| புதுச்செரி தேசிய அமைப்பு పాండిచేరి నేషనల్ సంస్థ പോത്തുച്ചേരി Union Territory of Puducherry |
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| — union territory — | |
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Territoire de Pondichéry Union Territory of Puducherry |
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| Coordinates | 11°56′N 79°50′E / 11.93°N 79.83°ECoordinates: 11°56′N 79°50′E / 11.93°N 79.83°E |
| Country | India |
| District(s) | 4 |
| Established | 1 July 1963 |
| Capital | Puducherry |
| Largest city | Puducherry |
| Lt. Governor | Iqbal Singh |
| Chief Minister | N. Rangaswamy (AINRC) |
| Legislature (seats) | Unicameral (30) |
| Population • Density |
1,244,464 (2nd) • 2,529 /km2 (6,550 /sq mi) |
| Official languages | Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam |
|---|---|
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area | 492 km2 (190 sq mi) |
| ISO 3166-2 | IN-PY |
| Website | www.pon.nic.in |
Puducherry, before 2006 officially Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It consists of four non-contiguous enclaves, or districts, named after the largest, Puducherry.
In September 2006, the territory changed its official name from Pondicherry[1] to Puducherry, which means "New village" in the Tamil language. The territory is called புதுச்சேரி (Pudhuchēri) or பாண்டிச்சேரி (Pāṇdichēri) in Tamil.
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Puducherry consists of four small unconnected districts: Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea. Puducherry and Karaikal are by far the larger ones and are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala respectively. The territory has a total area of 492 km²: Puducherry (city) 293 km², Karaikal 160 km², Mahé 9 km² and Yanam 30 km². It has 900,000 inhabitants (2001).
The History of Puducherry can be traced back to the 2nd century. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, of the early 2nd century, mentions a marketplace named Poduke (ch. 60), which G.W.B. Huntingford identified as possibly being Arikamedu (now part of Ariyankuppam), about 2 miles from the modern Puducherry. Huntingford further notes that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937, and archeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century AD".[2]
Official languages of Pondicherry are Tamil (89%),Malayalam (3.8%), Telugu (2.9%) and French (1%). The status of each language varies by district. When communicating between districts of different languages, generally English is used for convenience.
As of 2001, number of people speaking in each official languages are
On April 16, 2007, the government of Puducherry announced that the following to be its state symbol:[3]
| State bird | Koel |
| State animal | Squirrel |
| State flower | Cannonball tree's flower |
| State tree | Bael Fruit Tree |
This statement was announced in the state assembly by V. Vaithilingam, then Minister for Agriculture.
Mr.N. Rangaswamy is the present Chief Minister of Pondicherry. Puducherry is a Union Territory of India, not a separate state, which implies that the governance and administration of the territory falls directly under the federal authority in New Delhi. However, along with Delhi, Puducherry is one of the two union territories in India which is entitled by special constitutional amendments to have an elected legislative assembly and a cabinet of ministers, thereby enjoying partial statehood powers. Under the special provision, the government is permitted to make laws with respect to specific matters. In many cases, such legislation may require the ratification from the federal government or the assent of the President of India.
The Centre is represented by the lieutenant governor, who resides at the Raj Nivas at the Park, the former palace of the French governor. The central government is more directly involved in the financial well-being of the territory, as against the states where financial administration, given a budgeted central grant is the responsibility to the state governments. Consequently, Puducherry has at various times, enjoyed lower taxes, especially in the indirect category.
According to the Treaty of Cession of 1956, the four former French colonies in India were assured of maintaining their special administrative status.
Article II of the Treaty states that
"The Establishments will keep the benefit of the special administrative status which was in force prior to 1 November 1954. Any constitutional changes in this status which may be made subsequently shall be made after ascertaining the wishes of the people.
Puducherry was the residence of Sri Aurobindo. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its Auroville offshoot still operate from Puducherry.
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Puducherry at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian rupees.
| Year | Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 1,840 |
| 1985 | 3,420 |
| 1990 | 6,030 |
| 1995 | 13,200 |
| 2000 | 37,810 |
Puducherry's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $2 billion in current prices. The potential for fisheries is substantial in the Union Territory. The four regions of the Union Territory have a coastline of 45 km with 675 sq. km of inshore waters, 1.347 ha of inland water and 800 ha of brackish water. There are 27 marine fishing villages and 23 inland fishing villages with fishermen population of about 65,000 of which 13,000 are actively engaged in fishing. Irrigation tanks and ponds are also tapped for commercial fish rearing.
The Railways play a vital role for speedy economic growth. The entire cost towards execution of the new broad gauge line for 10.7 km from Karaikal to Nagore would now be funded by the Ministry of Railways and work has already been awarded on turn key basis for laying the new railway line in a period of 18 months.
The present availability of power is about 400 MW. The demand is likely to increase with the development of Port, Special Economic Zone, other industrial development, trade, commerce etc.It has been decided to expand the Puducherry Airport so that air services could improve gradually over years, to land ATR to Boeing aircraft, to meet the growing demand for air travel. A MoU has already been signed with Airports Authority of India for expansion of Puducherry Airport in two phases.
Puducherry is connected by a railway branch line from the five-way junction at Viluppuram (town). The railway line is being gauge converted under Project Unigauge from metre gauge to broad gauge.[4]
Puducherry is endowed with excellent infrastructural facilities on par with the best available in the country. A network of all weather metalled roads connecting every village exists in the territory. Puducherry has a road length of 2552 km (road length per 4.87 km²), the highest in the country.
| ROADS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Road Length (in Puducherry) | 2552 km. | ||
| Road Length per 1000 km². | Puducherry | Tamil Nadu | India |
| 4575 | 1572 | 663 | |
| Sl. No. | Type of road | Length in
(km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
National Highways |
64.450 |
| 2 |
State Highways |
49.304 |
| 3 |
District & Other Roads |
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Puducherry – 173.384 |
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Karaikal – 55.162 |
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Mahé – 19.622 |
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Yanam – 26.460 |
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274.628 |
274.628 |
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| 4 |
Rural Roads |
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Puducherry – 164.964 |
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Karaikal – 83.470 |
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248.434 |
248.434 |
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Grand Total |
636.816 |
Puducherry is a Union Territory with one of the highest levels of quality of life in the country with excellent physical infrastructure and almost a hundred per cent literacy level. It is also the place where Sri Aurobindo and the Mother chose to stay and their writings remain a tremendous source of spiritual awakening that emphasizes the progress of humanity and its spiritual brotherhood. A unique experimental city, Auroville, the brainchild of the Mother, whose inhabitants are drawn from all parts of the world, is situated on the outskirts of the city. Puducherry was also the place where the national poet Shri Subramania Bharathiar wrote several of his masterpieces that fanned the flames of freedom and also enriched modern Tamil literature. Bharathidasan, a staunch disciple of Subramania Bharathiar, whose poems stressed social revolution and emancipation of women, was also an eminent son of Puducherry. Therefore, it is, indeed, in the fitness of things that this city with such an illustrious history should also have the distinction of housing a Central University that would meet the needs of the people of the Southern states of India in general and those of Puducherry in particular, for higher education.[5]
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