Haryana GK

Area : 44,212 sq km
Population : 21,144,564
Capital : Chandigarh
Principal Languages : Hindi

History and Geography
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
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.

Information Technology
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 HQ's to respective District HQ's. 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-centric 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 storage capacity. Under the Computer Training Programme, more than 15000 government Employees have been trained.

Industry
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 SEZ's 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.

Irrigation
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.

Power
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.

Transport
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.

Tourist Centres
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 sanctuary (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.