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Area : 44,212 sq
km
Population : 21,144,564
Capital : Chandigarh
Principal Languages : Hindi
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
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.
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 HQs to respective District HQs. 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-centeric 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 stoage capacity. Under the
Computer Training Programme, more than 15000
government Employees have been trained.
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 SEZs 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 sancturary (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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