Introduction

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the densely populated Gangetic plain. Uttar Pradesh can be divided into three regions by different geographical conditions: Himalayan region - North, the Gangetic plains - Middle, and the Vindhyan hills and plateau - South. The state comprises the regions of Rohilkhand in the northwest, The Doab, or Brij (Braj) (Braj-bhoomi) in the southwest, Awadh (Oudh) (the historic country of Koshal) in the centre, the northern parts of Bagelkhand & Bundelkhand in the south, and the south-western part of the Bhojpur country, commonly called Purvanchal ("Eastern Province"), in the east. It shares an international border with Nepal and Tibet in northeast, by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh in northwest, by Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi in West and by the state of Madhya Pradesh in south and the state of Bihar in southeast. With nearly 176 million inhabitants, Uttar Pradesh is not only the most populous state in India but also the most populous subnational entity in the world. Only five countries (the People's Republic of China, India itself, the USA, Indonesia and Brazil) have higher populations. It is also one of the most economically and socially backward states in India. On virtually every index of social development, whether literacy, infant mortality or unemployment, Uttar Pradesh ranks among the lowest in India; the situation is compounded by the fact that figures for females is invaribly much lower than for males on every parameter. In sheer magnitude Uttar Pradesh is half the size of France, thrice that of Portugal, and four times of Ireland. Seven Switzerland and ten Belgium's could easily fit in this mammoth state. A little bigger than England, Uttar Pradesh has one out of every 36 persons in the World living here. The travel time from Ghazipur to Ghaziabad or from Churk to Chamoli within U.P. will easily exceed a cruise across the oceans. Uttar Pradesh represents the heart of India. For the same reason it has been referred to as the Madhya Desh (Central Province) in mythological descriptions.

Climate

The climate varies from moderately temperate in the Himalayan region to tropical monsoon in the central plains and southern upland regions. In the plains, the average temperatures vary from 54.5 to 63.5 F (12.5 to 17.5 C) in January to 81.5 to 90.5 F (27.5 to 32.5 C) in May and June. The highest temperature recorded in the state was 121.8 F (49.9 C) at Gonda on May 8, 1958. Rainfall in the state ranges from 40-80 inches (1,000-2,000 millimeters) in the east to 24-40 inches in the west. About 90 percent of the rainfall occurs during the southwest monsoon, lasting from about June to September. With most of the rainfall concentrated during this four-month period, floods become a recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property, particularly in the eastern part of the state. Periodic failure of monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure. In the Himalayan region, annual snowfall averaging 10 to 15 feet is common between December and March.

Languages

The languages of the different regions are distinct, and the language of the western parts, called (Khadiboli) is the basis for the official Hindi language, created during the late 19th century. The most commonly spoken language in urban areas is Urdu/Hindi. Regardless of the script used, the language of Lucknow is called Lucknowie Urdu. It is a pure form of literary Urdu used by most Urdu poets. Urdu is one of the two official languages of the state. Other languages are Koshali, Braj (which is more than two thousand years old), Koeli, Bagheli, Bundeli and Bhojpuri. The Bhojpuri ethnic homeland is divided between Nepal in the north, Bihar state in the east and Uttar Pradesh in the west.

Education

The State of U.P. has made investments over the years in all sectors of education and has achieved some success. As a result, some progress in adult education has been made and the census of 2001 indicates a male literacy rate of 70.23 % and a female literacy rate of 42.98 %. At the level of higher education and technical education Uttar Pradesh has 16 general universities, famous among those are Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), Allahabad University, Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University, one prestigeous Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), one Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow), one Indian Institute of Information Technology (Allahabad), one National Institute of Technology (Allahabad) and large number polytechnics, engineering institutes and industrial training institutes.

Agriculture

The western region of the state is more advanced in terms of agriculture. Majority of the population depends upon farming as its main occupation. Wheat, rice, sugar cane, pulses, oil seeds and potatoes are its main products. Sugar cane is an important cash crop almost through out the state and sugar mills and other cane crushers who produce gur and Khandsari are common throughout the state. Uttar Pradesh is an important state in so far as horticulture is concerned. Apples and mangoes are produced in the state.

Industries

There are different types of minerals and several industries have came up based on the minerals. There are cement plants in the Mirzapur area in the Vindhya region, a bauxite based aluminium plant in the Banda area and copper in Pithora Garh, Almora Chamboli and Tehri Garhwal. In the hills a number of minerals are to be found, mainly non-metallic minerals which are used as industrial raw materials. Coal deposits are found in the Singrauli area. The industries include a large printing establishment units engaged in manufacturing of scales, locks, letter boxes, furniture, badges and belts, leather goods, scissors etc. Handloom, carpet, glass, electrical goods, electro plating, building material industries are also found in the city.

Mineral Resources

The state is poor in mineral resources. The only considerable deposits are of limestone in Mirzapur, Dehra Dun and Almora districts. These are being quarried and are used largely in cement manufacture. Dolomite occurs in small quantities in Bandal and Varanasi districts, gypsum in Tehri Garhwal, Nainital and Dehra Dun districts, andalusite in Mirzapur district, magnetite in Almora and Pithoragarh districts, pyrophyllite and diaspore in Jhansi and Hamirpur districts, phosphorite in the Musoorie area and bauxite in Karvi tehsil of Banda district and in southern part of Varanasi district. The occurrence of stibnite, a source of antimony has been reported from Chamoli district. At Singrauli in Mirzapur district coalfield is located.

Livestock and Fishery

Uttar Pradesh supports about 15% of the country's total livestock population. Of its livestock in 1961, 15% were cattle, 21% buffaloes, 13% goats and 8% other livestock. Between 1951 and 1956 there was an overall increase of 14% in the livestock population. There are nearly eight lakh hectares of water area, including lakes, tanks, rivers, canals and streams. The fishing area is over two lakh hectares and more than 175 varieties of fish, excluding the sornamental varieties are found. Among them are rohu, hilsa, mahseer, mangar, snow trout and mirror carp.

Places of Interest

From Tourism point of view U.P. is divided into four parts i.e.

Western UP

Hastinapur (Meerut), Vrindavana (Mathura), Mathura, Garhmukteshwara (Ghaziabad), Agra, Fathepur Sikri (Agra), Peeran Kaliyar (Sahranpur), Golagokarannath (Kheri), Sankissa, Kannauj, Kampil (Farrukhabad), Soron (Etah),Naimisharanya, Chakratirtha (Sitapur), Shukratal (Muzaffaranagar), Bithur (Kanpur), Lucknow, Deva Sharif (Barabanki).

Eastern UP

Gorakhnath Temple (Gorakhpur), Sarnath (Varanasi), Saidpur Bhitri (Ghazipur), Shringverpur (Allahabad), Kaushambi, Chunar, Vindhyachala (Mirzapur), Devipatan (Gonda), Magahar (Basti), Bhrigu Temple (Ballia), Shravasti, Ayodhya (Faizabad), Kushinagar, Chitrakut, Jaunpur etc

Budhist Circuit

This includes Sarnath, Piparhwa, Samhita, Shrawasti and Kaushambi.

Bundelkhand Region

This includes all the tourist spots of the Jhansi Division.
A part of Uttar Pradesh has been separated and formed into a new state Uttaranchal on November 9th 2000. The details given here are before the separation.

Major Rivers ; Ganga, Yamuna, Ramganga, Gomti and Ghaghra

Landlocked by : Himachel Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar

Area : 2,94,411 sq. kms

Population : 16.6 crores

(Males: 8.7 crores
Females: 7.8 crores)

Male-Female Ratio: 898 : 1000

Rural Population: 13.15 crore

Urban Population : 03.45 crores

Density: 689 persons per sq. kms

Literacy : 57.36 %

Males : : 70.23%

Females : : 42.98 %

Adminsitartive Divisions : 17

Districts : 70

Towns : 631

Villages : 97,134

Airports : 04

Telephone Exchanges : 2,885

Habitated Households : 2,14,07,433

Farmers : 72.20 %

Total Income : 1,64,630 crore Indian Rupees

Per capita income : Rupees 9,765

Forest Cover : 1,725 thousand hectares

Wildlife Sanctuaries : 11

Bird Sanctuaries : 12

National Parks : 01

Metalled Roads : 1,04,000 kms

Registered Vehicles : 46,64,000

TV Centres : 03

Radio Stations : 13

Primary Schools : 8,66,361

Higher Secondary Schools : 8,459

Degree Colleges : 758

Universities : 23

Polytechnic Institutes : 79

Industrial Training Institutes : 179

Engineering Colleges : 8

Private Engineering Colleges : 22

Medical Colleges : 9

Agriculture Universities : 3

Registered Factories : 42,7409

Total Production : Rs 33,926 crore

Power generation installed capacity : 4,425 Megawatts

Power Generation : 24834 million units

Per capita power consumption : 197 units

Electrified Villages : 53,845

Birth Rate (per 1,000 population) : 33.1%

Death Rate (per 1,000 population) : 10.5%

Allopathic hospitals/dispensaries : 4,236

Food Production : 40440 thousand metric ton

Wheat Production : 26348 thousand metric ton

Rice Production : 13247 thousand metric ton

Sugarcane Production : 15419 thousand metric ton

Potato Production : 9953 thousand metric ton

Cement Production : 656600 metric ton

Cotton Cloth Production : 368 thousand meter