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What You Need To Know

Bangalore, is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of about 8.42 million and a metropolitan population of about 8.52 million, making it the third most populous city and fifth most populous urban agglomeration in India. Located in southern India on the Deccan Plateau, at a height of over 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level. Its elevation is the highest among the major cities of India. A succession of South Indian dynasties, the Western Gangas, the Cholas and the Hoysalas, ruled the present region of Bangalore until in 1537 CE, Kempé Gowdā – a feudal ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire – established a mud fort considered to be the foundation of modern Bangalore. In 1638, the Marāthās conquered and ruled Bangalore for almost 50 years, after which the Mughals captured and sold the city to the Mysore Kingdom of the Wadiyar dynasty. It was captured by the British after victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799), who returned administrative control of the city to the Maharaja of Mysore. The old city developed in the dominions of the Maharaja of Mysore and was made capital of the Princely State of Mysore, which existed as a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj. In 1809, the British shifted their cantonment to Bangalore, outside the old city, and a town grew up around it, which was governed as part of British India. Following India’s independence in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore State, and remained capital when the new Indian state of Karnataka was formed in 1956. The two urban settlements of Bangalore – city and cantonment – which had developed as independent entities merged into a single urban centre in 1949. The existing Kannada name, Bengalūru, was declared the official name of the city in 2006. Bangalore is sometimes referred to as the “Silicon Valley of India” (or “IT capital of India”) because of its role as the nation’s leading information technology (IT) exporter. Indian technological organisations ISRO, Infosys, Wipro and HAL are headquartered in the city. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India. It is home to many educational and research institutions in India, such as Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore) (IIMB), National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore, National Institute of Design, Bangalore (NID R&D Campus), National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). Numerous state-owned aerospace and defence organisations, such as Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics and National Aerospace Laboratories are located in the city. The city also houses the Kannada film industry. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of $83 billion, Bangalore is ranked fourth in India by overall GDP contribution, after only Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

Area: 

Population: Estimate

Currency

  • The Indian rupee (sign: ₹; code: INR), is the official currency of the Republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa), though as of 2011, 25 paise is no more a legal tender. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.

Culture

Bangalore was known as the “Garden City of India” because of its greenery, broad streets and the presence of many public parks, such as Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park. Bangalore is sometimes called as the “Pub Capital of India” and the “Rock/Metal Capital of India” because of its underground music scene and it is one of the premier places to hold international rock concerts. In May 2012, Lonely Planet ranked Bangalore 3rd among the world’s top 10 cities to visit. Bangalore is also home to many vegan-friendly restaurants and vegan activism groups due it which it has been named as India’s most vegan-friendly city by PETA India. Biannual flower shows are held at the Lal Bagh Gardens during the week of Republic Day (26 January) and Independence Day (15 August). Bangalore Karaga or “Karaga Shaktyotsava” is one of the most important and oldest festivals of Bangalore dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Draupadi. It is celebrated annually by the Thigala community, over a period of nine days in the month of March or April. The Someshwara Car festival is an annual procession of the idol of the Halasuru Someshwara Temple (Ulsoor) led by the Vokkaligas, a farming community in southern Karnataka, occurring in April. Karnataka Rajyotsava is widely celebrated on 1 November and is a public holiday in the city, to mark the formation of Karnataka state on 1 November 1956. Other popular festivals in Bangalore are Ugadi, Ram Navami, Eid ul-Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, St. Mary’s feast, Dasara, Deepawali and Christmas. The diversity of cuisine is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Bangalore has a wide and varied mix of restaurant types and cuisines and Bangaloreans deem eating out as an intrinsic part of their culture. Roadside vendors, tea stalls, and South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Western fast food are all very popular in the city. Udupi restaurants are very popular and serve predominantly vegetarian, regional cuisine.

Economy

As of 2008, Bangalore’s GDP (PPP) was estimated at $69 billion. The value of city’s exports totaling ₹432 billion (US$6.4 billion) in 2004–05. With an economic growth of 10.3%, Bangalore is the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India, and is also the country’s fourth largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. Forbes considers Bangalore one of “The Next Decade’s Fastest-Growing Cities”. The city is the third largest hub for high-net-worth individuals and is home to over 10,000-dollar millionaires and about 60,000 super-rich people who have an investment surplus of ₹45 million (US$668,700) and ₹5 million (US$74,300) respectively. The headquarters of several public sector undertakings such as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) and HMT (formerly Hindustan Machine Tools) are located in Bangalore. In June 1972 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city. Bangalore also houses several research and development centres for many firms such as ABB, Airbus, Bosch, Boeing, GE, GM, Google, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, Nokia, Oracle, Philips, Shell, Toyota and Tyco. Bangalore is called as the Silicon Valley of India because of the large number of information technology companies located in the city which contributed 33{f56304951b6016c67cf9e5ee2fa0e6fb813773d2876e5e14e3aabc3a11d6a78d} of India’s ₹1,442 billion (US$21 billion) IT exports in 2006–07. Bangalore’s IT industry is divided into three main clusters – Software Technology Parks of India (STPI); International Tech Park, Bangalore (ITPB); and Electronics City. UB City, the headquarters of the United Breweries Group, is a high-end commercial zone.[142] Infosys and Wipro, India’s third and fourth largest software companies are headquartered in Bangalore, as are many of the global SEI-CMM Level 5 Companies. The growth of IT has presented the city with unique challenges. Ideological clashes sometimes occur between the city’s IT moguls, who demand an improvement in the city’s infrastructure, and the state government, whose electoral base is primarily the people in rural Karnataka. The encouragement of high-tech industry in Bangalore, for example, has not favoured local employment development, but has instead increased land values and forced out small enterprise.  The state has also resisted the massive investments required to reverse the rapid decline in city transport which has already begun to drive new and expanding businesses to other centres across India. Bangalore is a hub for biotechnology related industry in India and in the year 2005, around 47% of the 265 biotechnology companies in India were located here; including Biocon, India’s largest biotechnology company.

Health systems

The health care system in India is primarily administered by the states. India’s Constitution tasks each state with providing health care for its people. In order to address lack of medical coverage in rural areas, the national government launched the National Rural Health Mission in 2005.

Indian Cartoon Gallery

The cartoon gallery is located in the heart of Bangalore, dedicated to the art of cartooning, is the first of its kind in India. Every month the gallery is conducting fresh cartoon exhibition of various professional as well as amateur cartoonist. The gallery is been organised by the Indian Institute of Cartoonists based in Bangalore that serves to promote and preserve the work of eminent cartoonists in India. the Institute has organised more than one hundred exhibitions of cartoons.

Language

Hindi and English are the official languages used by the Central Government. State governments use respective official languages. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in northern parts of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of “Hindi” as a broad variety of “Hindi languages”.

Pollution control

Bangalore generates about 3,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, of which about 1,139 tonnes are collected and sent to composting units such as the Karnataka Composting Development Corporation. The remaining solid waste collected by the municipality is dumped in open spaces or on roadsides outside the city. In 2008, Bangalore produced around 2,500 metric tonnes of solid waste, and increased to 5000 metric tonnes in 2012, which is transported from collection units located near Hesaraghatta Lake, to the garbage dumping sites. The city suffers significantly with dust pollution, hazardous waste disposal, and disorganized, unscientific waste retrievals. The IT hub, Whitefield region is the most polluted area in Bangalore. Recently a study found that over 36% of diesel vehicles in the city exceed the national limit for emissions.

Slums

According to a 2012 report submitted to the World Bank by Karnataka Slum Clearance Board, Bangalore has 862 slums from total of around 2000 slums in Karnataka. The families living in the slum are not ready to move into the temporary shelters. 42% of the households migrated from different parts of India like Chennai, Hyderabad and most of North India, and 43% of the households had remained in the slums for over 10 years. The Karnataka Municipality, works to shift 300 families annually to newly constructed buildings. One third of these slum clearance projects lack basic service connections, 60% of slum dwellers lack complete water supply lines and share BWSSB water supply.

Transport

Air

Bangalore is served by Kempegowda International Airport (IATA: BLR, ICAO: VOBL), located at Devanahalli, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the city centre. It was formerly called Bengaluru International Airport. The airport started operations from 24 May 2008 and is a private airport managed by a consortium led by the GVK Group. The city was earlier served by the HAL Airport at Vimanapura, a residential locality in the eastern part of the city. The airport is third busiest in India after Delhi and Mumbai in terms of passenger traffic and the number of air traffic movements (ATMs). Taxis and air conditioned Volvo buses operated by BMTC connect the airport with the city.

Rail

A rapid transit system called the Namma Metro is built. A 7 km (4.3 mi) stretch from Bayappanahalli to MG Road was opened to public on 20 October 2011, while another 10 km (6.2 mi) stretch from Malleswaram to Peenya was opened on 1 March 2014. Once completed, this will encompass a 42.3 km (26.3 mi) elevated and underground rail network comprising 41 stations. It is expected to connect central locations in Bangalore to the airport near Devanahalli as well as the Chikballapur regions. This much delayed project is the city’s primary response to the worsening city transport infrastructure which has become a major deterrent to continued business growth. Bangalore is a divisional headquarters in the South Western Railway zone of the Indian Railways. There are four major railway stations in the city: Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station, Bangalore Cantonment railway station, Yeshwantapur junction and Krishnarajapuram railway station, with railway lines towards Jolarpettai in the east, Chikballapur in the north-east, Guntakal in the north, Tumkur in the northwest, Nelamangala in the west, Mysore in the southwest and Salem in the south. The Rail Wheel Factory is Asia’s second largest manufacturer of wheel and axle for railways and is headquartered in Yelahanka, Bangalore.

Road

Buses operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are an important and reliable means of public transport available in the city. While commuters can buy tickets on boarding these buses, BMTC also provides an option of a bus pass to frequent users. BMTC runs air-conditioned luxury buses on major routes, and also operates shuttle services from various parts of the city to Kempegowda International Airport . The BMTC also has a mobile app that provides real-time location of a bus using the global positioning system of the user’s mobile device. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation operates 6,918 buses on 6,352 schedules, connecting Bangalore with other parts of Karnataka as well as other neighbouring states. The main bus depots that KSRTC maintains are the Kempegowda Bus Station, locally known as “Majestic bus stand”, where most of the out station buses ply from. Some of the KSRTC buses to Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh ply from Shantinagar Bus Station, Satellite Bus Station at Mysore road and Baiyappanahalli satellite bus station. BMTC and KSRTC were the first operators in India to introduce Volvo city buses and intracity coaches in India. Three-wheeled, yellow and black or yellow and green auto-rickshaws, referred to as autos, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can accommodate up to three passengers. Taxis, commonly called City Taxis, are usually available too, but they are only available on call or by online based services. Taxis are metered and are generally more expensive than auto-rickshaws. There are currently 1,250 vehicles being registered daily on an average in Bangalore RTOs. The total number of vehicles as on date are 44 lakh vehicles, with a road length of 11,000 kilometres (6,835 miles).

Waste management

Ιn 2012 Bangalore generated 2.1 million tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (195.4 kg/cap/yr). The waste management scenario in the state of Karnataka is regulated by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) under the aegis of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which is a Central Government entity. As part of their Waste Management Guidelines the Government of Karnataka through the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has authorised a few well-established companies to manage the bio-medical waste and hazardous waste in the state of Karnataka.

Weather

Bangalore has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with distinct wet and dry seasons. Due to its high elevation, Bangalore usually enjoys a more moderate climate throughout the year, although occasional heat waves can make summer somewhat uncomfortable. The coolest month is January with an average low temperature of 15.1 °C (59.2 °F) and the hottest month is April with an average high temperature of 35 °C (95 °F).  The highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 39.2 °C (103 °F) (recorded on 24 April 2016) as there was a strong El Nino in 2016  There were also unofficial records of 41 °C (106 °F) on that day. The lowest ever recorded is 7.8 °C (46 °F) in January 1884.  Winter temperatures rarely drop below 14 °C (57 °F), and summer temperatures seldom exceed 36 °C (97 °F). Bangalore receives rainfall from both the northeast and the southwest monsoons and the wettest months are September, October and August, in that order. The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorms, which occasionally cause power outages and local flooding. Most of the rainfall occurs during late afternoon/evening or night and rain before noon is infrequent. November 2015 (290.4 mm) was recorded as one of the wettest months in Bangalore with heavy rains causing severe flooding in some areas, and closure of a number of organisations for over a couple of days. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period is 179 millimetres (7 in) recorded on 1 October 1997.