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Through Chhattisgarh, Maurya Empire and Rice
It is among the biggest producers of steel and iron in the country. There are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, at least 6 steel plants, 60 plywood factories, 35 ferro-alloy plants, and 500 agro industries in the city. In addition, Raipur also has over 800 rice milling plants.
History
Raipur district, like the rest of the Chhattisgarh plain, was once known as Dakshina Kosala and considered to be under Maurya Empire. In Arang near Raipur, a Gupta inscription dated to the 6th century CE shows Gupta hegemony over the region. In the 7th century CE, the region was ruled by a Buddhist kingdom in Bhandak in modern-day Maharashtra and was described by Xuanzang. A branch of this family later migrated to Sirpur in present-day Mahasamund district, and later took control of the entirety of Dakshina Kosala. This kingdom's prosperity reached its height with Tivaradeva. His son inscribed almost all temples in Sirpur. They were later ousted by the Sharabpuriyas, who took control of the rest of Chhattisgarh and ruled for several centuries.
By the early 9th century the Kalachuris gained control of the region. The Kalachuris of Ratnapura ruled Ratnapur until the 13th century. By the 14th century, the Kalachuris of Raipur branch gained power. One king of the Raipur branch conquered 18 garh, or forts, of the enemy - lending an etymology to Chhattisgarh, the 36 forts. By the 18th century Kalachuris became the overlords of entire Chhattisgarh region.
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Demographics
As of the 2011 census, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,433, of which 519,286 are males and 490,801 are females—a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 124,471 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 64,522 are boys and 59,949 are girls—a ratio of 929 girls per 1000 boys. There are 769,593 literates (420,155 males, 349,438 females). The effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.
The urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555, of which males constitute 578,339, females constitute 544,216—a sex ratio of 941 females per 1000 males and 142,826 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 846,952 literates with an effective literacy rate of 86.45%.
Geography and climate
Geography
Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred to as the "rice bowl of India", where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown. The Mahanadi River flows to the east of the city of Raipur, and the southern side has dense forests. The Maikal Hills rise on the north-west of Raipur; on the north, the land rises and merges with the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which extends north-east across Jharkhand state. On the south of Raipur lies the Deccan Plateau.
Climate
Raipur has a tropical wet and dry climate, and temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, except from March to June, which can be extremely hot. The temperature in April–May sometimes rises above 48 °C (118 °F). These summer months also have dry and hot winds. The city receives about 1,300 millimetres (51 in) of rain, mostly in the monsoon season from mid June to early October. Winters last from November to February and are mild, although lows can fall to 5 °C (41 °F) making it reasonably cold.
Raipur has been ranked the eighth-best National Clean Air City (under Category I: Cities with population above 10 Lakhs) in India according to the Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results.
Government and politics
Civic administration
Raipur city has a Municipal corporation. It was initially established by the British on 17 May 1867, initially named Raipur Municipal Committee. It was upgraded to Raipur Municipal Corporation in the year 1973. The area of the municipal corporation is 503.67 km2 (194.47 sq mi). RMC is governed under the guidelines mentioned in the Chhattisgarh Municipalities Act, 1961. As per the 2011 Census of India, the urban agglomeration population in Raipur, Durg - Bhilai was 3,186,632. The three urban cities of Raipur, Bhilai, and Durg in the west-central region of Chhattisgarh together create the Raipur - Bhilai - Durg Tri-City Metro area.
The functions of the municipal corporation are the construction of health centres, educational institutes, and schools, and the periodic maintenance of the houses. In addition to taking the responsibility of constructing basic civic infrastructure, flyovers, and roads, it is also developing recreational centres such as museums, community halls, and parks. Along with basic civic infrastructure, flyovers, and roads.
The executive committee consists of the Commissioner, Deputy commissioner, city health officers, executive engineers, zone commissioners, and other staff. The Municipal Commissioner of Raipur is Vishwa Deep (I.A.S). The current mayor is Meenal Choubey from BJP. The Mayor in the council consists of the Mayor who is the ex officio chairperson of the MIC. Among elected councillors, the mayor elects them to the council. There are 70 wards and 8 zones within the Raipur Municipal Corporation. The zonal ward committees are headed by chairpersons who are elected by ward councillors of the respective zone.
The recent municipal elections were held on 11 February 2025. The political parties in the majority at the municipal level are BJP and INC. The estimated municipal budget for the 2017-2018 period is ₹ 2,612,667. Key revenue sources are tax income, fees and charges, sanitation charges, grants and donations, and capital income.
The city is a part of Raipur District with Gaurav Kumar Singh, IAS/Collector and DM. The collector heads the district administration department. The upper collector, deputy collector, and joint deputy assist the Collector. Another governing agency that is active in the city of Raipur is the Urban Administration And Development, Chhattisgarh.
Municipal finance
According to financial data published on the CityFinance Portal of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Raipur Municipal Corporation reported total revenue receipts of ₹528 crore (US$64 million) and total expenditure of ₹460 crore (US$55 million) in 2022–23. Tax revenue accounted for about 27.7% of the total revenue, while the corporation received ₹110 crore in grants during the financial year.
Master plan
Raipur Master Plan 2021 recognizes the need for planned development to take the pressure off the downtown core and meet the need for green spaces and bodies of water in that area. The plan calls for dense housing in new subdivisions on the outskirts and well-planned high-rise commercial and industrial development along with the NH-6 as well as on the north side of the city.
Legislative assembly and state agencies
Raipur is a Lok Sabha/Parliamentary constituency in central Chhattisgarh. Raipur's Lok Sabha seat is unreserved. Brijmohan Agrawal of BJP is the current Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from the city. There are seven Vidhan Sabha seats in Raipur district, including three in Raipur City, one in Raipur Rural and three in Outer Tehsils.
Economy
Raipur, being the capital city of Chhattisgarh, has attracted large amounts of industrial development. As it is the state capital, the government and service sectors make up a large part of the city's economy and workforce. Manufacturing industries are also well-developed in the city, with a large number of industrial zones. Raipur is also regarded as one of the best cities to do business. It is abundantly rich in mineral resources and is among the biggest producers of steel and iron in the country. There are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, at least 6 steel plants, 60 plywood factories, 35 ferro-alloy plants, and 500 agro-industries in the city. In addition, Raipur also has over 800 rice milling plants.
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) is planning to set up an integrated cement manufacturing unit with a capacity of 2.5 million TPA in Raipur. A South Korean multinational Sung Ha Telecom is also planning to set up a plant in Naya Raipur. JSW Steel has a steel plant in Raipur. APL Apollo's in joint venture with a Singaporean company has planned a manufacturing plant in Raipur. Grasim Industries operates a cement plant at Rawan in Raipur. Ambuja Cements has a plant in Bhatapara. In addition, Raipur has a large chemical plant which produces and supplies formalin all throughout the country. LPG bottling plants owned by Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are also in Raipur. Godavari - E - Mobility is planning to set up a manufacturing plant in the city as well. A heavy machinery plant of Jindal Group is in Raipur.
Functioning as an information technology (IT) and cyber hub, a technology park in Chhattisgarh's new capital city Naya Raipur was built. Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) will be developing a new industrial area in Tilda near Raipur to provide facilities for small and medium industries. Two new industrial parks for apparel and metal industries are coming up in Raipur.
Civic utilities
Transport services
The superintendent of Engineers Executive Engineers, the team of Engineers, and the staff responsible for the related activities of the road department head the public works department. Their purposes are planning and designing of road stormwater drains, maintenance of roads and streets, maintenance of gardens and parks, resurfacing the roads, and repairing potholes and bad patches.
In the bus transport system of Raipur City there is a total number of 157 buses plying within the city.
Fire service and electricity
The city's electricity is supplied by Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited. Fire and emergency services were set up in 2016 to protect fire incidents in the state. As per the directions of the government, the Fire Station of the urban body are being taken under fire and emergency services.
Water, drainage, and sewerage
The existing source of unfiltered water is the Kharun River, and about 170 million litres of water per day (MLD) is treated on a daily basis, and the plant has a treatment capacity of 275 MLD. The per capita water supply in the city of Raipur is 135 litres per day. There is a water supply connection serving a total of 50,000 households. Along with water from the Kharun River (27 MLD), another source of water is groundwater, and the capacity utilized is 22 MLD. There is a total of 1,133 handpumps in the city.
There is a lack in the sewerage systems of Raipur City. The data for households with a Sewerage Network is unavailable, but the number of households with septic tanks is 1,44,882 and the households without any outlets for toilets is 5,649. The city has no separate drainage system nor any sewer lines. There is a separate stormwater drainage system, laid as per requirement.
Solid waste management
The waste management in the city is entrusted to the city health officer, the in-charge health officer, zonal health officer, and the team of sanitary supervisors and ward supervisors. A total of 3,56,490 households have been successful with source segregation and are covered by door-to-door collection. Raipur's major waste disposal site is the Sarona site, which is 12 km away from the city centre.
Transport
Roadways
Some major roads in Raipur are National Highway 53 (NH-53), National Highway 30 (NH-30), Great Eastern Road, Pandri Road, Baloda Bazar Road, Nardha Raipur Road, VIP Road, and Atal Path Expressway.
The Raipur–Naya Raipur Expressway, also known as Atal Path Expressway, is a 12.7 km (7.9 mi) access-controlled expressway connecting Raipur to Naya Raipur. It has been made to ease the traffic on the GE road and provide faster access to Dhamtari road from Raipur railway station. It serves 4 flyovers and 1 elevated corridor, crossing over GE road and NH-53 in between two ends of the expressway.
The proposed Durg–Raipur–Arang Expressway, Raipur-Ranchi-Dhanbad Expressway and the under-construction Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway will pass through and start from Raipur, which after completion, will enhance connectivity and commute further with other cities to and from Raipur.
Bus transport
The Sri Balaji Swami Trust Sri Dudhadhari Math Inter State Bus Terminal at Ravanbhantha is the main bus station of the city. It has replaced the old Minimata Bus Stand or Pandri Stand, which was causing heavy traffic problems. The services of the new ISBT started on 15 November 2021. The only bus rapid transit system is the Raipur and Naya Raipur BRTS.
Metro
A light rail, or a Metrolite or Lite Metro (as referred in India), has been proposed by the Government of Chhattisgarh, which will run from Naya Raipur to Durg via Raipur and Bhilai.
Railways
Raipur Junction railway station is the primary railway station of the city, which is situated on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Indian Railways, running through the cities of Bhusawal, Nagpur, Gondia, Durg (Bhilai), Bilaspur, Rourkela and Kharagpur. Thus, it is connected with many major cities. It is categorized in the A-1 category of railway stations by the Indian Railways. Raipur has some smaller railway stations in Sarona, Saraswati Nagar, and the WRS Colony railway stations which also lie on the same railway route.
Airport
Swami Vivekananda International Airport, (Formerly called the Mana Airport), is the primary airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh. The airport is located 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Raipur and 10 km (6.2 mi) from Naya Raipur. The airport is well-connected, having daily direct flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Lucknow, Indore, Jaipur, Patna, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Prayagraj, and Jagdalpur, operated by Alliance Air, IndiGo and Vistara airlines.
List of mayors
Points of interest
- Mata Kaushalya Temple is the only temple in the world dedicated to the deity Mata Kaushalya.
- Purkhouti Muktangan, Naya Raipur an open-air Cultural garden that exhibits the Culture of Chhattisgarh.
- Nandanvan Jungle Safari, Naya Raipur is Asia's largest man-made Jungle Safari.
- The Shree Ram temple, VIP square.
- The Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum, Ghadi chowk.
- Swami Vivekananda Sarowar (Budha Talab).
- Telibandha Lake (Marine Drive).
Education
Raipur has become a big educational hub of Chhattisgarh due to the presence of many institutes of national importance in engineering, management, medicine, law and fashion, including IIM, NIT, AIIMS, NIFT, Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), CIPET, Raipur, NIPER(Proposed) and IIIT.
Premier institutes
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur (AIIMS)
- Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology
- Hidayatullah National Law University
- Indian Institute of Management Raipur (IIM)
- International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur
- National Institute of Technology, Raipur(NIT)
- National Institute of Fashion Technology Raipur
- National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) (Proposed) at Naya Raipur
Government universities
- Chandulal Chandrakar Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya
- Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University
- Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University
Private universities and deemed universities
- Amity University
- ITM University
- Kalinga University
- MATS University
Commerce, engineering, and management colleges
- Government Engineering College (GEC)
- Raipur Institute of Technology
- Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management and Technology (SSIPMT)
Secondary education
- Rajkumar College, established in 1882, one of the Chief's Colleges that were set up during the British Raj
Media
News channels
Many local news channels are telecast from Raipur in Hindi:
Newspapers
Many national and local newspapers are published from Raipur in both Hindi and English:
Radio
Raipur city has five FM Radio Stations -
Notable people
- Lucky Ali, Bollywood singer/composer/actor, did a part of his schooling from Rajkumar College, Raipur
- Teejan Bai, traditional performing artist for Pandavani.
- Anurag Basu, a noted Bollywood movie director, was born in Raipur and later moved to the neighboring city of Bhilai.
- Harinath De, an Indian historian, scholar, and polyglot, later became the first Indian librarian of the National Library of India (then Imperial Library), spent his childhood and did his initial schooling in Raipur.
- Mohammad Hidayatullah, former Chief Justice of India and former acting president of India, received his primary education at the Government High School of Raipur until 1922.
- Akhtar Husain, Pakistani scholar, journalist and lexicographer.
- Harshad Mehta, an infamous stockbroker, spent his childhood in Raipur after his parents moved here from Mumbai.
- Rajneesh, an Indian philosopher, stayed in Raipur and taught philosophy in Raipur Sanskrit College in 1957.
- Shekhar Sen, musical mono-act player, born and raised in Raipur.
- Ravishankar Shukla, the first chief minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, spent his childhood and was educated in Raipur.
- Vidya Charan Shukla, former Union Minister and a nine-term parliamentarian, born in Raipur
- Veer Narayan Singh, freedom fighter, jailed at Raipur by the British Army.
- K. S. Sudarshan, former chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, born in Raipur in 1931.
- Habib Tanvir, a noted theatre artist and playwright, was born in Raipur in 1923.
- Swami Vivekananda spent two of his teenage years in Raipur from 1877 till 1879 when his father was transferred here.