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History and Geography
Haryana has a proud history going back to the Vedic Age. The state was the home of the legendary Bharata dynasty, which has given the name Bharat to India. Haryana finds mention in the great epic of Mahabharata . Kurukshetra, the scene of the epic battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, is situated in Haryana. The state continued to play a leading part in the history of India till the advent of the Muslims and the rise of Delhi as the imperial capital of India. Thereafter, Haryana functioned as an adjunct to Delhi and practically remained anonymous till the First War of India's Independence in 1857. When the rebellion was crushed and the British administration was re-established, the Nawabs of Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh, Raja of Ballabgarh and Rao Tula Ram of Rewari of the Haryana region were deprived of their territories. Their territories were either merged with the British territories or handed over to the rulers of Patiala, Nabha and Jind. Haryana thus became a part of the Punjab province. With the reorganisation of Punjab on 1 November 1966, Haryana was made into a full-fledged state.
The state is bound by Uttar Pradesh in the east, Punjab in the west, Himachal Pradesh in the north and Rajasthan in the south. National Capital Territory of Delhi juts into Haryana.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 75 per cent population in Haryana. Rice, wheat, jowar, bajra , maize, barley and pulses, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds and potato are the major crops of the state. Under the diversification of crops, more and more area is being brought under cash crops like sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds. New crops like sunflower, soyabean and fruits and vegetables are also being encouraged. Efforts are being made to encourage intensive and extensive farming in the state.
Information Technology
In view of the importance of Information Technology in the globalisation
process throughout the world, the State Government has formulated an IT
Policy which provides several; incentives for IT and ITES/BPO Industry.
Government has also recently announced a policy for Technology Parks, which
gives considerable flexibility for setting up Technology Parks and IT Corridors.
The objective of this policy is also to promote convergence of Information Technology with frontier technologies like Nano Technology, Bio Technology,
Mobile Computing and Robotics, etc. Further, Gurgaon has been developed as
a preferred investment destination for both IT and ITES/BPO companies.
Now, Gurgaon has become the home of the corporate world in India. The State
Government is planning to set up Hi-Tech Habitat Centre in the Electronic
City, Gurgaon for IT/ITES/BPO companies, which would provide world-class
facilities. Besides Gurgaon, the state also intends to develop other areas in
NCR region, such as those falling alongside Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Express
Highway and Faridabad, as satellites of Gurgaon-Manesar Mega IT Hub. The
software exports from Haryana during 2004-05 were Rs. 7,300 crore and
during the last year, it has increased by 34 per cent as compared to previous
year.
The State of Haryana is an aspiring leader in E-Governance as per the EGovernance
readiness index of the country. Haryana not only aspires to attain
leadership position but also is going ahead with e-Governance initiatives by
establishing State Wide Area Network (SWAN). The SWAN is being set up
connecting the State Headquarters and District Headquarters and all Block
HQ's to respective District HQ's. SWAN also envisages village connectivity
through wireless. This shall enable transparency, efficiency and accountable
governance that shall throw up opportunities and provide access to the
citizens-centric services. E-Disha, a single point multi-service delivery system
for providing citizen-centric services has been launched in 5 districts and is
being launched in other districts of the State. The Local Area Networks (LAN)
have been established at major buildings and a number of departments at
State and District level. The Haryana State Data Centre has been established
with the assistance of NIC with 1000 GB storage capacity.
Under the Computer Training Programme, more than 15000 government
Employees have been trained.
Industry
Haryana has a large industrial base having more than 1,271 large and medium and 80,000 Small Scale Units in the State. Haryana is the largest producer of passenger cars, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, refrigerators, scientific instruments, etc. Haryana is the largest exporter of Basmati rice to the overseas market. Panipat handlooms and carpets are known all over the world besides its famous Pachranga Aachar (pickles).
Since July 1991, 3439 Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEMs) were
filed and out of these 1916 IEMs were implemented with Capital Investment
of Rs 16,030 crore and generating employment for 3,21,959 persons. As a result
of the new Industrial Policy, State has received about 30 proposals for setting
up of SEZ's in the State which has envisaged an investment of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore
in the industrial infrastructure. These projects on implementation would create
several thousand crore investment in the industrial sector besides, generating
huge employment. State is developing industrial model township at Faridabad,
Rohtak and Jagadhari besides expansion of IMT Manesar in Gurgaon.
Petrochemical Hub is coming up with investment of Rs. 30,000 crore at Panipat. Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway is being developed with
investment of Rs. 2000 crore. This will create a large number of economic hubs
all along the expressway generating new investment opportunities in the
industrial and service sector. The State is also fully exploring the potential of
economic development by developing new industrial estates at Bahadurgarh,
Rohtak as well as to expand industrial infrastructure in Sonipat, Kundli, Rai
and Barhi. Many proposals for setting up new industrial estates at different
locations particularly in Ambala, Saha, Yamuna Nagar, Barwala, Karnal, Rohtak
and Kaithal are under consideration with the State Government.
There is a great demand from industries for allotment of industrial land
in the industrial estates developed by the HSIDC and HUDA. During this
period of the present Government, 25 new industrial units in the large and
medium sectors and 1000 new small-scale industrial units with investment of
Rs. 600 crore have been set up generating direct employment for more than
11,000 persons. Besides, a large number of industrial units have undergone
expansion and as a result of it fresh investment of more than Rs. 6000 crore has
been created. Recently, Indian Oil Corporation has set up Paraxylene/PTA
project at Panipat with an investment of about Rs. 4000 crore. Maruti Udyog
Hero Honda and many other automobile ancillaries are undergoing expansion
programme with investment of about Rs. 10,000 crore. At present, investment
proposals of about Rs. 20,000 crore are under implementation in the Industrial
Sector. Similarly, new investment in IT and Textile sector particularly the
readymade garment is coming up in the State.
Irrigation
Haryana is a beneficiary of the multi purpose project in Sutlej and Beas, sharing benefits with Punjab and Rajasthan. Major irrigation projects are western Yamuna Canal, Bhakra Canal and Gurgaon Canal System. Haryana has raised water from lower levels to higher and drier slopes. It is a new endeavour that gave practical shape to lift-irrigation for the first time in India.
The Jui, Siwani, Loharu and Jawahar Lal Nehru Lift irrigation schemes have helped to carry irrigation water against gravity flow to arid areas. Sprinkler and drip irrigation have been introduced in the highly undulating and sandy tracks of Haryana.
Construction work of Hathni Kund barrage at a cost of Rs 220 crore have
been completed. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh would get additional water for
irrigation purposes from the barrage and Delhi would get additional water for
drinking.
Power
Haryana became the first State in the country to achieve 100 per cent rural electrification in 1970. Starting with 20,000 tubewells in 1966 there were 4.12
lakh tubewells in March 2006. The average power availability during 2005-06
was 621.79 lakh units a day. The number of consumers in 2005-06 were 40
lakh. The installed generation capacity as on 31 March 2006 was 4033 MW.
Transport
Roads: In Haryana, all villages stand connected with metalled roads. The length of roads in the State is 31,010 km.
Railways: Ambala, Panipat and Jakhal are important railway stations. There is a railway workshop at Jagadhari.
Aviation: There are civil aerodromes at Pinjore, Karnal, Hisar, Bhiwani and Narnaul.
Tourist Centres
Haryana has a network of 46 Tourist Complexes in the State. Some of the important tourist complexes are: Blue Jay (Samalkha), Skylark (Panipat), Chakravarty Lake and Oasis (Uchana), Parakeet (Pipli), Kingfisher (Ambala), Magpie (Faridabad), Dabchick (Hodel), Shama (Gurgaon), Jungle Babbler (Dharuhere), Gauriyya (Bahadurgarh), Myna (Rohtak), Blue Bird (Hisar), Red Bishop (Panchkula) and Pinjore Gardens (Pinjore). Surajkund and Badkhal Lake near Delhi, Sultanpur bird sanctuary (Sultanpur, Gurgaon) and Damdama in Gurgaon and fascinating pocket of pines at Morni Hills are other attractions of tourist interest. The Surajkund Crafts Mela of International fame is held every year in the month of February.
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Haryana-Surajkund-Fair |
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