Chennai (
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world...
: சென்னை ), formerly
known asThe process of renaming of cities in India started after the end of the British imperial period in 1947 and continues to date. There were political controversies about several renamings. Not all proposed renamings were actually implemented...
, is the capital city of the
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n
stateIndia is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.- States and territories :...
of
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh...
. Chennai is the
fourth most populous metropolitan area and the
fifth most populous city in India. Located on the
Coromandel CoastThe Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula.-Etymology:The land of the Chola dynasty was called Cholamandalam in Tamil, literally translated as The realm of the Cholas, from which Coromandel is derived...
of the
Bay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal IPA:ˈbɒŋɡopoʃɑːˈgoɽ), the largest bay of the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered by Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal to the north , India and Sri Lanka to the west and Myanmar and the Andaman and...
, Chennai city had a population of 4.34 million in the 2001 census within the area administered by the
Corporation of ChennaiChennai Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai, India.The Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal body of the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom and the oldest corporation India...
. The urban agglomeration of metropolitan Chennai has an estimated population over 8 million people.
The city was established in the 17th century by the British, who developed it into a major urban centre and naval base. By the 20th century, it had become an important administrative centre, as the capital of the
Madras PresidencyMadras Presidency , also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. George, was a province of British India...
.
Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the automobile, technology, hardware manufacturing, and healthcare industries. The city is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (
ITInformation technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic...
) and information-technology-enabled services (ITES). A major chunk of India's automobile manufacturing industry is based in and around the city. Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s automotive exports and is referred to as the
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
of South Asia.
Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual
Madras Music SeasonMadras Music Season is an event hosted every December-January in the present-day south Indian metropol of Chennai. Spanning some six weeks, a number of large and small kutcheris are performed by highly competent musicians...
, which includes performances by hundreds of artists. The city has a vibrant theatre scene and is an important centre for the
BharatanatyamBharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form originating in Tamil Nadu. This dance form denotes various 19th and 20th century reconstructions of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical music...
, a classical dance form. The
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world...
film industry, known as
Kollywood, the second largest movie industry in India, is based in the city; the soundtracks of the movies dominate its music scene.
Names
The name
Chennai is a shortened form of
Chennai pattinam, the name of the town that grew around Fort St. George, which was built by the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
in 1640 CE. The town area is said to have been a part of the empire of the
RajaRaja is the Hindustani term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
s of
ChandragiriChandragiri , is a suburb of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, south India. Recently it is included under Municipal Corporation limits of Tirupati...
. There are two versions about the origin of the name
Chennai: according to one version,
Chennai pattinam was named after Chennaiappa Naicker, Raja of Kalahasthi (previously in Tamil Nadu) and Vandavasi from whom the British acquired the town in 1639 CE. The first official use of the name
Chennai is said to be in a sale deed, dated August 1639, to one Francis Day who was an agent for the British . According to the second account,
Chennapattinam was named after the Chenna Kesava Perumal Temple; the word
chenni in
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world...
means
face, and the temple was regarded as the face of the city.
The city's former name,
Madras, is derived from
Madraspattinam, a fishing village north of Fort Saint George. There is a little agreement among researchers about the exact origin of the name
Madraspattinam. Some believe that the
PortugueseThe Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the far west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe...
, who arrived in the area in the 16th century, may have named the village
Madre de Deus. Others believe that the village's name came from the once prominent
Madeiros family (variously known as
Madera or
Madra in succeeding years) of Portugese origin, which had consecrated the
Madre de Deus Church in the Chennai locality,
SanthomeSanthome is a locality in Chennai in India.The word Santhome or San Thome is derived from Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The local Christian belief is that apostle St. Thomas came to India in A.D.52 and was martyred in A.D.72 at St.Thomas Mount, a different part of the...
, in 1575. Some researchers say the name 'Madraspattinam' was in use even before the Europeans came in.
Some time after the British gained possession of the area in the 17th century, the two towns,
Madraspattinam and
Chennapattinam, were merged. The British referred to the united town as
Madraspattinam. The state government officially
changedGeographical renaming is the act of changing the name of a geographical feature or area. This can range from the uncontroversial change of a street name to a highly disputed change to the name of a country. Some names are changed locally but are not recognised by other countries, especially when...
it to
Chennai in 1996, at a time when
many Indian cities were being renamedThe process of renaming of cities in India started after the end of the British imperial period in 1947 and continues to date. There were political controversies about several renamings. Not all proposed renamings were actually implemented...
.
History
The region around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and economic centre since the 1st century. It has been ruled by various
South IndiaSouth India, also known as the Dravida in the Indian anthem, is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area...
n dynasties, notably the
PallavaThe Pallava dynasty ruled northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with their capital at Kanchipuram. The origin of Pallavas is a subject of speculation. They were perhaps the descendents of the Saka-Pahlava-Kambhoja warriors from Northwest India. They have settled in the Guntur region of Andhra...
, the
Chera DynastyThe Chera Dynasty was a Dravidian Tamil dynasty that ruled in southern India from before the Sangam era until the twelfth century AD. Kalitokai,a Sangha work describes Cheras as Villavar people. Tamil literature calls the Chera king Villavar Kon,the king of Villavar tribe. Chera Flag had Bow and...
, the
CholaThe Chola Empire was ruled by a Dravidian Tamil dynasty of that name that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River...
, the
PandyaThe Pandyan Kingdom was an ancient Tamil state in South India. The Pandyas, Chola, Chera and Pallava Dynasties are the four Dravidian Tamil Dynasties which ruled South India til the 15th century CE. They initially ruled from Korkai, a seaport on the Southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, and...
, and
VijaynagarVijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city, located at , of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India.-Location and Surroundings:...
. The town of
MylaporeMylapore is the cultural hub, and a bustling neighborhood, just south of Chennai city, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India....
, now part of Chennai, was once a major Pallavan port. The
PortugueseThe Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the far west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe...
arrived in 1522 and built a port called
São Tomé after the Christian apostle, St Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 AD. In 1612, the
DutchThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock...
established themselves near
PulicatPulicat is a fishing village in Thiruvallur District, of Tamil Nadu state, South India. It is about 60 km north of Chennai, on the barrier island of Sriharikota, which separates Pulicat Lake from the Bay of Bengal...
, just north of the city.
On 22 August 1639,
Francis DayFrancis Day was a British administrator associated with the British East India Company. He served as a factor of the British East India Company factory at Masulipatnam from 1632 to 1639. In 1639, he negotiated the purchase of a strip of land south of the Dutch factory at Pulicat from the Raja of...
of the British East India Company bought a small strip of land on the
Coromandel CoastThe Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula.-Etymology:The land of the Chola dynasty was called Cholamandalam in Tamil, literally translated as The realm of the Cholas, from which Coromandel is derived...
. The region was ruled by Venkatapathy, the
NayakNayak, Nayaka, Nayakar, Nayakkar, Naik, Naiker, Naicker, Naickan, Nayakkan, Naidu, Nayudu or Naidoo is a common title used by various caste and ethnic groups across India. They are all derivatives of the original Sanskrit Nayaka, meaning a leader...
of
VandavasiVandavasi or Wandiwash is a city and a municipality in Tiruvanamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Vandavasi was the scene of a decisive battle in the eighteenth-century war between France and the United Kingdom for the control of South Asia. The Battle of Wandiwash was a watershed in...
. He granted the British permission to build a factory and warehouse for their trading enterprises. A year later, the British built
Fort St GeorgeFort St George is the name of the first British fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land...
, which became the nucleus of the growing
colonialColonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole...
city. Fort St.George houses the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
In 1746, Fort St. George and Madras were captured by the French under General
La BourdonnaisBertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French naval officer and administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.-Biography:...
, the Governor of
MauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands...
, who plundered the town and its outlying villages. The British regained control in 1749 through the
Treaty of Aix-la-ChapelleThe second Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession.
A congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen, in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
and fortified the town's fortress wall to withstand further attacks from the French and another looming threat,
Hyder AliHyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. He is said to have induced his brother to employ a Parsi to purchase artillery and small arms from the government of Bombay Presidency, and to enrol some thirty sailors of different European nations as gunners, and is...
, the
SultanSultan is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power"...
of
MysoreThe Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
. By the late 18th century, the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern-day states of
Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , abbreviated A.P., is a state situated on the south-eastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad...
and
KarnatakaKarnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act...
, establishing the
Madras PresidencyMadras Presidency , also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. George, was a province of British India...
with Madras as the capital. Under British rule, the city grew into a major urban centre and naval base.
With the advent of
railways in IndiaRail transport is a commonly used mode of long-distance transportation in India. Almost all rail operations in India are handled by a state-owned organisation, Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways. The rail network traverses the length and breadth of the country, covering a total length of...
in the late 19th century, the thriving urban centre was connected to other important cities such as Bombay and Calcutta, promoting increased communication and trade with the hinterland. Madras was briefly under Portuguese and French rule during 16th and 18th centuries.
Madras was the only Indian city to be
attackedThe Bombardment of Madras was an engagement of World War I, At Madras, India, now the modern day Chennai.The bombardment was initiated by the German light cruiser Emden.-Bombardment:...
by the
Central PowersThe Central Powers was one of the two sides that participated in World War I, the other being the Entente Powers.-Member states:...
during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, when an oil depot was shelled by the German
light cruiserA light cruiser is a warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
on 22 September 1914, as it raided shipping lanes in the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
, causing disruption to shipping. After
India gained its independenceThe term Indian independence movement incorporates various national and regional campaigns, agitations and efforts of both nonviolent and militant philosophy. The term encompasses a wide spectrum of political organizations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending the British...
in 1947, the city became the capital of
Madras StateMadras State was the name by which the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was known from January 26, 1950 till 1968. Initially, Madras State also included coastal parts of modern-day Andhra Pradesh, northern Kerala and Bellary and Dakshin Kannada districts of Karnataka. It was reduced to its present...
, renamed the state of Tamil Nadu in 1969. The violent
agitations of 1965Anti-Hindi agitations refers to the protests in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, formerly known as Madras State during the years of 1938, 1948, 1952, and 1965. This was organized against the decision of the Government of India to adopt Hindi as the only official language of India and was...
against the imposition of
HindiStandard Hindi, also known as High Hindi, Nagari Hindi or Literary Hindi is a standardised register of Hindi. It is one of the 22 languages with official status in India, and is used, along with English, for administration of the central government.Standard Hindi is a sanskritised register derived...
as the national language, marked a major shift in the
political dynamicsDravidian parties have dominated state politics since 1967.One of the earliest regional parties was the South Indian Welfare Association, which was founded in 1916. It came to be known as the Justice Party after the name of its English-language daily, Justice.E.V. Ramasami, popularly known as...
of the city and the whole state.
In 2004, an
Indian Ocean tsunamiThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
lashed the shores of Chennai, killing many and permanently altering the coastline.
Geography
Chennai is on the southeast coast of India in the northeast of
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh...
on a flat coastal plain known as the
Eastern Coastal PlainsThe Eastern Coastal Plains refer to a wide stretch of landmass of India, lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. It stretches from Tamil Nadu in the south to West Bengal in the north. Its average width is 120 km....
. Its average elevation is around 6.7 metres (22 ft), and its highest point is 60 m (200 ft). The
Marina BeachThe Marina Beach is a beach situated along a 14km shoreline in the city of Chennai, India along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean is the longest beach in India and the second longest in the world...
runs for 12 km along the shoreline of the city. Two rivers meander through Chennai, the
Cooum RiverThe Cooum River, is the famous river which ends in the city of Chennai in India on the Bay of Bengal. The river almost bisects the city.The name of Cooum appears to be derived from Tamil Literature...
(or
Koovam) through the centre and the
Adyar RiverThe Adyar River, originating from the Chembarambakkam Lake in Chengalpattu district, is one of the two rivers which winds through Chennai, South India, and joins the Bay of Bengal at the Adyar Estuary. The 42 km long river contributes to the estuarine ecosystem of Chennai. Despite the high...
to the south. A third river, the Kortalaiyar, flows through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the sea at Ennore. Adyar and Cooum rivers are heavily polluted with
effluentEffluent is an outflowing of water from a natural body of water, or from a man-made structure.Effluent in the man-made sense is generally considered to be water pollution, such as the outflow from a sewage treatment facility or the wastewater discharge from industrial facilities...
s and
wasteWaste is unwanted or unusable material.In living organisms, waste is the unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from them. More commonly, waste refers to the materials that are disposed of in a system of waste management.Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically...
from domestic and commercial sources. The state government periodically removes
siltSilt is soil or rock derived granular material of a grain size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
and
pollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light...
from the
AdyarAdyar may refer to:* Adyar — a locality in Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India* Adyar River — a river in Chennai city* Adyar, Karnataka — a town in the state of Karnataka, India...
, which is much less polluted than the Cooum. A protected
estuaryAn estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...
on the Adyar forms a natural
habitatThe term habitat has a number of meanings:* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows** Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
for several species of birds and animals. The
Buckingham CanalThe Buckingham Canal is a 420 km long salt water navigation canal, running parallel to the Coromandel Coast of South India from the vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh to Villupuram District in Tamil Nadu. The canal connects most of the natural backwaters along the coast to the port of Chennai...
, 4 km (3 miles) inland, runs parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The
Otteri NullahThe Otteri Nullah is an east-west waterway which runs through north Chennai, starting at the village of Mullam proceeding through Purasawalkam and then passing througn Buckingham and Carnatic Mills before meeting the Buckingham Canal at Basin Bridge....
, an east-west stream, runs through north Chennai and meets the
Buckingham CanalThe Buckingham Canal is a 420 km long salt water navigation canal, running parallel to the Coromandel Coast of South India from the vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh to Villupuram District in Tamil Nadu. The canal connects most of the natural backwaters along the coast to the port of Chennai...
at
Basin BridgeBasin Bridge is the confluence of the Otteri Nullah and Buckingham Canal in Chennai, India. The Madras Boating Club operates rowing events in this place....
. Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city.
Red HillsThe Red Hills Lake, located in Ambattur taluka of Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu, South India, is one of the rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply to Chennai City . This lake is also called Puzhal Lake....
,
SholavaramSholavaram Lake, located in Ponneri taluka of Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu, South India, is one of the rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply to Chennai. On account of scanty rainfall for last three years , the lake looks like a small pond now....
and
Chembarambakkam LakeChembarambakkam lake is a lake located in the Chengalpattu district of India, about 40 km from Chennai, South India. The Adyar River originates from this lake...
supply Chennai with
potable waterDrinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm...
.
GroundwaterGroundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in...
sources are becoming
brackishBrackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salten" or "salty"...
.
Chennai's
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
is mostly
clayClay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired...
,
shaleShale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable...
and
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
. Sandy areas are found along the river banks and coasts, such as
ThiruvanmiyurThiruvanmiyur is a district in the south of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is a growing development with Tidel Information Technology Park located nearby. The Marundeeswarar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva is also in the area...
,
AdyarAdyar or Adayar is a large neighborhood in south Chennai , Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River...
,
KottivakkamKottivakkam is a census town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Even though it comes under the administration of kancheepuram it enjoys a close proximity to the Chennai city.- Demographics :...
,
SanthomeSanthome is a locality in Chennai in India.The word Santhome or San Thome is derived from Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The local Christian belief is that apostle St. Thomas came to India in A.D.52 and was martyred in A.D.72 at St.Thomas Mount, a different part of the...
,
George TownGeorge Town is a historical neighbourhood of Fort St. George in Chennai, India. Also known as Black Town in the British period, the settlement was formed after the British set up the fort. It is the first settlement of the city of Chennai soon after the completion of the fort...
,
TondiarpetTondiarpet constitutes an important suburban region of Chennai city. The place is located in the northern outskirts and close to the nearby sea that is Bay of Bengal. Tondiarpet is one important commercial centre in the north of the city. The place shares its boundaries with other important regions...
and the rest of coastal Chennai. Here rainwater
runoffSurface runoff is the water flow which occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the hydrologic cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint...
percolatesIn physics, chemistry and materials science, percolation concerns the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials. Examples include the movement of solvents through filter paper and the movement of petroleum through fractured rock. Electrical analogs include the flow of electricity...
quickly through the soil. Clay underlies most of the city including
T. NagarThyagaraya Nagar is a large, primarily commercial, locality in Chennai, India. It is situated in the middle of the city, south-west of the Anna Flyover. It is named after Sir P. Thyagaraya, whose Justice Party was in power when the settlement was laid out...
,
West MambalamWest Mambalam is a residential location in Chennai, India....
,
Anna NagarAnna Nagar is a residential neighbourhood in the metropolitan city of Chennai, India. It is in west Chennai and the areas to the west of Anna Nagar are some of the fastest developing parts of the city...
,
VillivakkamThe biggest state assembly constituency in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Villivakkam covers an area from Annanagar in south and Madavaram in north, Ayanavaram in east and Korattur in west...
,
PeramburPerambur, is a locality in North Chennai in IndiaThough the nomenclature source of Perambur is not apparently known, it is widely regarded as a place which used to be a bamboo forest a few hundred years ago, around the Huzur Gardens area, which currently houses the Simpsons Pvt. Ltd,...
and
VirugambakkamVirugambakkam is a residential neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is an important residential area and is famous for its schools, market, residential colonies and residences of film artists...
. Areas of hard
rockIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
include
GuindyGuindy is one of the important neighbourhoods of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the South-Western part of the city. It is the entry point or the gateway to Chennai city from the Southern parts of Tamil Nadu and the South Western suburbs of Chennai...
,
PerungudiPerungudi is a town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a suburb of Chennai, situated about six kilometres from the popular town centre of Adayar. It is bordered on two sides by the old Mahabalipuram Road and the Perungudi lake...
,
VelacheryVelachery, originally known as Vedashreni, is a fast-developing residential area in South Chennai, a metropolitan city in Tamil Nadu, India.- Location :...
,
AdambakkamAdambakkam is a suburb of Chennai, a city situated on the east coast of the southern India. It is a thickly populated suburb flanking the railway line, close to the St. Thomas Mount Railway Station, Chennai. Adambakkam is surrounded by suburbs such as Alandur, Palavanthangal, Nanganallur Vanumpet,...
and a part of
SaidapetSaidapet is a locality of Chennai, India. Its neighbourhood suburbs are Mambalam, T. Nagar, Guindy, Nandanam, K. K. Nagar and Jafferkhanpet. A subway joining Alandur road and Anna Salai has been constructed recently. This allows easier access to Anna Salai, the arterial road in Chennai. Saidapet...
.
Chennai is divided into four broad regions: North, Central, South and West. North Chennai is primarily an industrial area. Central Chennai is the commercial heart of the city and includes an important business district,
Parry's CornerParry's Corner is one of the central business district in Chennai, India. Often referred to as simply Parry's, it is situated near the Chennai Port, at the intersection of North Beach Road and NSC Bose Road. It is named after Thomas Parry, a Welsh merchant who set up the EID Parry Company in 1787....
. South Chennai and West Chennai, previously mostly residential, are fast becoming commercial, home to a growing number of
information technologyInformation technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic...
firms, financial companies and
call centreA call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
s. The city is expanding quickly along the Old Mahabalipuram Road and the Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST Road) in the south and towards
AmbatturAmbattur is a major municipality in Thiruvallur district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is an industrial area north-west of Chennai. Though considered a part of Chennai for all practical purposes, Ambattur technically belongs to the Tiruvallur district. Closer to Padi, Ambattur is a fast...
,
KoyambeduKoyambedu is a locality in the South Indian city of Chennai. The Koyambedu area has become a major hub of activity in Chennai City after the inauguration of the market and the bus terminus...
and
SriperumbdurSriperumbudur is an industrial town in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in proximity to Chennai. It is famous for being the birth place of Sri Ramanuja, one of the most prominent Hindu Vaishnava saints as well as the town where former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv...
in the west. Chennai is one of the few cities in the world that accommodates a
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a national government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development...
, the
Guindy National ParkGuindy National Park, A 2.82 km² Protected area of Tamil Nadu, located in Chennai, South India, is the 8th smallest National Park of India and one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, the official residence of...
, within its limits.
Climate
Chennai has a
tropical wet and dry climateTropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a type of climate that corresponds to the categories Aw and As of the Köppen climate classification...
. The city lies on the
thermal equatorThe thermal equator is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest mean annual temperature at each longitude around the globe...
and is also on the coast, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature. The weather is hot and humid, for most of the year. The hottest part of the year is late May to early June, known locally as
Agni Nakshatram ("fire star") or as
Kathiri Veyyil, with maximum temperatures around 38–42 °C (100–107 °F). The coolest part of the year is January, with minimum temperatures around 18–20 °C (64–68 °F). The lowest temperature recorded is 15.8 °C (60.44 °F) and highest 45 °C (113 °F). The average annual rainfall is about 1,300 mm (51 inches). The city gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north-east
monsoonA pennis is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by seasonal changes in precipitation, but now is used to describe seasonal changes atmospheric circulation and precipitation The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the African and Asia-Australian monsoons...
winds, from mid-October to mid-December.
CycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth.Large-scale...
s in the Bay of Bengal sometimes hit the city. The highest annual rainfall recorded is 2,570 mm (101 in) in 2005. The most prevailing winds in Chennai are the South-westerly between May and September and the North-easterly during the rest of the year.
Administration and utility services
Mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
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| Deputy Mayor Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
|
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| Corporation Commissioner |
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| Commissioner of Police |
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Chennai city is governed by the
Corporation of ChennaiChennai Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai, India.The Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal body of the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom and the oldest corporation India...
. Established in 1688, it is the oldest corporation not only in India, but also in any commom wealth nation outside United Kingdom. It consists of 155 councillors who represent
155 wards and are directly elected by the city's residents. From among themselves, the councillors elect a mayor and a deputy mayor who preside over about six standing committees.
The area of jurisdiction of the Corporation of Chennai is set to expand manifold from its present extent of 176 km
2 to 800 km
2 pending a decision to be taken by the Government of Tamil Nadu. On doing this the population of Chennai is also set to increase from the present 4.5 million to over 8 million.
Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, houses the state
executive}}In the study of political science the executive branch of government has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the democratic idea of the separation of powers .In many...
and
legislativeA legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law...
headquarters primarily in the Secretariat Buildings on the
Fort St GeorgeFort St George is the name of the first British fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land...
campus but also in many other buildings scattered around the city. The
Madras High CourtThe Madras High Court, one of the landmarks of the metropolis of Chennai, India, and believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, is located near the beach, one of the important central business districts of Chennai.-History:...
, whose jurisdiction extends across
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh...
and
Puducherry; , , , , , English formerly Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or regions, and named after the largest region, Puducherry. It is also known as The French Riviera of the East...
, is the highest judicial authority in the state and is also in the city. Chennai has three
parliamentaryThe Parliament of India is the federal and supreme legislative body of India. It consists of the office of President of India and two houses, the lower house, known as the Lok Sabha and the upper house, known as the Rajya Sabha.. It is located in New Delhi at Sansad Bhavan on Sansad Marg...
constituencies—Chennai North, Chennai Central and Chennai South—and elects 18 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to the state legislature.
The metropolitan region of Chennai covers many suburbs that are part of
KanchipuramKanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district. In ancient times it was called Kachi and Kachiampathi....
and Thiruvallur districts. The larger suburbs are governed by town municipalities, and the smaller ones are governed by town councils called
panchayatsThe Panchayat is a South Asian political system mainly in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. "Panchayat" literally means assembly of five wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the village community. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and villages...
. While the city covers an area of 174 km² (67 mi²), the metropolitan area is spread over 1,189 km² (458 mi²). The
Chennai Metropolitan Development AuthorityThe Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is the nodal planning agency within the Chennai Metropolitan Area.- History :The CMDA was constituted under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act 1971 as the nodal Town planning authority for the city of Chennai and its suburbs...
(
CMDAThe Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is the nodal planning agency within the Chennai Metropolitan Area.- History :The CMDA was constituted under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act 1971 as the nodal Town planning authority for the city of Chennai and its suburbs...
) has drafted a Second Master Plan that aims to develop satellite townships around the city. Contiguous satellite towns include
MahabalipuramMahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram is a town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has an average elevation of 12 metres ....
to the south,
ChengalpattuChingleput or Chengalpattu or Chengalpet in Tamil செங்கல்பட்டு is a city and a municipality in Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the Palar River about 56 km south-southwest of the city of Chennai . Chingleput is an important railway junction and commercial...
and
Maraimalai NagarMaraimalai Nagar is a suburb of the southern Indian city of Chennai. Maraimalai Nagar and its surrounding areas are referred to as "New Chennai" by the media, due to recent industrial development. Many heavy industries are located in Maraimalai Nagar...
to the southwest, and
KanchipuramKanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district. In ancient times it was called Kachi and Kachiampathi....
town,
SriperumpudurSriperumbudur is an industrial town in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in proximity to Chennai. It is famous for being the birth place of Sri Ramanuja, one of the most prominent Hindu Vaishnava saints as well as the town where former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv...
,
TiruvallurTiruvallur is a temple town and a municipality in Tiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvallur district. It is well known because of the Veera Raghavar temple which is one of the 108 sacred shrines of Vaishnavites. There is a pond...
and
ArakkonamArakkonam is a mid-sized town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a population of about 77,000. This town is located in the Vellore District about from the state capital of Chennai....
to the west.
The
Greater Chennai PoliceThe Greater Chennai Police, a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, is the law enforcement agency for the city of Chennai in India and the surrounding area. The city police force is headed by a Commissioner of Police and the administrative control vests with the Tamil Nadu Home ministry. There are...
department, a division of the
Tamil Nadu PoliceThe Tamil Nadu Police Force is the law enforcing agency / department of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 140 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India. Tamil Nadu has a Police population ratio of 1 : 632.-Administration:...
, is the law enforcement agency in the city. The city police force is headed by a
commissioner of policeCommissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces. In some organizations it may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police....
, and administrative control rests with the Tamil Nadu Home Ministry. The department consists of 36 subdivisions with a total of 121 police stations. The city's traffic is managed by the
Chennai City Traffic PoliceChennai City Traffic Police or CCTP is a division of the Greater Chennai Police, which regulates traffic in the city of Chennai, India.-Public awareness campaigns:...
(CCTP). The Metropolitan suburbs are policed by the
Chennai Metropolitan PoliceThe Greater Chennai Police, a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, is the law enforcement agency for the city of Chennai in India and the surrounding area. The city police force is headed by a Commissioner of Police and the administrative control vests with the Tamil Nadu Home ministry. There are...
, and outer district areas are policed by the Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur police departments.
The Corporation of Chennai and municipalities of the suburbs provide civic services. Garbage in most zones is handled by
Neel Metal Fanalica Environment Management, a private company, and by the
Chennai CorporationChennai Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai, India.The Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal body of the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom and the oldest corporation India...
in the other zones. Water supply and sewage treatment are handled by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board, popularly referred to as
CMWSSB. Electricity is supplied by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The city's telephone service is provided by six mobile phone companies and four landline companies, which also provide broadband Internet access, along with
SifySify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
and
HathwayHathway is a major cable television service operator in India. It has large operations in many cities including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. It has also diversified into providing internet via cable and was one of the early concern to do so in Chennai. In fact this was the first company...
.
Historically, Chennai has relied on annual
monsoonA pennis is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by seasonal changes in precipitation, but now is used to describe seasonal changes atmospheric circulation and precipitation The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the African and Asia-Australian monsoons...
rains to replenish water reservoirs, as no major rivers flow through the area. Steadily growing in population, the city has faced
water supplyWater supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties in the water industry, commonly a public utility, of water resources of various qualities to different users. Irrigation is covered separately.- Global access to water:...
shortagesWater crisis is a term that has been used by some to refer to the world’s water resources relative to human demand. The term has been applied to the worldwide water situation by the United Nations and other world organizations. Others, for example the Food and Agriculture Organization, claim there...
, and its ground water levels have been depleted. An earlier Veeranam Lake project failed to solve the city's water problems, but the New Veeranam project, which became operational in September 2004, has greatly reduced dependency on distant sources. In recent years, heavy and consistent monsoon rains and
rainwater harvestingRainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Rainwater harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process called groundwater recharge...
(RWH) by Chennai Metrowater at its Anna Nagar Rain Centre have significantly reduced water shortages. Moreover, newer projects like the
Telugu Ganga projectThe Telugu Ganga project is a water supply scheme implemented in South India, to provide drinking water to Chennai city in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as the Krishna Water Supply Project, since the source of the water is the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh...
that bring water from water-surplus rivers like the
Krishna RiverThe Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India .-Course:...
in Andhra Pradesh have eased water shortages. The city is constructing sea water
desalinationDesalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water. More generally,desalination may also refer to the removal of salts and minerals, as in soil desalination....
plants to further increase the water supply.
Economy
Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, healthcare and financial services industries. As of 2000, the city's
total personal incomeTotal personal income is defined by the United States' Bureau of Economic Analysis as income received by persons from all sources. It includes income received from participation in production as well as from government and business transfer payments...
was
RsThe rupee is the currency of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The most commonly used symbols for the rupee are Rs, ₨ and रू. The ISO 4217 code for the Indian rupee is INR. On 5 March 2009 the Indian Government announced a contest to create a symbol...
. 12,488.83 crores, making up 10.9% of the total income of Tamil Nadu. In 2001, the total workforce in Chennai was about 1.5 million, which was 31.79% of its population. According to the 1991 census, most of the city's workforce was involved in trade (25.65%), manufacturing (23.52%), transportation (10.72%), construction (6.3%) and other services (31.8%). Chennai metropolitan area accounts for over 75% of the sales tax revenue in the state. According to the
CIIThe Confederation of Indian Industry is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organisation, seeking to play a proactive role in India’s development process. The organisation works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of industry in India,...
, Chennai's is estimated to grow to a $100-billion economy, 2.5 times its present size, by the year 2025.
The city is base to around 30% of India's automobile industry and 35% of its auto components industry. A large number of automotive companies including
HyundaiHyundai Motor Company , a division of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, is the world’s fourth largest automaker in terms of units sold and one of the Big Asian Four...
,
FordThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
,
BMW, is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company. Founded in 1916, it is known for its performance and luxury vehicles. It owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.-Company history:...
,
Mitsubishiis the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.Throughout its history it...
, Komatsu, The TVS Group (
TVS-Television: stupid* TVs, the plural abbreviation for the word television.* TVS, aka Television Sydney - free TV channel in Sydney, Australia;* TVS, aka Television Silesia - free TV channel in Katowice, Silesia;...
),
Ashok LeylandAshok Leyland is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. Founded in 1948, the company is one of India's leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, as well as emergency and military vehicles. Operating six plants, Ashok Leyland also makes...
, Nissan-
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault...
, Daimler Trucks,
TI Cycles of IndiaTI Cycles of India is one of the leading bicycle manufacturers in India. Started in 1949 by the Murugappa Group and Sir Ivan Stedeford of Tube Investments Group in UK, TI Cycles is the maker of the country's most famous cycle brands like Hercules, BSA and Philips cycles...
,
TAFE TractorsTractors and Farm Equipment Limited is an Indian manufacturer of tractors and other farm equipment with its corporate headquarters in Chennai. The company was established in 1961, and has a reported annual revenue of $750 million and a sales volume of over 80,000 tractors annually.Tractors and Farm...
,
Royal EnfieldRoyal Enfield was the brand of the Enfield Cycle Company, a British engineering company. Notable for producing motorcycles, it also produced bicycles, lawnmowers, stationary engines, and even rifle parts for the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield Lock. This legacy of weapons manufacture is...
,
Caterpillar Inc.Caterpillar Inc. is a United States-based corporation headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar is, according to their corporate website, "the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines."Famous for their...
,
CaparoCaparo is a British-based company founded by Lord Paul, with business interests predominantly in the manufacture of steel, automotive and general engineering products, materials testing services, hotels, film distribution, and private equity investment....
, Madras Rubber Factory (
MRFMadras Rubber Factory, or MRF, is a major manufacturingcompany located in Chennai, India. MRF is mainly involvedin making vehicle tyres. It is India's largest tyre manufacturingcompany, and among the dozen largest worldwide. It exports to more...
) and
MichelinMichelin based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer, currently either the world's second-largest or the largest...
have or are in the process of setting up manufacturing plants in and around Chennai. The
Heavy Vehicles FactoryThe Heavy Vehicles Factory , Avadi, is located in proximity to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. HVF was set up in the year 1965 when the Government of India decided to manufacture heavy battlefield equipments, including Vijayanta Tank and T-72s. Currently, HVF also produces military vehicles, including...
at
AvadiAvadi is a town and a municipality in Thiruvallur district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Avadi is an acronym for "Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India". Situated about 23 km north west of Chennai, it is surrounded by major defence establishments.-Geography:Avadi is located at...
produces military vehicles, including India's main battle tank:
Arjun MBTArjun is a main battle tank in development by India's largest defense contractor, the Defence Research and Development Organization , for the Indian Army...
. The
Integral Coach FactoryStarted in 1952, the Integral Coach Factory is located in Perambur, a suburb of Chennai, India. Its primary products are rail coaches. Most of the coaches manufactured are supplied to the Indian Railways, but it has also manufactured coaches for railway companies in other countries, including...
manufactures railway coaches and other rolling stock for Indian Railways. This very industrial expanse has given the name to Chennai as being the "Detroit of Southern Asia". The Ambattur-Padi industrial zone houses many textile manufacturers, and an SEZ for apparel and footwear manufacture has been set up in the southern suburbs of the city. Chennai contributes more than 50% of India's leather exports.
The city is an electronics manufacturing hub where multinational corporations like
DellDell, Inc. develops, manufactures, sells, and supports personal computers and other computer-related products. Based in Round Rock, Texas, Dell employs more than 76,500 people worldwide ....
,
NokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
,
MotorolaMotorola, Inc. is an American, multinational, Fortune 100, telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It is a manufacturer of wireless telephone handsets, and also designs and sells wireless network infrastructure equipment such as cellular transmission base stations and signal...
,
SamsungThe Samsung Group is the world's largest conglomerate by revenue, headquarted in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's largest chaebol and composed of numerous international affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, including Samsung Electronics, the...
,
FlextronicsFlextronics International Ltd. is an electronics manufacturing services provider that offers services to original equipment manufacturers...
and
FoxconnFoxconn is the trade name of the Taiwan based firm Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. . Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components worldwide, and mainly manufactures on contract to other companies...
have set up electronics and hardware manufacturing plants, mainly in the
SriperumbudurSriperumbudur is an industrial town in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in proximity to Chennai. It is famous for being the birth place of Sri Ramanuja, one of the most prominent Hindu Vaishnava saints as well as the town where former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv...
Special Economic ZoneA Special Economic Zone is a geographical region that has economic laws that are more liberal than a country's typical economic laws...
(
SEZSEZ may refer to:*Special Economic Zone*Seychelles International Airport...
). Many software and software services companies have development centres in Chennai, which contributed 14% of India's total software exports of Rs.144,214 crores during 2006–07, making it the second-largest exporter of software in the country, behind
BangaloreBangalore , also known as Bengaḷūru , is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.Though historical references to the city predate 900...
. Major software companies like
TCSTata Consultancy Services Limited , is a software services and consulting company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is India's largest provider of information technology and business process outsourcing services...
,
InfosysInfosys Technologies Limited is a multinational information technology services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is one of India's largest IT companies with 103,905 professionals as of Jun 30, 2009...
, Wipro,
HCLHCL or HCl can stand for:* Hairy cell leukemia, an uncommon and slowly progressing B cell leukemia* Hardware Compatibility List* Hardware Control Language, a programming language used to simulate computer logic...
,
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation, abbreviated IBM, is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, Town of North Castle, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating...
, Satyam,
CTSCognizant is a global information technology services and consulting company with headquarters in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States and with significant operations in Chennai, India....
,
MphasiSMphasiS, , is an information technology and business process outsourcing company based in Bangalore, India. The company was originally formed as MphasiS BFL Limited in June 2000 after the merger of the US-based IT consulting company MphasiS Corporation and the Indian IT services company BFL...
, Polaris Software Lab,
CapgeminiCapgemini is a major French company, one of the world's largest information technology, transformation and management consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with a staff of over 91,000 operating in 36 countries. It is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 1967 by Serge...
and
AccentureAccenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. It was previously incorporated in Bermuda but since 1 September 2009 has been incorporated in Ireland. It is said to be the largest consulting firm in the world. Accenture is a Fortune Global 500...
have their offices set up here, with some of them making Chennai their largest base. Prominent financial institutions, including the
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
,
HSBCHSBC Holdings plc is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales in 1990, and headquartered in London since 1993. As of 2009, it is both the world's largest banking group and the world's 6th largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.Hong Kong which served as...
, Citi bank have
back officeA back office is a part of most corporations where tasks dedicated to running the company itself take place. The term comes from the building layout of early companies where the front office would contain the sales and other customer-facing staff and the back office would be those manufacturing or...
operations in the city. Chennai is home to three large national level commercial banks and many state level co-operative banks, finance and insurance companies. Telecom giants
EricssonEricsson , one of the largest Swedish companies, is a leading provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
and
Alcatel-LucentAlcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data and video services...
, pharmaceuticals giant
PfizerPfizer Incorporated is a pharmaceutical company, ranking number one in sales in the world. The company is based in New York City, with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut...
and chemicals giant
Dow ChemicalsThe Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow Chemical...
have research and development facilities in Chennai. TICEL bio-tech park and Golden Jubilee bio-tech park at
SiruseriSiruseri is a suburb of Chennai, India in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, located a 30 km south of the city, along Old Mahabalipuram Road. It is located between Navalur and Kelambakkam....
house biotechnology companies and laboratories. Chennai has a fully computerised stock exchange called the
Madras Stock ExchangeThe Madras Stock Exchange is a stock exchange in Chennai, , India . The Madras Stock Exchange is the fourth Stock Exchange to be established in the country, and the first in South India...
.
Demographics
A resident of Chennai is called a
Chennaiite. As of 2001, Chennai city had a population of 4.34 million, while the total metropolitan population was 7.04 million. The estimated metropolitan population in 2006 is 4.5 million. In 2001, the
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
in the city was 24,682 per km² (63,926 per mi²), while the population density of the metropolitan area was 5,922 per km² (15,337 per mi²), making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The
sex ratioIn anthropology and demography, the human sex ratio is the sex ratio for Homo sapiens . Like most sexual species, the sex ratio is approximately 1:1. In humans the secondary sex ratio is commonly assumed to be 105 boys to 100 girls...
is 951 females for every 1,000 males, slightly higher than the national average of 944. The average literacy rate is 80.14%, much higher than the national average of 64.5%. The city has the fourth highest population of slum dwellers among major cities in India, with about 820,000 people (18.6% of its population) living in slum conditions. This number represents about 5% of the total slum population of India. In 2005, the crime rate in the city was 313.3 per 100,000 people, accounting for 6.2% of all crimes reported in major cities in India. The number of crimes in the city showed a significant increase of 61.8% from 2004.
The majority of the population in Chennai are
TamiliansTamil people , are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. They speak Tamil , with a recorded history going back two millennia. Emigrant communities are found across the world...
.
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world...
is the primary language spoken in Chennai.
EnglishIndian English or South Asian English comprises several dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in the Indian Subcontinent. These dialects evolved during and after the period when Britain exercised colonial rule over India. English is one of the official languages ofIndia, with about...
is widely spoken especially in business, education and
white collarWhite collar could refer to:* White-collar worker refers to a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor....
professions. Sizeable
TeluguThe Telugu people or Telugus are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
and Malayalee communities live in the city. Chennai also has a large migrant population, who come from other parts of Tamil Nadu and the rest of the country. As of 2001, out of the 937,000 migrants (21.57% of its population) in the city, 74.5% were from other parts of the state, 23.8% were from rest of India and 1.7% were from outside the country.
According to the 2001 census, Hindus constitute about 82.27% of the city's population, and Muslims (8.37%), Christians (7.63%) and
JainsJainism is an ancient dharmic religion from India that prescribes a path of non-violence for all forms of living beings in this world. Its philosophy and practice relies mainly on self-effort in progressing the soul on the spiritual ladder to divine consciousness...
(1.05%) are other major religious groups.
Culture
Chennai is a major centre for music, art and culture in India. The city is known for its classical dance shows and Hindu temples. Every December, Chennai holds a five-week long
Music SeasonMadras Music Season is an event hosted every December-January in the present-day south Indian metropol of Chennai. Spanning some six weeks, a number of large and small kutcheris are performed by highly competent musicians...
celebrating the 1927 opening of the
Madras Music AcademyMadras Music Academy, or simply Music Academy, is one of the premier and early Music Academies in the South Indian city of Madras, now Chennai. It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music south Indian art form....
. It features performances (
kutcheries) of traditional
Carnatic musicCarnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
by hundreds of artists in and around the city. An arts festival called the
Chennai SangamamChennai Sangamam is a large annual open Tamil cultural festival held in the city of Chennai. The festival is organized by the Tamil Maiyam and Department of Tourism and Culture of the Government of Tamil Nadu with the intention of rejuvenating the old village festivals, art and artists...
, which showcases various arts of Tamil Nadu is held in January every year. Chennai is also known for
BharatanatyamBharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form originating in Tamil Nadu. This dance form denotes various 19th and 20th century reconstructions of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical music...
, a classical dance form that originated in
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh...
. An important cultural centre for
BharatanatyamBharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form originating in Tamil Nadu. This dance form denotes various 19th and 20th century reconstructions of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical music...
is
KalakshetraKalakshetra is a cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. The academy was founded in January 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale. Under Arundale's guidance the institution achieved national...
, on the beach in the south of the city. Chennai is also home to some of the best choirs in India, who during the Christmas season stage various carol performances across the city in Tamil and English. The Madras Musical Association (MMA) is one of the oldest and prestigious choirs in India and has staged performances across the world.
Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, home to most of the movie studios. The industry makes more than 150 Tamil movies a year, and its soundtracks dominate the city's music. Some of the biggest names in the Indian film fraternity like
IlaiyaraajaIlaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, lyricist and the first Asian composer to score a symphony for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra...
, K. Balachander,
Sivaji GanesanSivaji Ganesan born Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Mandrayar Ganesan, was an internationally acclaimed Indian film star originally from Tamil cinema industry and one of the first method actors in Asia, during the second half of the 20th century...
,
M. G. RamachandranMaruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials M. G. R. Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (Tamil:; ) (January 17, 1917 – December 24, 1987), popularly known by his initials M. G. R. Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (Tamil:; ) (January 17, 1917 – December 24, 1987),...
, Rajinikanth,
Kamal HaasanKamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, script writer, and filmmaker, considered one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema...
,
Mani RatnamMani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He is known for directing critically acclaimed films such as Mouna Raagam , Nayagan , Anjali , Thalapathi , Iruvar , Kannathil Muthamittal , Yuva , and his "terrorism trilogy" consisting of Roja...
and
S. ShankarS. Shankar is an Indian film director and producer. He often makes movies that have social themes with a commercial narration. He is credited with delivering expensive, high end CGI in most of his films. He basically comes from the Chennai Film Industry and makes movies in Tamil language...
are based out of Chennai.
A. R. RahmanAllah Rakha Rahman is an Indian film composer, record producer, musician and singer. His film scoring career began in the early 1990s...
took Chennai to international fame by winning two Oscar awards in 2009 for the movie
Slumdog MillionaireSlumdog Millionaire is British film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
. Chennai's theaters stage many Tamil plays; political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are among the popular genres. English plays are also staged in the city.
Among Chennai's festivals,
PongalThai Pongal is a harvest festival equivalent to a thanksgiving event celebrated by Tamils across the world. Pongal coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated in various parts of India...
is celebrated over five days in January, is the most important. Almost all major religious festivals such as
DeepavaliDiwali or ' is a significant festival in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and an official holiday in India and Nepal. Adherents of these religions celebrate Diwali as the Festival of Lights...
,
EidEid ul-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break fast"; and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period...
and
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
are celebrated in Chennai. Tamil cuisine in Chennai includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Many of the city's restaurants offer light meals or
tiffinTiffin is lunch, or any light meal. It originated in British India, and is today found primarily in Indian English. The word originated when Indian custom superseded the British practice of an afternoon dinner, leading to a new word for the afternoon meal. It is derived from the obsolete English...
, which usually include rice-based dishes like
pongalPongal is a popular rice based South Indian dish.There are two varieties of pongal, namely, sakarai pongal , khara pongal , also called ven pongal in Tamil Nadu and Huggi in Karnataka. The naked unqualified word "pongal" usually refers to spicy pongal, and is a common breakfast food in several...
,
dosaThe dosa is a crepe made from rice and black lentils. It is a typical dish in South Indian cuisine, eaten for breakfast or dinner, and is rich in carbohydrates and protein. It is believed by some that dosa had its roots in the Temple Streets of Udupi, Karnataka....
,
idliIdli is a savory cake popular throughout South India. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body...
and
vadaVada ; also known as vadai, wada or vade , is a savoury snack from South India.-Description:...
i, served with steaming hot
filter coffeeSouth Indian Coffee, also known as Filter Coffee is a sweet milky coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans and chicory , especially popular in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu...
.
Transport
Chennai serves as a major gateway to South India and the
Chennai International AirportChennai International Airport is located in Tirusulam, south of Chennai, India. It is the one of the largest international gateways into the country, the third busiest airport in India , and an international hub handling around 12 million passengers in 2007 and serving more than 25 different...
, comprising the Anna international terminal and the Kamaraj domestic terminal, is the third busiest airport in India. The city is connected to major hubs in
South AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east...
, South East Asia,
East AsiaEast Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically and geo-politically, it covers about , or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang,...
, the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
,
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
through more than 30 national and international carriers. The airport is the second busiest cargo terminus in the country. The existing airport is undergoing further modernisation and expansion, and a new greenfield airport is to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore in
SriperumbudurSriperumbudur is an industrial town in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in proximity to Chennai. It is famous for being the birth place of Sri Ramanuja, one of the most prominent Hindu Vaishnava saints as well as the town where former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv...
.
The city is served by two major ports,
Chennai PortChennai Port is the second largest port of India, behind the Mumbai Port. It is over 125 years old. This was a major travel port before becoming a major container port. It is a substantial reason for the economic growth of Tamil Nadu, especially for the manufacturing boom in South India. Its...
, one of the largest artificial ports, and
Ennore Port-Introduction:Ennore Port, located about 24 km north of Chennai Port, Chennai, India is the 12th major port of India, and the first port in India which is a public company. Ennore Port, designed as Asia’s energy port, has only 16 employees. Hailed as a landmark port, it is the first corporatized...
. The Chennai port is the largest in Bay of Bengal and India's second busiest container hub, handling automobiles, motorcycles and general industrial cargo. The
Ennore Port-Introduction:Ennore Port, located about 24 km north of Chennai Port, Chennai, India is the 12th major port of India, and the first port in India which is a public company. Ennore Port, designed as Asia’s energy port, has only 16 employees. Hailed as a landmark port, it is the first corporatized...
handles cargo such as
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
,
oreAn ore is a type of rock that contains minerals such as gemstones or metals that can be extracted through mining and refined for use. Samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystals, exotic layering visible when sectioned or polished or metallic presentations such as large nuggets or...
and other bulk and rock mineral products. A smaller harbour at
RoyapuramRoyapuram, a locality of Chennai, South India, is the place where the first railway station of south India was constructed, and from where the laying down of the second railway line of the South Asia commenced in 1850s. This railway line extended from Royapuram to Arcot, then capital of the...
is used by local fishing boats and trawlers.
Chennai is well connected to other parts of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
by road and rail. Five major national highways radiate outward towards
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
,
Kolkata, formerly , is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. When referred to as Calcutta, it usually includes the suburbs, and thus its population exceeds 15 million, making it India's third-largest metropolitan area and...
,
Tiruchirapalli
(Trichy),
TiruvallurTiruvallur is a temple town and a municipality in Tiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvallur district. It is well known because of the Veera Raghavar temple which is one of the 108 sacred shrines of Vaishnavites. There is a pond...
,
TindivanamTindivanam is a town and a municipality in Viluppuram District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Important roads from north to south Tamil Nadu pass through Tindivanam and similarly from west to east. It was initially known as 'Tindirivanam' where "Tindiri" means Tamarind in pure Tamil and...
and
Puducherry; , , , , , English formerly Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or regions, and named after the largest region, Puducherry. It is also known as The French Riviera of the East...
(Pondicherry). The
Chennai Mofussil Bus TerminusThe Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus or CMBT is a modern, state of the art bus terminus located in Chennai, India catering to outstation buses.-largest:...
(
CMBTThe Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus or CMBT is a modern, state of the art bus terminus located in Chennai, India catering to outstation buses.-largest:...
), the terminus for all intercity buses from Chennai, is the largest bus station in
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
. Seven government-owned transport corporations operate inter-city and inter-state bus services. Many private inter-city and inter-state bus companies also operate services to and from Chennai.
Chennai is the headquarters of the
Southern RailwayThe Southern Railway is the earliest of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It was created on April 14, 1951 by merging three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway...
. The city has two main railway terminals.
Chennai CentralChennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to New Delhi and prominent state capitals of India like Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur,...
station, the city's largest, provides access to trains to major cities like
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
,
Kolkata, formerly , is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. When referred to as Calcutta, it usually includes the suburbs, and thus its population exceeds 15 million, making it India's third-largest metropolitan area and...
,
BangaloreBangalore , also known as Bengaḷūru , is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.Though historical references to the city predate 900...
,
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
,
HyderabadHyderabad , is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad has a population of over 4 million...
, Kochi,
CoimbatoreCoimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Coimbatore District and a major textile and engineering hub of India, especially Southern India. It is part of the ancient Kongu Nadu region of Tamil...
,
Thiruvananthapuram, also known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is...
as well as to smaller towns across India.
Chennai EgmoreChennai Egmore is a railway station in Egmore, Chennai, South India. The station acts as the arrival and departure point for trains connecting Chennai and southern, central Tamil Nadu and Kerala.This is one of the two main railway terminals in the city along with Chennai Central, which serves the...
is a terminus for trains traveling primarily within Tamil Nadu; it also handles a few inter-state trains.
Buses, trains, and
auto rickshawAn auto rickshaw or three-wheeler is a motor vehicle and a mode of transport for private use and as a vehicle for hire...
s are the most common form of
public transportPublic transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...
within the city.
The
Chennai suburban railway-Introduction:Chennai suburban railway is a commuter rail system in the Indian city of Chennai operated by the Southern Railway. Chennai has a complex railway network...
network one of the oldest in the country consists of four
broad gaugeBroad gauge railways use a rail gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For a list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
rail sectors terminating at two locations in the city, namely
Chennai CentralChennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to New Delhi and prominent state capitals of India like Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur,...
and
Chennai BeachChennai Beach is a train terminus of the Southern Railway Network in Chennai, India. This station handles mainly suburban trains in Chennai suburban railway and a few passenger trains...
. Regular services are offered in the following sectors from these terminii:
Chennai CentralChennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to New Delhi and prominent state capitals of India like Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur,...
/
Chennai BeachChennai Beach is a train terminus of the Southern Railway Network in Chennai, India. This station handles mainly suburban trains in Chennai suburban railway and a few passenger trains...
-
ArakkonamArakkonam is a mid-sized town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a population of about 77,000. This town is located in the Vellore District about from the state capital of Chennai....
-
TiruttaniTiruttani is a town in Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the main tourist centre in Thiruvallur district about 85km from Chennai. Tiruttani hill temple is one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga. The hill has 365 steps indicating 365 days of the year. It is 15km from...
,
Chennai CentralChennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to New Delhi and prominent state capitals of India like Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur,...
/
Chennai BeachChennai Beach is a train terminus of the Southern Railway Network in Chennai, India. This station handles mainly suburban trains in Chennai suburban railway and a few passenger trains...
–
GummidipoondiGummidipoondi is an industrial town in Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Gummdipoondi lies on the National Highway 5 from Chennai to Calcutta. This road is part of the Golden Quadrilateral which is a project launched by the Vajpayee Government...
-
SullurpetaSullurupeta or Sulurupet is a town in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh state, India. It is the mandal headquarters for sullurupeta mandal. It is the gateway of SHAR, Shriharikota Rocket Launching Station and often called as Rocket Town. Other names used Sullurupet. Its pin code is...
and
Chennai BeachChennai Beach is a train terminus of the Southern Railway Network in Chennai, India. This station handles mainly suburban trains in Chennai suburban railway and a few passenger trains...
–
TambaramTambaram is a suburb of Chennai situated 27 km south of the city in Tamil Nadu, India. This is an urban node. It has an average elevation of 32 metres . Tambaram is a hub to all major destinations in south Tamil Nadu as it lies on the busy Chennai–Trichy national highway...
-
ChengalpattuChingleput or Chengalpattu or Chengalpet in Tamil செங்கல்பட்டு is a city and a municipality in Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the Palar River about 56 km south-southwest of the city of Chennai . Chingleput is an important railway junction and commercial...
- Tirumalpur(
KanchipuramKanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district. In ancient times it was called Kachi and Kachiampathi....
). The fourth sector is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (
MRTSThe Mass Rapid Transit System is an elevated line of the suburban railway in Chennai, India. The line currently runs from Chennai Beach to Velachery, covering a distance of 25 km with 17 stations...
) which links
Chennai BeachChennai Beach is a train terminus of the Southern Railway Network in Chennai, India. This station handles mainly suburban trains in Chennai suburban railway and a few passenger trains...
to
VelacheryVelachery, originally known as Vedashreni, is a fast-developing residential area in South Chennai, a metropolitan city in Tamil Nadu, India.- Location :...
and is interlinked with the remaining rail network.
Construction is underway for an underground and elevated
Chennai MetroThe Chennai Metro is a rapid transit rail system in the Indian city of Chennai. The Phase I of the project consisting of two corridors is under construction. The elevated section of the project is scheduled to be operational by 2011 and the entire project is scheduled to be completed by the...
rail.
The
Metropolitan Transport CorporationThe Metropolitan Transport Corporation is the agency that operates the public transport bus service in Chennai, India. It is owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu...
(MTC) runs an extensive city bus system consisting of 3257 buses on 622 routes, and moves an estimated 4.35 million passengers each day.
Vans, popularly known as
Maxi Cabs and 'share' auto rickshaws ply many routes in the city and provide an alternative to buses. Metered call taxis, tourist taxis and auto rickshaws are also available on hire. Chennai's transportation infrastructure provides coverage and connectivity, but growing use has caused traffic congestion and pollution. The government has tried to address these problems by constructing grade separators and
flyoversAn overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An overpass structure is one that carries a higher capacity road above a lower capacity road, whereas a structure that permits a lower capacity road to travel above a larger capacity road is an...
at major intersections, starting with the
Gemini flyoverAnna Flyover , lies in the heart of Chennai. Opened in 1973, it was the first flyover in Chennai. Its main purpose is to allow traffic movement on Mount Road — now renamed Anna Salai — near Nungambakkam High Road to continue unhindered by the cross traffic.It was built on the land originally...
, built in 1973 over the most important arterial road,
Anna SalaiAnna Salai, formerly known as Mount Road, is the most important arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George connecting with St. Thomas Mount in Saidapet. ....
to the recently completed
Kathipara Flyover- Kathipara Flyover:Kathipara Junction is an important road junction in Chennai, India. It is located at Alandur, , south of Guindy, at the intersection of the Grand Southern Trunk Road , Inner Ring Road, Mount Road and the Mount Poonamallee Road.Kathipara flyover is one of the largest Butterfly...
.
Media
Newspaper publishing started in Chennai with the launch of a weekly,
The Madras Courier, in 1785. It was followed by the weeklies
The Madras Gazzette and
The Government Gazzette in 1795.
The Spectator, founded in 1836, was the first English newspaper in Chennai to be owned by an Indian and became the city's first daily newspaper in 1853. The first Tamil newspaper,
Swadesamitran, was launched in 1899.
The major English dailies published in Chennai are
The HinduThe Hindu is a leading English-language Indian daily newspaper. With a circulation of 1.45 million, The Hindu is the second-largest circulated daily English newspaper in the India after Times of India, and slightly ahead of the Economic Times...
,
The New Indian ExpressThe New Indian Express is a newspaper with its head office based in Chennai in south India. It was started in 1932 as the Indian Express, under the ownership of Chennai-based Veradharajulu Naidu. In 1991, following the death of the then owner Ramnath Goenka, the Goenka's family split the group into...
,
The Deccan ChronicleThe Deccan Chronicle is a daily newspaper published through the Andhra,Karnataka and Tamil states of India. It is published in English. The newspaper's name derives from the originating place Deccan regions of India. Other supplements by it are TV Guide, Sunday Chronicle, Chennai and Bengaluru...
and
The Times of IndiaThe Times of India is a popular English-language broadsheet daily newspaper in India. It has the widest circulation among all English-language daily newspapers in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
recently joined the list. The evening dailies are,
The Trinity Mirror and
The News TodayThe News Today is an English evening daily newspaper in Chennai, India. It is published from Chennai every evening since 1982.-External links:*...
. As of 2004,
The Hindu was the city's most read English newspaper, with a daily circulation of 267,349. The major business dailies published from the city are
The Economic TimesThe Economic Times, launched in 1961, is India's largest financial daily and the world's second largest financial daily after The Wall Street Journal, with a daily circulation of over 620,000 copies...
,
The Hindu Business Line,
Business StandardBusiness Standard is a financial daily from Business Standard Ltd . It is published in two languages from 14 centres in India...
,
MintMint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007 and aims at the high income group of India. It is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner format. The current managing editor is R...
and
The Financial ExpressThe Financial Express is a daily newspaper published by the Indian Express group since 1961.Launched in 1961, India’s oldest financial daily, The Financial Express, is today one of the leading newspapers in the country...
. The major Tamil dailies include the
Dina ThanthiDina Thanthi or "Daily Thanti" is daily Tamil newspaper in Tirunelveli,Bangalore, Mumbai,Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Dindugal, Trichy, Salem, Nagarcoil, Cuddalore, Vellore, Erode, Puducherry and Thanjavur. It is owned by Mr. Sivanthi Athithan. It was founded by S. P...
,
Dinakaran Dinakaran is daily Tamil newspaper published from the Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy , Delhi and few small towns in Tamil Nadu, India.- Founding :...
,
Dina Mani Dina Mani or "Daily Mani" is daily Tamil newspaper in Chennai and Coimbatore, India. It is owned by Indian Express Group.It is one of the traditional Newspapers in India....
,
Dina Malar Dina Malar or "Daily Malar" is daily Tamil newspaper in Tirunelveli, Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, Erode and Coimbatore, India. It was founded by T. V. Ramasubbaiyer. Dinamalar was started by a Brahmin family. T. V...
,
Tamil MurasuTamil Murasu is a Singapore based Tamil language newspaper. Launched in 1935 by Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani, Tamil Murasu is Singapore's only Tamil language newspaper...
,
Makkal KuralMakkal Kural is a Tamil daily newspaper, started in 1973 by M. Shanmugavel.This evening paper was famous for its explosive stand against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rule in Tamil Nadu at that time. The firebrand editorials of Shanmugavel and TRR were historic at that time. On seeing the popularity...
and
Malai Malar Malai Malar is daily evening Tamil newspaper in Chennai and Coimbatore, India. It is owned by Daily Thanti group. It was founded by Aditanar in 1977 at Coimbatore....
and major Telugu dailies include Eenandu, Vaartha, Andhra Jyothi and Sakshi. The one and only Hindi Newspaper published from Chennai is the
Rajasthan PatrikaRajasthan Patrika is a Hindi language daily newspaper published from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota and other cities of Rajasthan and from major Indian cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur , Ahmedabad, Gwalior, Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi and Bangalore.-History:Rajasthan Patrika was started as...
. Neighbourhood newspapers such as
The Annanagar Times and
The Adyar Times cater to particular localities. Magazines published from Chennai include
Ananda VikatanAnanda Vikatan ஆனந்த விகடன் is the leading Tamil language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. It is part of the Vikatan group which is also publishing Junior Vikatan , Chutti Vikatan , Aval Vikatan , Naanayam Vikatan , Sakthi Vikatan , Motor Vikatan and Pasumai Vikatan Ananda Vikatan...
,
KumudamKumudam is a Tamil language weekly magazines published in Chennai, India The group also publishes other Tamil magazines including Kumudam Reporter, Kumudam Snehidi, Kumudam Bhakti, Kumudam Jothidam, Kumudam Theeranadhi. At the sametime kumudam group started a telugu spiritual magazine called...
,
Kalki,
Kungumam'Kungumam' is a Tamil weekly magazine published in Chennai, India. According to the Kungumam has emerged as the top-selling Tamil weekly magazine overtaking historical market leaders like Kumudam and Ananda Vikatan...
, "
Thuglak-History:Cho Ramaswamy founded the magazine and commenced its first publication on the first day of the Tamil harvesting month Thai based on the Tamil calendar system; which was January 14 1970 in the Gregorian calendar. He has been the editor of the magazine ever since and has penned several...
",
Swathi (Telugu magazine),
Frontline and
SportstarSportstar is a popular weekly sports magazine published in India by the publishers of The Hindu. Its headquarters is in Chennai. The magazine covers sports in India. It also has an extended and lengthy coverage of cricket, the unofficial national sport of India...
.
DoordarshanDoordarshan is the public television broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati, a public service broadcaster nominated by the Government of India. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters...
runs two
terrestrial televisionTerrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which do not involve satellite transmission or via underground cables—typically through the atmosphere from a transmitting antenna....
channels and two
satellite televisionSatellite television is television delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by a satellite dish and set-top box. In many areas of the world it provides a wide range of channels and services, often to areas that are not serviced by terrestrial or cable providers.-History:The...
channels from its Chennai centre, which was set up in 1974. Private Tamil satellite television networks like
Sun TVSun TV is a regional Tamil language Indian cable television station. It is the flagship channel of the Chennai-based Rs 16000-crore Sun TV Network.It was started and promoted by Kalanithi Maran, It was the first fully privately owned Television channel in India when it emerged in 1993. It is most...
,
Raj TVRaj Network is a Tamil language satellite television network and is based in Chennai, India.The network consists of the following channels:* Raj TV* Raj Digital Plus* Raj News]]* Vissa TV* Raj News...
, Zee Tamil,
StarSatellite Television for the Asian Region Broadcasting Corporation is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
Vijay,
Jaya TVJaya TV is one of the major Tamil language satellite television channels based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV is one of the early tamil channels to entertain the tamil audiences spread across Globe....
,
Makkal TVMakkal TV is Tamil language TV channel. The satellite TV was launched on 6 September 2006. The channel is promoted by Makkal Tholai Thodarpu Kuzhumam. Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Ramadoss is the founder of TV, Venu Sanjeevi is the Managing Director ....
, Vasanth TV and
Kalaignar TVKalaignar TV is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India.-History:After disputes between Kalanithi Maran and M. K. Azhagiri in May 2007, M. Karunanidhi launched this channel in September 15 2007 he named his own name for this channel...
broadcast out of Chennai. The
Sun NetworkSun TV Network is a media company in South Asia and Asia Pacific Region based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1993, it offers a plethora of television channels in 4 languages covering the whole of southern India. It was the first fully privately owned Tamil channel in India when it...
one of India's largest broadcasting companies is based in the city. While SCV and Hathway are the major cable TV service providers, Direct-to-home (
DTHDirect broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception, also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home signals...
) is available via
DD Direct PlusDD Direct+ is a free Direct to Home service that provides satellite television and audio programming to households and businesses in the Indian subcontinent...
,
Dish TVDish TV is a DTH satellite television provider in India, using MPEG-2 digital compression technology, transmitting using NSS Satellite at 95.0...
,
Tata SkyTata Sky is a DTH satellite television provider in India, using MPEG-2 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT 4A at 83.0°E.-History:...
,
Sun direct DTHSun Direct is a DTH satellite television provider in India, using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT 4B at 93.5°E.. It is the country's first MPEG 4 technology DTH service provider.- History :...
, Reliance Big TV and Digital TV(Airtel-Bharti) Chennai is the first city in India to have implemented the
Conditional Access System for cable television. Radio broadcasting started from the radio station at the Rippon Buildings complex, founded in 1930 and was then shifted to
All India RadioAll India Radio , officially known as Akashvani is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati , an autonomous corporation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India...
in 1938. The city has 4
AMAmplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
and 14
FMIn telecommunications, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency . In analog applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal...
radio stations, operated by
Anna UniversityAnna University is a university in Tamil Nadu state, India, offering higher education in Engineering, Technology and Allied Sciences.Anna University was formed on September 4, 1978 as a unitary type of university...
, All India Radio and private broadcasters.
Education and health care
Schools in Chennai are either run publicly by the Tamil Nadu government or privately, some with financial aid from the government. The medium of education is either English or Tamil. Most schools are affiliated with the
Tamil Nadu State BoardTamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, established in 1910, is under the purview of the , , India. Up to and ending at the secondary level, the following streams of education are offered: the SSLC stream, the Anglo-Indian stream, the Oriental School Leaving Certificate stream and the...
, the Matriculation Board or the
Central Board of Secondary EducationCentral Board of Secondary Education is the Board of Education for school level in India of Central Government.-History:The first Board set up in India was U P Board of High School and Intermediate Education in 1921, which was under jurisdiction of Rajputana, Central India and Gwalior. Later Govt...
(CBSE). A few schools are affiliated with the
Indian Certificate of Secondary EducationThe Indian Certificate of Secondary Education examination is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, a private, non-governmental board of school education in India, for class 10, i.e., grade 10...
(ICSE) board, Anglo-Indian board or the Montessori system. Schooling begins at the age of three with two years of kindergarten followed by ten years of primary and secondary education. Students then need to complete two years of higher secondary education in either science or commerce before being eligible for college education in a general or professional field of study. There are 1,389 schools in the city, out of which 731 are primary, 232 are secondary and 426 are higher secondary schools.
The
Indian Institute of Technology MadrasThe Indian Institute of Technology Madras is an elite engineering and technology school located in Chennai in southern India. It is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India and is regarded as one of the finest engineering institutions in India...
(IIT Madras), the College of Engineering, Guindy,founded in 1794,
Madras Institute of TechnologyThe Madras Institute of Technology is an engineering institute located in Chromepet, Chennai, India. It is one of the four autonomous constituent colleges of the Anna University. It was started in 1949 by Mr.C. Rajam. The Institute was at that time a bold experiment in technical education, for it...
, founded in 1949 and SRM University are the well known centres for engineering education in the city .Most colleges that offer engineering programs are affiliated to
Anna UniversityAnna University is a university in Tamil Nadu state, India, offering higher education in Engineering, Technology and Allied Sciences.Anna University was formed on September 4, 1978 as a unitary type of university...
.
Madras Medical CollegeThe Madras Medical College is a prominent educational institution located in Chennai, India. It was established on February 2, 1835 and is one of the oldest medical schools of the Indian subcontinent....
(MMC),
Stanley Medical CollegeStanley Medical College is a government medical college with hospitals, located in Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Though the original hospital is more than 200 years old, the medical college was formally established on July 2, 1938...
(SMC), Kilpauk Medical College and
Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research InstituteSri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute , now named Sri Ramachandra University , is a university situated in Porur, Chennai, India....
(SRMC) are the notable medical colleges in Chennai. Colleges for science, arts and commerce degrees are typically affiliated with the
University of MadrasThe University of Madras is one of the three oldest universities in India . The University of Madras, organized on the model of the University of London, was incorporated on 5 September 1857 by an Act of the Legislative Council of India...
, which has three campuses in the city; some colleges such as
Madras Christian CollegeThe Madras Christian College in Chennai, South India, is one of the oldest colleges in Asia and was established in 1837. Currently, the college is affiliated to the University of Madras, but functions as an autonomous institution from its campus in Tambaram, Chennai. The college has been rating...
,
Loyola CollegeLoyola College is a Jesuit college in Chennai, India. It is generally counted among India's elite and most storied educational institutions. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates and offers degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and commerce...
The New CollegeThe New College is an institute of higher education in Chennai, South India. Established in 1951, the institution is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Madras enjoying an autonomous status...
are autonomous. Research institutions like the
Central Leather Research InstituteCentral Leather Research Institute or CLRI is the world's largest leather research institute. It is located in Adyar, Chennai .CLRI was founded on April 24, 1948. It is a constituent laboratory under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research. The World's largest Leather Research Institute,...
(CLRI), the
Central Electronics Engineering Research InstituteCentral Electronics Engineering Research Institute , headquartered at Pilani, Rajasthan is a pioneer Research Institute in India and a contituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research , New Delhi, established in 1953, for advanced Research and Development in the field of...
(CEERI) and the
Institute for Financial Management and ResearchThe Institute for Financial Management and Research , Chennai, is a business school. IFMR’s curriculum offers a mix of theory and simulated real life exposure.- History :...
(IFMR) are in the city. The
Connemara Public LibraryConnemara Public Library at Chennai is one of the four National Depository libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. Established in 1890 the library is a repository of centuries-old publications, wherein lie some of the most respected works and...
is one of four
National Depository CentreA National Depository Centre is a public library in India which receives a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in the country. There are four centres:*Connemara Public Library in Chennai*Asiatic Society of Bombay...
s in India that receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in India. It has been declared a
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
information centre.
There are 15
Government hospitalsGovernment General Hospital or G.G.H. is a major hospital situated in Chennai, India. The hospital is funded and managed by the state Government of Tamil Nadu; hence it is state-owned. It was founded in 1664 by the British East India Company...
and a large number of private hospitals which provide medical and health care. The Government General hospital, popularly referred to as "
G.H.Government General Hospital or G.G.H. is a major hospital situated in Chennai, India. The hospital is funded and managed by the state Government of Tamil Nadu; hence it is state-owned. It was founded in 1664 by the British East India Company...
", is the biggest government run hospital in the city. There are many large private hospitals, among which many are multi-speciality hospitals. Some of India's well-known healthcare institutions such as
Apollo HospitalsApollo Hospitals is a major hospital chain based in Chennai, India. It was founded by Dr. Prathap C. Reddy in 1983. Apollo is the largest private healthcare provider in Asia and the third largest in the world, with hospitals in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ghana, Nigeria, Qatar, and Kuwait.Several...
(the largest private healthcare provider in Asia),
Sankara NethralayaSankara Nethralaya is a not-for-profit missionary institution for ophthalmic care located in Chennai, India. "Sankara Nethralaya" means "The Temple of the Eye"....
and
Sri Ramachandra Medical CentreSri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute , now named Sri Ramachandra University , is a university situated in Porur, Chennai, India....
are based in the city, making it one of the preferred destinations for
medical touristsMedical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care...
from across the globe.
Sports
CricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium (MAC) in
ChepaukChepauk is a locality in Chennai , in India. The name Chepauk is popularly used to refer to the M. A. Chidambaram International Cricket Stadium also known as Chepauk Stadium. It is also home to the Chepauk palace, built in the Indo-Saracenic style...
is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India. The
Chemplast Cricket GroundThe Chemplast Cricket Ground in the IIT Madras campus is an important cricket venue and is described by cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the most scenic in the country. It is set amongst greenery....
on the
IIT MadrasThe Indian Institute of Technology Madras is an elite engineering and technology school located in Chennai in southern India. It is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India and is regarded as one of the finest engineering institutions in India...
campus is another important venue hosting first class matches. Plans are also underway to build an ultra modern cricket stadium, near Chennai, which would be ready for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Prominent cricketers from the city include former Test-captains
S. VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel...
and Kris Srikkanth. A cricket fast bowling academy, the
MRF Pace FoundationMRF Pace Foundation is a coaching clinic for training fast bowlers from all over the world. This was created with the help of former Australian pace spearhead Dennis Lillee. Through this program, young aspiring fast bowlers are trained under Dennis Lillee in a facility located at Madras Christian...
, whose coaches include
Bob SimpsonRobert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
and
Dennis LilleeDennis Keith Lillee, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
, is based in Chennai. Chennai is home to the
Indian Premier LeagueThe Indian Premier League , is a Twenty20 cricket competition created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and chaired by the Chairman & Commissioner IPL, BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi...
cricket team, the
Chennai Super KingsChennai Super Kings is the Chennai based franchise of the Indian Premier League. The team is led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, currently the captain of the Indian cricket team, and coached by Stephen Fleming. The M. A...
. Chennai is also home to the
Indian Cricket LeagueThe Indian Cricket League , is a private cricket league that runs parallel to the Indian Premier League managed by Board of Control for Cricket in India...
team, the
Chennai SuperstarsChennai Superstars is one of the nine teams playing in the Indian Cricket League founded in 2007. The team is based in Chennai, coached by Michael Bevan and captained by Stuart Law, both reputed Australian cricketers....
.
The city is home to a Premier Hockey League (
PHLThe Premier Hockey League is a professional league competition for field Hockey clubs in the top division of the Indian hockey system. There are, at present, seven teams in the PHL. The competition has been played since 2005.-History:...
) team, the
Chennai VeeransThe Chennai Veerans are a Tier-1 level field hockey team Premiere Hockey League in India. In the inaugural cup in 2005, the Chennai Veerans led by Ignace Tirkey finished at the bottom of the group with two wins and six losses....
, and has hosted many
hockeyField hockey is a team sport in which a team of players attempt to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking the ball with hockey sticks into the opposing team's goal. Its official name is simply hockey, and this is the common name for it in many countries...
tournaments such as the Asia Cup and the Men's Champions Trophy at the The
Mayor Radhakrishnan StadiumMayor Radhakrishnan Stadium is a field hockey stadium at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was the venue to the 1996 Men's Champions Trophy, and hosted the tournament again in December 2005...
.
Chennai has produced popular tennis players such as
Vijay AmritrajVijay Amritraj is a former Indian tennis player, sports commentator and actor.Amritraj was born in Chennai, India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj. He and his brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, were among the first Indians to play in top-flight international tour tennis. They did...
and
Ramesh KrishnanRamesh Krishnan is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from India. As a junior player in the late-1970s, he won the boy's singles titles at both Wimbledon and the French Open. He went on to reach three Grand Slam quarter-finals in the 1980s, and was part of the Indian team which...
and is host to an
Association of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the principal worldwide tennis tour for men, the ATP Tour, which was renamed in January 2009 and is now known as the ATP World Tour...
(ATP) event, the
Chennai OpenThe Chennai Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour...
,
ATP World Tour 250 seriesThe ATP World Tour 250 series is a new series for tennis tournaments of the Association of Tennis Professionals from the 2009 ATP World Tour...
the country's only (ATP) event.
FootballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
and athletic competitions are held at the
Jawaharlal Nehru StadiumThe Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a Chennai stadium and seats 40,000. It hosts football , and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multi purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8000 which hosts volleyball, basket ball, table tennis etc...
, which also houses a multi-purpose indoor complex for competition in volleyball, basketball and
table tennisTable tennis is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must...
. Water sports are played in the
Velachery Aquatic ComplexThe Velachery Aquatic Complex is a stadium in Chennai, India and seats 4,000. It hosts water sports. It was also the venue for the 1995 South Asian Games....
. Chennai was the venue of the South Asian Games (SAF Games) in 1995.
Automobile racing in India has been closely connected with Chennai since its beginnings shortly after independence. Motor racing events are held on a special purpose track in Irungattukottai,
SriperumbudurSriperumbudur is an industrial town in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in proximity to Chennai. It is famous for being the birth place of Sri Ramanuja, one of the most prominent Hindu Vaishnava saints as well as the town where former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv...
, which has also been the venue for several international competitions. Horse racing is held at the
Guindy Race Course, while rowing competitions are hosted at the
Madras Boat ClubThe Madras Boat Club, located in the South of India, in the historic city of Chennai is over a hundred and forty one years old. It is one of the oldest rowing centres in India.-History:...
. The city has two 18-hole golf courses, the
Cosmopolitan ClubThe Cosmopolitan Club is one of the three 18-hole golf courses in Chennai, India. It was established in the late 19th century....
and the
Gymkhana ClubThe Gymkhana Club is one of the two 18-hole golf courses in Chennai, India. It was established in the late 19th century.- History :...
, both established in the late nineteenth century.
Viswanathan AnandViswanathan Anand is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion.Anand held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008...
, the chess World champion, grew up in Chennai.
Other athletes of repute from Chennai include table tennis players
Sharath KamalAchanta Sharath Kamal is a professional table tennis player from Tamilnadu, India. He won the men's singles gold in the 16th Commonwealth table tennis championship held at Kuala Lumpur in 2004. He also captained the Indian men's team that won the team title at the same championship by defeating...
and two-time world
carromCarrom or carroms is a family of tabletop games sharing a similarity in that their mechanics lie somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard...
champion, Maria Irudayam. The city has a
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
team called the Chennai Cheetahs.
Sister cities
Chennai has sister city relationships with the following cities of the world.
| Country |
City |
State / Region |
Since |
USA United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
San Antonio |
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
|
2007 |
Germany GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
|
 FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001...
|
 HesseHesse is a state of Germany with an area of and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main.Hesse contributes the largest share to the Rhine Main Area....
|
2005 |
Egypt EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
|
 CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
|
 Cairo Governorate |
2000 |
USA United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
 Denver |
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
|
1984 |
Russia RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
|
 VolgogradVolgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River and has a population of 1.011 millon people...
|
 Volgograd OblastVolgograd Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Volgograd.Area: 113,900 km²; population: 2,699,223 .-External links:...
|
1966 |
External links