About Mumbai ( Bombay)

Mumbai, formerly Bombay, city, capital of Maharashtra state, southwestern India. It is the country’s financial and commercial centre and its principal port on the Arabian Sea.

Located on Maharashtra’s coast, Mumbai is India’s most-populous city, and it is one of the largest and most densely populated urban areas in the world.

It was built on the site of an ancient settlement. It became known as Bombay during the British colonial period, the name possibly an Anglicized corruption of Mumbai or perhaps of Bom Baim (“Good Harbour”), supposedly a Portuguese name for the locale. The name Mumbai was restored officially in 1995, although Bombay remained in common usage.

Mumbai, long the centre of India’s cotton textile industry, subsequently developed a highly diversified manufacturing sector that included an increasingly important information technology (IT) component. In addition, the city’s commercial and financial institutions are strong and vigorous, and Mumbai serves as the country’s financial hub.

Its area is about 239 square miles (619 square km). Pop. (2001) 11,978,450; urban agglom., 16,434,386; (2011) 12,478,447; urban agglom., 18,414,288.

The natural beauty of Mumbai is unsurpassed by that of most other cities in the region. The entrance into Mumbai Harbour from the sea discloses a magnificent panorama framed by the Western Ghats mountain range on the mainland. The wide harbour, studded with islands and dotted with the white sails of innumerable small craft, affords secure shelter to ships, particularly when storms lash the coast. The largest of the harbour’s islands is Elephanta, which is famous for its 8th- and 9th-century Hindu cave temples.

Education In Mumbai (Bombay)

Mumbai’s literacy rate is much higher than that of the country as a whole. Primary education is free and compulsory; it is the responsibility of the MCGM.

Secondary education is provided largely by public schools that are supervised by the state government, as well as by several independently run private schools for students whose families can afford them.

There also are public and private polytechnic institutes and institutions offering students a variety of degree and diploma courses in mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering.

The Indian Institute of Technology, operated by the central government, is located in the city. The University of Mumbai, established in 1857, has more than 100 constituent colleges and more than two dozen teaching departments.

Upcoming Education Fairs in Mumbai