Jharkhand
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The source of this article
INDIA 2012
A REFERENCE ANNUAL
Compiled by
RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION
PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
JHARKHAND
Area : 79,714 sq km
Population : 2,69,09,428 (as per 2001 Census)
Capital : Ranchi
Principal Language : Hindi
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
Jharkhand which came into being on 15 November 2000 as the 28th State of the Union is the homeland of the tribals who had dreamed of a separate state for a long time. According to legend, Raja Jai Singh Deo of Odisha had declared himself the ruler of Jharkhand in the 13th century. It largely comprises forest tracks of Chhotanagpur plateau and Santhal Pargana and has distinct cultural traditions. In post-Independence era, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha started a regular agitation which impelled the Government to establish the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council in 1995 and finally a full-fledged State.
Jharkhand is bounded by West Bengal in the east, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the west, Bihar in the north and Orissa in the south.
AGRICULTURE
The State has an area of 79,714 sq km of which 18,423 sq km is forest land. Agriculture and allied activities are the major source of Jharkhand's economy. The total cultivable land is only 38 lakh hectare.
IRRIGATION AND POWER
Damodar, Maurakshi, Barakar, North Koyel, South Koyel, Sankh, Subarnarekha, Kharkai, and Ajay are major water resources in the State. The net sown area is 1.8 million hectare of which 8 per cent is irrigated.
The installed capacity of power in Jharkhand is 2,590 MW. This includes 420 MW (Tenughat Thermal Power Station), 840 MW (Patratu Thermal Power Station), 130 MW (Sikkidiri Hydel Project) and 1,200 MW (Damodar Valley Corporation Thermal/Hydel Project). The prospect of capacity addition in both the thermal and hydel sectors of various power stations is 4,736 MW. This includes 686 MW hydel generation.
INDUSTRY AND MINERALS
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Some of Jharkhand's major industries are: Bokaro Steel Plant in the public sector, Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO)in Jamshedpur in the private sector. Other important industries are Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), Timken India Limited (Jamshedpur), Bharat Coking Coal Limited (Dhanbad), Khilari Cement Factory (Palamu), Indian Aluminum (Muri), ACC cement (Chaibasa), Central Coalfields Limited (Ranchi), Usha Martin, Usha Beltron, Uranium Corporation (I) Limited (Jadugora), Hindustan Copper Limited (Mussabani), Tin Plate Company of India Limited (Jamshedpur), Indian Explosive Limited (Gomia), Hindalco Bauxite (Lohardaga), etc.
The State is rich in mineral resources. The important available minerals are coal, iron ore, lime stone, copper ore, bauxite, pyrite, china clay, kyanite, fine clay, dolomite, graphite, bentonite, soap stone, quartz sand and silica sand. The nascent state of Jharkhand has the enormous potential for exploitation of coal, mica and other minerals particularly in Singhbhum, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Koderma and Dhanbad.
TRANSPORT
Roads : The total length of roads in the State is 4,311 km. This includes 1,500 km national highways and 2,711 km state highways.
Railways : The state has a well-developed railway system. Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur are some of the major railway stations.
Aviation: Ranchi is connected with Delhi, Patna and Mumbai. Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Giridih, Deoghar, Hazaribagh, Daltonganj and Noamundi have air strips.
TOURIST CENTRES
There are many scenic attractions in the state, namely, Ichagarh Bird Sanctuary, Udhava Bird Sanctuary-Sahibganj (Pathara Lake), Chachro Crocodile Breeding Centre–Koderma (Tilaya Dam), Chandrapura Bird Sanctuary, Jawaharlal Nehru Zoological Garden (Bokaro), Tenughat Bird Sanctuary, Dalma Wild Life Sanctuary (Jamshedpur), Tata Steel Zoological Park (Jamshedpur), Palkote Wild Life Sanctuary (Gumla), Bhagwan Birsa Zoological Gardens (Ranchi), Birsa Deer Sanctuary (Kalmati Ranchi), Betla National Park (Palamau), Ranchi Aquarium (Ranchi), Hazaribagh National Park, Tatoloi hot water stream (Dumka) and Saranda Forest.
Apart from the above, Jharkhand has some famous temples like, Jharkhand Dham, Lagnta Baba Temple/Majar, Bindhvashini Temple, Masanjore Dam, etc.
GOVERNMENT
Governor : Dr. Syed Ahmed
Chief Secretary : Shri S.K. Chaudhary
Chief Minister : Shri Arjun Munda
Jurisdiction of : Jharkhand High Court
Names of the districts : Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamau, Garhwa, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Chatra, Giridih, Kodarma, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Dumka, Deoghar, Godda, Pakur and Sahebganj.
Economy
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In Jharkhand, per capita debt is Rs 10,000 IANS | Feb 24, 2014
Per capita debt
In Jharkhand, each person owes a debt of Rs 10,000, while the per capita income is around Rs 37,000, said an official.
"Jharkhand owes loans of around Rs 36,000 crore. If the total loan is divided with number of the total population, it will come around Rs 10,000 debt on each person of the state," finance secretary A P Singh told IANS.
As per the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the per capita income is around Rs 37,000, against the national per capita income of more than Rs 47,000, he said.
The per capita income is calculated on two points of the GSDP - fixed and current GSDP. According to fixed and current GSDP, the per capita income of Jharkhand will be Rs 37,000 and Rs 52,000 against the national average of Rs 47,000 and Rs 63,000.
He said, "Taking loan is not bad thing for development of the state. Jharkhand is one of states on which loan burden is lowest. According to central Fiscal Responsibility budget, we can take loan up to three percent of fiscal deficit of the GSDP but for the next year budget, our projected fiscal deficit is just 2.3 percent".
Asked about the economic health of the state, he said, "The economic health of the state is good and there is need to increase expenditure capabilities. We are on the 21st position as far as infrastructure deficit is concerned".
He stressed the need to increase generating resources of the state.
The Jharkhand government on Friday tabled a Rs 50,387.70 crore budget for the 2014-15 financial year.
Royalty from mines
Jharkhand gets royalty of around Rs 3,000 crore from mines. Of this, Rs 1,800 crore comes from coal. If the mines valuation is deducted, the per capita income based the GSDP will go down below Rs 30,000.
