Andhra Pradesh is the seventh largest state in India which is located in the South-Eastern cost of India. It is one of the most visited places in India due to its natural attractions like attractive hills and beaches along with various religious sites including the most visited shrine – The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati which draws 18.25 million visitors every year.
| Information About Andhra Pradesh | |
|---|---|
| Established | 01-October-1953 |
| Area | 162,970 km2 |
| Density | 308/km2 |
| Total Population (2011) | 49,386,799 |
| Males Population | 24,738,068 |
| Females Population | 24,648,731 |
| Districts | 13 |
| Capital | Amaravati |
| Largest City | Visakhapatnam |
| Rivers | Godavari, Krishna, Penna and Tungabhadra |
| Forests & National Park | Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Languages | Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, English, Kannada Oriya and Tamil. |
| State Animal | Blackbuck |
| State Bird | Indian roller |
| State Tree | Neem |
| State Fruit | Mango |
| State Flower | Blue-Water Lilly |
| State Sport | Kabaddi |
| Literacy Rate (2011) | 67.41% |
| Females per 1000 males | 996 |
| Lok Sabha constituencies | 25 |
| Assembly constituency | 175 |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Official Website | http://www.ap.gov.in/ |
History
During the ancient times (800-500 BCE) it was believed as per the Sanskrit text of Rig Veda that there was a tribe named “Andhra” who has migrated from North India to South India and settled here what we call now as Andhra Pradesh. Even the Satavahanas believed that they were the descendants of Andhra Tribe. Moreover, archaeological evidences retrieved from Amaravati, Dharanikota and Vaddamanu states that Andhra Pradesh was also a part of Mauryan Empire. After that many royal dynasties like Kakatiyas, Reddys, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Cholas, Hoysalas, Yadavas, Golconda Sultans and Vijayamagara Empire ruled over Andhra Pradesh. These empires patronage led to the development of fine arts, literature and music to great heights especially during the Vijayanagara Empire. After the rule of Nizams Andhra Pradesh became part of Madras Presidency under British rule of East India Company.
Geography
The State has various topography ranging from hilly regions from Eastern Ghats and Nallamala hills to the coast of Bay of Bengal. The fertile land of Andhra Pradesh is enriched by the two mighty rivers – Krishna and Godavari which flows throughout the state. Moreover, the Rayalaseema region is quite semi-arid. The forest cover of Andhra Pradesh is left with an area of 22,862 km2 and there is categorized under the biotic provinces of – Deccan Plateau, Central Plateau, Eastern Highland and East Coastal Plains. Dense tropical forests and rich mangrove forests dominant the forest cover of Andhra Pradesh.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census of India, the total population of the State is 49,386,799 which constitute male population of 24,738,068 male and female populations of 24,648,731. It also has a sex ratio of 996 females per 1000 males and this is higher than the national average of 926 per 1000. It is also estimated that a large number of population (70%) lives in rural areas and the rest (30%) dwells in the cities. A large number of Hindus comprises 90.87 % of the population while the other religions like Islam comprises 7.32 %, Christianity comprises 1.38 % and other religions like Sikh, Buddhist, Jains, etc comprises 0.43 % of the total population of Andhra Pradesh.
Economy
Andhra Pradesh is one of the richest States in India and also has some of the top 100 richest persons in India by Forbes magazine in 2010. Andhra Pradesh is primarily an agricultural and livestock based economy where 60 % of the population is engaged in agriculture and is also known to be the exporter of various edible products. Rice is the major and staple crop of the State and since it grows the maximum rice in India it is also regarded to be the “Rice Bowl of India”. Besides rice the farmers of Andhra Pradesh also grows various fruits, vegetables, jowar, bajra, maize, minor millet, coarse grain, many varieties of pulses, oil seeds, sugarcane, cotton, chilie, pepper, mango, nuts and tobacco. Moreover this State is also the largest producer of eggs and shrimps in the country. If you talk about the modern industries of Andhra Pradesh then the big names in fields of Pharma, Automobiles, Textiles, Food Processing and Information Technology like PepsiCo, Isuzu Motors, Cadbury India, Kellogg’s, Colgate-Palmolive, Kobelco, Tech Mahindra, etc dominates the industrial sectors and generates great revenues and jobs for the youths of the State.
Tourism
There is a lot to visit in this beautiful State. One can enjoy the city of Vishakapatnam for scenic beaches, lakes, mountains and caves. Araku Valley and Horsley Hills are the famous hill destinations for hills, coffee plantations and waterfalls. Andhra Pradesh is also the home to one of the largest freshwater lakes of India – The Kolleru Lake which is located in between Krishna and Godavari delta. Andhra Pradesh is also famous for its pilgrimage sites and one of the hugely and most celebrated visited site is the Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Temple which dedicated to Lord Vishnu/ Venkateswara. Other visited tourist sites were the Srisailam, Lepakshi – the site of Vijayanagara Empire, beautiful hill ranges of Papikondalu, Vijaywada, Vizag, Kurnool, Belum caves and many more places of tourism.
Sports
The development of sports is presided by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. It is the foremost organization to take care of the infrastructure development in sports like cricket, hockey, football, Olympic weight lifting, chess, water sports, tennis, badminton, cycling, table tennis, etc. Some of the notable sports personalities from Andhra Pradesh are the famous cricketer- V.V.S Laxman, Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, etc. Moreover, famous badminton players like Pullela Gopichand and Prakash Padukone also hails from this State. This state also boasts of having the first female Indian weightlifter- Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal.
Culture
The rich culture and heritage of Andhra Pradesh is widely known all over the world and within the country. Kuchipudi- the famous dance form of India has been originated in this state in the village of Kuchipudi in Krishna District. This State is also famous for its cuisine, handicrafts and textiles. Some of the world famous foodstuffs like Banaganapalle mangoes and Bandar laddus are found here. The textile industry is famous for its stuffs like Dharmavaram Handloom Pattu Sarees and Paavadas, Guntur Sannam, Kondapalli Toys, Machilipatnam Kalamkari, Mangalagiri Sarees and Fabrics, Srikalahasti Kalamkari, Tirupati Laddu, Uppada Jamdani Sari and Venkatagiri Sari. These fabrics are worn and loved by all women folk. Moreover, Andhra Pradesh is also enriched with its own music and a film since it is the home of Telugu Cinemas or Tollywood- the largest producers of regional movies.
Literacy and Education
The total literacy rate of Andhra Pradesh is 67.41 % according to 2011 census. There are various types of schools and colleges here which cater to the needs of basic education to higher education. It is also the hub of higher education especially for the Engineering courses, Students and scholars flock here to study various courses of Medicine, Engineering, Management, etc. Some of the most prestigious educational institutions were the Andhra University, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, IIM Visakhapatnam, IIT Tirupati, NIT Tadepalligudem and IIITDM Kurnool, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy, Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, GITAM, K L University and Vignan University.
Health Care
Health care is very advanced here in Andhra Pradesh due to its best hospitals like Care Hospitals (Visakhapatnam), Mycure Hospitals (Kurnool), Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute (Visakhapatnam), Guntur Medical College, Sri Venkateswara Ayurvedic Hospital (Tirupati), etc.
Transport
Andhra Pradesh has a very good network of connectivity with other State of India via road, rail, air and sea. National highways (NH5) and state highways has good road network. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is the main public bus transport owned by the state government which runs thousands of buses throughout the State connecting different parts of the state. Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) in Vijayawada is one of the largest bus terminals in Asia. In terms of Railways, most of the parts of Andhra Pradesh fall under South Central and East Coast Railway Zone. Vishakhapatman Airport is the only airport in the State with international flights. Moreover, there are also domestic airports including Vijayawada airport, Rajahmundry airport, Tirupati airport, Cuddapah airport and a private owned airport at Puttaparthi. It also has one of the country’s largest ports at Visakhapatnam in terms of cargo handling. The other famous ports are Krishnapatnam Port (Nellore), Gangavaram Port and Kakinada Port and Gangavaram Port.
Districts
| Anantapur | Chittoor | East Godavari |
| Guntur | Kadapa | Krishna |
| Kurnool | Prakasam | Nellore |
| Srikakulam | Visakhapatnam | Vizianagaram |
| West Godavari |
