Pune is the second largest city of Maharashtra in the western part of India. The city is situated at 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan Plateau and is at the confluence of the Rivers Mula and Mutha. It is also the adminsitrative capital of Pune district. The ideal geographial location of the city is at 560m (1,837 ft) above sea level on the western margin of the Deccan Plateau and is situated in the Sahyadri mountain range. This range is a part of the Western Ghats and separates it from the Arabian Sea. The tallest hill of the city remains 800m (2,625 ft) above sea level. There is also the presence of the Pavana and Indrayani rivers in the city. Both of them are tributaries of the Bhima river and they cross the northwestern outskirts of the metropolitan Pune. Well, it should be mentioned, it is very closely situated to the seismically active zone around Koyna Dam, which is just at100 km south of the city. For which earthquakes, of both moderate and low intensities, are natrual.
Pune has a glorious past and rose to prominence under the rule of Peshwa in the 17th century. However, the earliest mention of Pune as a formidable city first came to fore during the lifetime of Shivaji. It was after his coronation in 1649, Shivaji concentrated on the development of Pune, especially the construction of Guruwar, Somwar, Ganesh and Ghorpade Peths. In 1817 it went into the British control and used to serve as a cantonment town and also as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency. On the other hand, in struggle for national independence, Pune rose to prominence and emerged as a center for the Hindu social and religious reform movements. Many emeinent personalities of the city like Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Jyotirao Phule, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar deserve special mention for their contributions.
In economic sphere of the city the manufacturing industry plays a great role. But the saga of information technology is playing a salient role and has been in the forefront in the last decade. The automotive industry has also played a great role in strengthening the economy of the city. A large number of automotive companies including General Motors, Volkswagen, and Fiat have set up greenfield facilities near Pune. Even lured by the success in IT several BPO companies like Convergys, Infosys BPO, EXL, Wipro BPO are setting up operations here.
Pune is known for its rich legacy of education and also of its facilities. There are more than a hundred educational institutes and nine universities in the city.
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Pune
