri. Sherwani is a more formal male dress and is frequently worn along with chooridar on festive occasions. European-style trousers and shirts are also common among the men.
This Indian state has more number of metropolitan cities than any other state in India like:-
- Kanpur
- Lucknow
- Varanasi
- Allahabad
- Ghaziabad
- Noida
- Meerut
- Agra