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Important facts of Gujarat

Gujarat is the 5th largest state of India. It is situated in the extreme west of India. It is surrounded by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Gujarat shares a border with Pakistan. It has the longest coastline share of about 1600 km in India. It is the largest producer of cotton, groundnut, milk, and oilseed.

Historically, in the period 250 BC, the Maurya empire Ashoka extended his domination up to Gujarat. Also, the Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Malwa in the year 1570. It was known by Gurjaratra as Gurjars had ruled here. Major historical cities from the Indus Valley civilizations such as Lothal, Dholavira, and Gola Dhoro were located here.

Mahatma Gandhi Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, such great personalities were born here.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai => The father of India's Space Agency
Jamsetji Tata => Father of Indian Industry
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi => Father of Nation.

# Key points of Gujarat

Formation	Gujarat state is formed on 1st May 1960.
Area	The total area of Gujarat is 196000 square km. Holding area rank is 5th.
Climate	Summer is very hot. The average temperature in summer is 50 degrees celsius in the day and 30 degrees celsius at night.
Population	60,439,700 according to census 2011.
Population Density	308 per square km.
Sex Ratio	919 per 1000 men.
Literacy	The literacy rate of Gujarat is 78%.
Official Language	Gujarati and Hindi.
Chief Minister	Vijay Rupani (from BJP)
Governor	Acharya Dev Vrat
No of District	33. The largest district is Kutch and the smallest is Dang.
Capital	Gandhinagar is the capital of Gujarat.
Largest City	Ahmedabad
Airports	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and Surat Airport are two international airports. Regional airports are Bhavnagar Airport, Bhuj Airport, Jamnagar Airport, Kandla Airport, Porbandar Airport, Rajkot Airport, Vadodara Airport, etc.
GDP	USD 210 billion
Legislature	Rajya Sabha 11
Lok Sabha Seat	Lok Sabha 26
State Song	Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat
State animal	Asiatic lion
State Bird	Greater flamingo
State Flower	Marigold
State Tree	Banyan
Known For/As	“The Land of the Gurjaras” and “‘Jewel of Western India“
Famous dance	Garba is the most famous folk dance in Gujarat. Some others are Bhavai, Dandiya, Padhar, Tippani, etc.
Famous Festivals	Navratri is the most famous festival in Gujarat. Other festivals are Rann Utsav, Uttarayan, Shamlaji Melo, Vautha Mela, Rath Yatra and Bhavnath Mahadev Fair.
Famous Temples	Somnath Temple, Dwarkadhish Temple, Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, Bala Hanuman Mandir, Jamnagar, Rukmini Temple, Dwarka, Sun Temple, Modhera.
Important Tribes	Gamit, Bhils, Dhodias, Bawcha, Kunbi, Rabari, Siddi, Pateliya, Naikda, etc.
Important River	Narmada and Tapi are two major rivers in Gujarat.
Mountains or Hills	Bhujia Hill, Dhinodhar Hills, Girnar, Kalo Dungar, Parnera Hill, Pavagadh Hill, Saputara, Shatrunjaya, Thaltej-Jodhpur Tekra.
Highest Peak	*Mt. Girna* is the highest peak of Gujarat.
Important Dams	Sardar Sarovar Dam, Ukai Dam, Kadana Dam, Dantiwada Dam, Kamleshwar Dam, Kamleshwar Dam, Mitti Dam, Sukhi Dam. The largest dam in Gujarat is Sardar Sarovar Dam situated on the Narmada river.
Important Power plants	Coal Based: Mundra Thermal Power Station, Mundra Ultra Mega Power Plant, Akrimota Thermal Power Station, Bhavnagar Thermal Power Station, Essar Salaya Power Plant, Kutch Thermal Power Station, Sabarmati Thermal Power Station, Surat Thermal Power Station. Hydroelectric: Kadana hydroelectric power-station, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited and Ukai Hydro Power Station Nuclear Power Base: Kakrapar Atomic Power Station. Solar power: Bitta Solar Power Plant, Canal Solar Power Project, Mithapur Solar Power Plant, etc.
Industries	gems, jewelry, pharmaceutical, textile, chemicals, soda ash, vegetable oils, and cement.
Minerals	Natural gas, Lignite, Bauxite, Flourspar, Manganese, Silica Sand, Limestone, china-clay fire-clay, calcite, dolomite, etc.
Agriculture	Tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts are the major agricultural production. Other major crops produced in this state are rice, wheat, jawar, bajra, maize, tur, and gram.
Lakes	Kankaria Lake, Nal Sarovar, Sursagar Lake, Thol Lake, Hamirsar Lake, Narayan Sarovar, Gomti Lake, etc. Kankaria Lake is the biggest lake in Ahmedabad.
National Parks	Gir Forest National Park, Velavadar National Park, Marine National Park, Vansda National Park, Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, Wild Ass Sanctuary.
Famous Personalities	Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai, Vikram Sarabhai, Jamshedji Tata, Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

# Others important facts of Gujarat

The safest state in India is Gujarat. It has the lowest crime records in India.
The East India Company at Surat in the year 1818 for the first time.
The highest number of airports (currently 17) are located in Gujarat.
The greenest capital city is Gandhinagar is situated here.
The state of Gujarat accomplished a population of more than 60 million with an area of 196000 square km.
The Rann of Kachchh, best described as vast salt marshes, covered about 23000 sq km.of land.
The state has the largest ship-breaking yard in the world which is situated in Bhavnagar.
Gujarati is the 26th most spoken native language in the world.
Gujarat has the World’s Largest petroleum refinery.

Official Website of Gujarat: gujaratindia.gov.in

Dear aspirant, These are the major points and facts about the Gujarat state of India. These points should remember for general knowledge to crack UPSC IAS and banking exams.