Punjab At A Glance

Enterprise and endeavour, these two words symbolize the essential spirit of the people of Punjab. Since Independence, over 5 decades, the state has earned its epithet: "of Granary India" through the enterprising spirit, and untiring toil of its people.

Its average growth rate of 10% is amongst the highest in the country, clearly reflecting the progressive economy of the state .Punjab also boasts a 58% literacy rate and the highest per capita income in India. Today's Punjab has become a land of boundless opportunities, offering distinct advantages for investment and industry.

Since the recent liberalization of India's economy, Punjab has started making its mark on the global business mainstream, with major players from around the world forming joint ventures in the field of agri-business.
Privileged by nature and the dynamism of its people, Punjab is a land of rivers, fertile soils and steady achievement. With its inimitable style of transforming every potential opportunity into a success story, the state was the first to translate agricultural technology into the "green revolution", recording highest growth rate in food production. From a minor producer it emerged a major rice surplus state. Providing the impetus for the "White revolution", during Operation Flood, it was Punjab that recorded the highest per capita availability of milk.

Today's Punjab has over 2.04 lakhs of small and medium industries and about 600 large scale industries. It leads in the manufacture of machine and hand tools; printing and paper cutting machinery; auto parts and electrical switch gear. The state also provides more than 75% of the country's requirement for bicycles, sewing machines, hosiery and sports goods. At par with the highest quality standards in the world, these products have carved a niche for themselves in markets across the globe.

Access:
Punjab is easy to reach by road, rail or air. From Delhi, Chandigarh, the state capital is 246 km and Amritsar, the northernmost city of the state is 446 Kms.
By road:
The total road mileage in Punjab is 35,501 Kms of state roads and rural link roads. In addition, the length of national highways is 964 Kms. All the 12,342 villages in the state are linked by all-weather roads and major towns of all adjoining states are connected by national highways. One can drive from one extreme end of the state to the other in six hours. Road travel time from Delhi is about four hours

All districts and sub-divisional towns have direct bus services to the state capital, Chandigarh. All villages have bus services linking them with the sub-division and district headquarters towns. In addition, there are excellent deluxe bus services between New Delhi and Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Chandigarh. Air conditioned luxury buses ply at almost hourly intervals between New Delhi and Chandigarh. Taxi services between various towns and Chandigarh and to New Delhi are dependable and comfortable.

By Rail:
All major towns and district headquarters have excellent rail links for both passenger and goods traffic. Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Jalandhar are on the main line and have excellent daily train services to New Delhi including convenient overnight trains. Super fast Shatabdi Express trains connect Delhi to Chandigarh (a comfortable three-hour trip) and Delhi to Amritsar via Ludhiana (equally comfortable and just a little less than six hours). The Shan-e-Punjab train links Amritsar and New Delhi, the Himalayan Queen links Chandigarh and New Delhi and there are numerous trains from Jammu / Amritsar, linking these towns as well as Ludhiana and Jalandhar with New Delhi For more information of various trains and availability schedules, click through the Indian Railway WebSite
By Air:
There is an international airport at Amritsar located in Rajasansi which is about 11 kilometers from the main city. Outside the aiport, you would find cabs that are not necessarily painted yellow and black. The word ‘Taxi’ would be written on each cab.

There is also a car rental facility available in front of the International Arrival Hall.

Other domestic airports are located at Chandigarh (12 kilometers from the city), Ludhiana, Pathankot. For more information on flight schedules, availability and book tickets online, go through websites of
Air India Site, Jet Airways or Air Sahara.

Major Cities:

Amritsar:
This is a city with a hallowed history. The present city dates back to the 15th century but it’s association with India’s national epic, the Ramayan, shows that it’s sacred heritage must be measured, not in centuries but
millenniums. The holiest shrine of the Sikh faith – the Golden Temple – is located in heart of Amritsar and no visit to the city is complete without a glimpse of the temple. In terms of industry and commerce, Amritsar is a city famous for woollen mills and textile processing.

Jalandhar:
a town of great antiquity. The most important town of area is known as the 'Bastis' (Basti Bawa Khel, Basti
Guzan, Basti Danishmandan and others) tell the story of the domination of this place by Pathan rulers. Jalandhar known for its sportsmen as well as its sports industry is a growing industrial town having steel and iron re-rolling, rubber goods, electric goods, automobile parts and sewing machine factories. Handloom products are also manufactured at Jalandhar.

Ludhiana:
Ludhiana an important industrial city, is Known as the Manchester of India. It is famous the world over for its hosiery goods. Woollen garments produced here are sold in prestigious shopping centres from Moscow to Montreal and Bangkok to London and New York. The famous Punjab Agricultural University patterned after the land-grant colleges of America, is situated on the outskirts of the city. Rural Olympics of Qila Raipur, Chhapper Mela and Kissan Mela at PAU attracts lakhs of visitors every year.

Patiala:
This city was once the capital of a princely state and traces of royal grandeur are still plain to see here. From the imposing fortress, Qila Mubarak, that occupies the centre of town, to the 19th century palaces, Moti Bagh and Sheesh Mahal at the edge of the city, the
wealth, imagination and typically Punjabi sensibilities of old Punjab are on display. The people of Patiala consider themselves the torchbearers of Punjabi language and culture.
Patiala has long been a centre of trade and commerce but in recent years it is also developing rapidly as a manufacturing city producing a wide range of goods
Patiala online

Trekking:
Being close to the hills, Punjab is an ideal base for treks in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. For the less adventurous, the hill stations of Shimla and Dalhousie are within driving distance from any part of Punjab.

Hotels and Restaurants:
Hotels offering three or four star facilities are available at Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. Smaller towns like Patiala, Ferozepur or Bhatinda offer two to three star facilities while in very small towns like Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Ropar, it would be advisable to either depend on the facilities of the Tourism Corporation or the Government Dak
Bungalows.The bigger towns have
noteworthy restaurants and caterers. The Punjab Tourism Development Corporation has developed picnic spots at Ropar, Neelon (near Ludhiana), Ludhiana, Kartarpur (near Jalandhar), Sirhind (near Patiala), Pathankot and operates well-run restaurants on the Grand Trunk road and other highways as part of its highway tourism facilities.

Capital:
Chandigarh

population: 900635

Population:
243.59 Lakh for the year 2001
Rural: 160.96 Lakh
Urban: 82.63 Lakh

Languages:
Punjabi and Hindi.
Many people are fluent in English and Urdu

Currency:
Rupee (100 paise equals one rupee)

Geography:
Find Punjab on the globe at 29’30’’ N to 32’32’’ N latitude and 73’55 E to 76’50 E longitude,

Climate:
Climatically the state has three major seasons.

Hot weather (April to June) when temperature rises as high as 110F.
Rainy season (July to September). Average rainfall annual ranges between 96 cms sub-mountain region and 46 cms in the plains.
Cold weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as 40F.

Major Land Features:
Most of Punjab is a fertile plain; toward the southeast one finds semi-arid and desert landscape; a belt of undulating hills extends along the northeast at the foot of the Himalayas. Four rivers, the Ravi, Beas, Satluj and Ghaggar flow across the state in a southwesterly direction. They have numerous small and seasonal tributaries. In addition, Punjab is watered by an extensive canal system.

Chandigarh

is the best-planned city in India, with architecture which is world-renowned, and a quality of life, which is unparalleled. As the capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh it is a prestigious city. The face of modern India, Chandigarh, is the manifestation of a dream that Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru envisaged and Le Corbusier executed. India’s first planned city, is in sharp contrast to its other Indian counterparts, a rich, prosperous, spic and span, green city rightly called “ THE CITY BEAUTIFUL ”.
http://chandigarhtourism.gov.in

How to reach
By Air

The airport is 11 km from downtown. Taxis are available for Airport transfer. Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Deccan connects Chandigarh with New Delhi the National Capital. Chandigarh Tourism has well maintained Tourist Information Centre at the Airport. Air Deccan recently started the Jammu-Chandigarh Air connection which is a great help for pilgrims to Mata Vaishno Devi.

Arrival

Name Flight From - To Time
Indian Airlines IC 866 Mumbai-Delhi-Chandigarh (Daily) 2:00 p.m.
Air Deccan DN 537 Delhi-Chandigarh-Jammu (Daily) 1:40 p.m.
Jet Airways 9W 3303 Delhi-Chandigarh (Daily) 1:40 p.m.

Departure

Name Flight From - To Time
Indian Airlines IC 863 Chandigarh-Delhi-Mumbai (Daily) 3:15 p.m.
Air Deccan DN 538 Jammu-Chandigarh-Delhi (Daily) 4:45 p.m.
Jet Airways 9W 3304 Chandigarh-Delhi (Daily) 2:10 p.m.

Airlines Enquiry :

Flight Enquiry, Airport - 2656029
Airport (Civil) - 2656027
VIP Room - 2656021
Senior Aerodrome Officer, Airport - 2656027

Flight Enquiry :

Indian Airlines - 2656024, 2656029, 2704539
Indian Airlines, Reservation Office - Sector 17-C - 2704539
Indian Airlines, Cargo Office - Sector 17-C - 2704034

Jet Airways - 2740550, 2658934

Air Deccan - 2651748, 2651848

Official Airlines Flying to & from Chandigarh

Indian Airlines - http://indian-airlines.nic.in

Jet Airways - http://www.jetairways.com

Air Deccan - http://www.airdeccan.net

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