v Geography & Demography v
Rajasthan is situated in the North Western part of India and shares
geographical boundaries with Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in
India. It also has a long international boundary with Pakistan. It has a total area of
342,214 sq. km and is the second largest state in the country. About 4500 sq. km and is
the second largest state in the country. About 4500 sq. km area of Rajasthan, in Alwar
district, is included in the National Capital Region (NCR). The National Capital Region
(NCR) centred around new Delhi, the Indian capital, is being developed in an integrated
manner as an industrial growth centre with considerable Central Investment in
infrastructural facilities. Seven Industrial Areas in the district of Alwar fall within
this region and are 50 - 100 kms from New Delhi.
According
to the 1991 census, the state has a total population of about 44 million, accounting for
about 5.2 % of the total population of India.The State is divided into 31 districts. Each
district is divided into subdivisions and tehsils for revenue and administrative purposes.
As per the 1991 census, there were 14 urban centres with population of 100,00 and above.
Climatically, Rajasthan is the driest part of India. The
Aravali mountains stretching diagonally across the State from the South-West to North-East
separate the desert and semi-desert areas to the West from the sub-humid areas in the
East. Population densities are higher in the eastern part of the State and nineteen of the
thirtyone districts of the State fall in the non-desert area to the east of the Aravallis.
The official language of the State is Hindi and most of the
government business, especially at the lower and middle levels, is carried out in the
official language. However, English is commonly understood and development
institutions/promotional agencies providing services to industry work in English.
The predominant religion in the State is Hinduism though
there is a significant concentration of Muslims. The other major religious communities are
Jains and Sikhs.
