Indore is the commercial capital and the second largest city of Madhya Pradesh. The city is the administrative headquarter of the Indore District, formerly served as the capital of the former princely state of Indore and the summer capital of the erstwhile state of Central India.
Formerly a major trading centre, the city, along with its satellite townships of Pithampur and Dewas, has established itself as a strong industrial base. The era of liberalization has seen Indore at the forefront of a number of privatization initiatives which include the country's first toll road and private telephone network (Airtel). In the midst of such vibrant industrial activity, the city maintains its link with its glorious past. Indore has witnessed the reign of one of the greatest women in Indian history, Rani Ahilyabai Holkar. Malhar Rao Holkar, the father-in-law of Ahilyabai was bestowed Indrashwar or Indrapur (from which the name Indore was derived) by the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao. Widowed when she was barely out of her teens Rani Ahilyabai took the responsibility of Indore into her own hands and was instrumental in planning and building this city. 14 generations of the Holkar dynasty ruled Indore for 220 years. On 16th June 1948, the Holkar State was officially merged with the Indian republic.
Indore is one of the fastest growing Tier III cities in India. It already is the Commercial Capital of Madhya Pradesh. It’s a favored test market for industries owing to the diversity of its population. Indore has bagged the only IT Park in Madhya Pradesh. More than 20 Shopping Malls have been constructed since 2003 and have contributed to changing the face of the city. Pithampur, Sanwer, Mhow, are the industrial areas near Indore having more than 2000 factories in the city. Pithampur is also known as Detroit of India
Today with Indore's population is reported to be 1.5 million people and has developed as one the best Educational & Business hub in Western India. This city is also popularly known as Temple city or Mini Bombay.
Indore is located on an elevated plain in the western region of Madhya Pradesh, and is close to the centre of India. Indore has an average elevation of 1 meter.
From the new millennium, Indore has become a place of interest for Construction and Real estate companies. Today new Townships, Colonies, Malls and Theatres have boosted development work spontaneously. Many townships are being developed by multi national companies. On other hand large scale economical colonies and many more are developing rapidly.
Indore has many well-known institutions. Indore University, recently named as Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidyala (DAVV). The Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC) of the Devi Ahilya University is one of 17 media centers of UGC carrying out media production and runs two electronic media courses (MBA Media Management & M.Sc. Electronic Media). In addition, the Holkar Science College is a prestigious college of science. It is also one of the oldest science colleges, being established on 10 June 1891.
The Raja Ramanna Centre for Advance Technology, formerly the Centre of Advanced Technology, is one of India's foremost scientific research institutions. It is primarily devoted to atomic research.
Indore has developed as a centre for preparing students for higher education. There are a number of coaching centers that prepare students for entry into various Indian institutions.
Indore also has the honor of having an IT Finishing School, available only in selected cities in India. Noesis Finishing School Central is one of the best finishing schools in India training young computer graduates to face challenges in the IT industry. It also offers industrial training and summer training for engineering graduates and MCA
This tier III city has a variety of cultures. Culture of Indore finds a unique blend of Hindi and Marathi mixture. Over the years the city of Indore has welcomed people from all castes, creed and color. People from all corners of the country have migrated & settled in the heart of Madhya Pradesh for their livelihood, education or just for its peaceful culture. Indore also has an INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter, which is currently engaged in preserving, documenting and conserving the rich heritage of Indore.
Indore is famous for its culinary range. People of Indore are well known gastronomes. Sweets and salted snacks of Jain Mithai Bhandar of Indore is famous all over India. Sarafa (Jewellery market, near Rajwada) and Chappan Dukan (56 shops) are the two well known gourmet hangouts of the city. There are various famous dishes of the Malwa region (and of course Indore) which include Dal Bafla, Gajar ka Halwa, Poha, Jalebi and various other snacks. Indore is known for its wide variety of "Namkeens", Chats (snacks), various types of restaurants, and Bengali & Rajasthani sweets.
This city is well connected by road, rail and air with the Agra-Mumbai highway passing through the city. It is strategically located, being in close proximity to Mumbai (593 km) and Delhi (807 km) both of which are connected by daily flights operated by Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Indian Airlines.
Indore has a transitional climate between a tropical wet and dry and a humid sub-tropical climate. Three distinct seasons are observed, summer, monsoon and winter. Summers start in mid-March and can be extremely hot in April and May. The highest temperatures recorded were 48 °C in 1994. Average Summer Temperature may go as high as 42-44.c (100.4 °F) but humidity is very low. Due to Indore's location on the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau, a cool breeze (also referred to as Shab-e-Malwa) in the evenings makes summer nights quite pleasant. The monsoon season starts in late June, with temperatures averaging around 26 °C (79 °F), with sustained, torrential rainfall and high humidity. The average rain fall is 36 inches. Winters start in mid-November and are dry, mild and sunny. Temperatures average about 4-15 °C (40-59 °F), but can fall close to freezing on some nights. In summer temperature can be sometimes as high as 48-50 °C and in winters it can be as low as 2°C.
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