Rajkot (Hindi:[ˈraːdʒkoːʈ]ⓘ) is the fourth-largest[3][4] city in thewestern Indian state ofGujarat, afterAhmedabad,Surat, andVadodara. It is in the centre of theSaurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area inIndia, with a population of more than 2 million as of 2021.[5] Rajkot is the 6th cleanest[6][7] city of India, and it is the 22nd fastest-growing city in the world as of March 2021.[8] It is located on the banks of theAji and Nyari rivers. Rajkot was the capital of theSaurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956, before its merger withBombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State on 1 May 1960.
The name "Rajkot" is derived from two words: "Raj", meaning "king" or "royalty", and "Kot", meaning "fort"—thus, Rajkot translates to "King's Fort".[9] The city was founded in 1612 by Thakur Sahib Vibhoji Ajoji Jadeja, a member of theJadejaRajput clan and grandson of Jam Sataji ofNawanagar State (present-dayJamnagar). Vibhoji received the territory as a jagir (land grant) and established Rajkot as the capital of his princely state.[10] Over time, Rajkot developed into an important administrative and cultural center in theSaurashtra region.
Under British rule, Rajkot served as the headquarters of theKathiawar Agency and later as the capital of theWestern India States Agency (WISA). The princelyRajkot state acceded to the Indian Union in 1948, following India’s independence in 1947.[11]
It has had a long history and had a significant influence in theIndian independence movement. Rajkot was home to many personalities likeMahatma Gandhi. Rajkot is in a transition period of growing cultural, industrial, and economical activities. Rajkot is the 26th largest city in India and the 22nd fastest-growing urban area in the world.[8]
Young Mahatma Gandhi (left) and his school friend Sheikh Mehtab (right) in Rajkot
Rajkot was the capital of Saurashtra state from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956 before merging in bilingual Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was merged into Gujarat State from bilingualBombay state on 1 May 1960. Thakur SahebPradyumansinhji died in 1973. His son,Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji, has carved out a political career at the provincial level, succeeded him. He served as a Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for several years and as the state Minister for Health and Finance. Monoharsinhji's son, Mandattasinh Jadeja has embarked on a business career.[12]
On 26 January 2001, the 7.7MwGujarat earthquake shookWestern India with a maximumMercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured. This earthquake mainly affected the Kutch region of western Gujarat.
An aerial image of theAji River that flows through the city of Rajkot
Rajkot is located at22°18′N70°47′E / 22.3°N 70.78°E /22.3; 70.78.[13] It has an average elevation of 128 metres (420 ft). The city is located on the bank ofAji River and Nyari River which remains dry except the monsoon months of July to September. The city is spread in the area of 170.00 km2.[14]
Rajkot is situated in the region called Saurashtra in the Gujarat state of India. The significance of Rajkot's location is that it is one of the prime industrial centres of Gujarat. Rajkot has a central location in the area called theKathiawar peninsula. The city is located within the Rajkot district in Gujarat. Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district of Rajkot. The district is surrounded byBotad in the east, andSurendranagar in the north,Junagadh andAmreli in the south,Morbi in the northwest andJamnagar in the west andPorbandar in the southwest.
Rajkot has ahot semi-arid climate (KöppenBSh), with hot, dry summers from mid-March to mid-June and the wetmonsoon season from mid-June to October, when the city receives 670 millimetres or 26 inches of rain on average. However, this rainfall varies greatly from year to year[15] – for instance less than 160 millimetres or 6.3 inches fell in 1911 and 1939 but more than 1,300 millimetres or 51 inches in 1878 and over 1,450 millimetres or 57 inches in the incomplete year of 1959.[16] The months from November to February are mild, the average temperature being around 20 °C or 68 °F, with low humidity.
One of the most important weather phenomena that is associated with the city of Rajkot is the cyclone. The cyclones generally occur in the Arabian Sea during the months after the rainy season. The region experiences a lot of rainfall and high-speed winds during the time of the year after the monsoon season as well as the months of May and June. However, June experiences lesser amount of rainfall and winds than the post-monsoon time. Thunderstorms are another important part of the Rajkot weather in the months of June and July. During summer time, the temperature ranges between 24 and 42 °C (75.2 and 107.6 °F). In the months of winter, Rajkot temperature varies between 10 and 22 °C (50.0 and 71.6 °F) but on a whole winters are pleasant.[17]
Rajkot's skyline in cloudy weather
Climate data forRajkot Airport (1991–2020, extremes 1952–present)
Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020)[22]
Rajkot has been ranked 14th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results'[23]
As of the2011 Census of India, Rajkot recorded a total population of 1,390,640. Rajkot city has an average literacy rate of 82.20%, higher than the national average.[citation needed] The population is 52.43% male and 47.47% female. Most of the population is Hindu with a Muslim and Jain minority.
The people in Rajkot are predominantly vegetarians. The women of Rajkot are fond of jewellery. Large chains, pendants and other heavy gold jewellery are a common sight during marriages, festivals and functions. The attire changes with the season and festivals.
Rajkot is multicultural. One can find many languages, like Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English, Sindhi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi. However, only Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, and English are well understood. Rajkot is the part ofKathiyawad. Because of this, people of Rajkot are also known as Kathiyawadi.
Rajkot is frequently referred to asRangilu Rajkot (રંગીલુ રાજકોટ), meaning "Colourful Rajkot". Rajkot is also called as "Chitranagri" (City of Paintings).[29]
Rajkot has many historical landmarks. The Jubilee Garden is a large, open park in the centre of the city featuring many monuments from colonial times. Located prominently in the centre of the garden is the Connaught Hall. Other notable points of interest near the garden include the historicMohandas Gandhi High School (Now Mahatma Gandhi Museum),Kaba Gandhi No Delo (Mohandas Gandhi's childhood residence), Rashtriya Shala,Watson Museum, Rotary Dolls Museum, Lang Library, Rotary Midtown Library andSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
The Rotary Dolls Museum has a collection of more than 1,400 dolls from all over the world.[30] This museum is being managed by Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown along with Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Bank. The Museum has earned a place in Limca Book of Records for its unique collection of dolls.[31]
The Trimandir, a non-sectarian temple founded byDada Bhagwan, is located at a short distance from the city.[32]
Best LAW and Order city – 2013,[33]Best Housing & Transport City- 2015,[34]Safe City Award for Rajkot Eye-Way Project 2018,[35]Best city for Women Safety- 2013,[36]Best City Cleanliness and Sanitation- 2013,[36]National Winner of WWF's One Planet City Challenge 2018,[37]National Award For Implementation of Food Safety Act-2016[35]
Cricket is the most popular sport in the city. One-day internationals, domestic tournaments such as theRanji Trophy, theDuleep Trophy and many inter-school and collegiate tournaments are played at theMadhavrao Sindhia Cricket Ground.The newly constructed 2nd International Cricket Stadium situated in Rajkot,Niranjan Shah Stadium, formerly known as Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium and Khandheri Cricket Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Khandheri, about 15 kilometers outside Rajkot. The Stadium has a capacity of 28,000 spectators. In this cricket stadium, Day/Night matches can now also be played. It hosts theIndian national cricket team andSaurashtra cricket team matches. The stadium hosted its 1st International Cricket Match played on 11 January 2013 between India and England. Till date this venue has hosted multiple international Tests, ODIs and T20Is. This stadium also hosted severalIPL matches during 2016-17, whenGujarat Lions opted for Rajkot as their home base. The stadium will part of a larger sports complex that will include venues for other sports such as badminton, basketball, and volleyball. Rajkot has produced cricketers such asKarsan Ghavri andCheteshwar Pujara who have been members of theIndian national cricket team. Rajkot has many other cricket grounds around the city, including the Railway Cricket Ground and theRajkumar College South Ground. Apart from cricket, other sports such as hockey, football, volleyball, badminton, tennis, table-tennis, chess, swimming, and squash are rapidly growing popular in the city.[40] There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of private sports clubs, gymkhanas, and gymnasiums. Kathiawar Gymkhana, Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, Swami Vivekananda Indoor Stadium and swimming pools ofRajkot Municipal Corporation are major sports clubs in the city. Recently, the Gujarat Hockey Team (Under 14) was assembled with all 16 players coming from Rajkot. A new modernized cricket ground is even under construction at the outskirts. Rajkot Municipal Corporation also owns a 9-hole golf course at Ishwaria. It is maintained by Green Meadows Golf Club.[41]
Garba is popular among both, men and women and is performed during the festival of Navratri. The dance starts before midnight and continues until dawn. Mata Ambe, who rides a lion, has a special reverential status with any highly religious Gujarati. The 'Janmastami Mela' is organised for five days at the Race Course grounds to celebrateJanmastami.Diwali is one of the most important festival and is usually a week long holiday. Rajkot Municipal Corporation arranges the annual Fireworks Show for the citizens of Rajkot during the Diwali festival.Holi is also celebrated with frolic and is widely enjoyed by most of the city folk. People also celebrateMakar Sankranti (Uttarayan) on 14 January by flying kites from their terraces.[42]
Real estate has been a key contributor to Rajkot's development in terms of economic and infrastructure development. Since early 2014, several high-rises have been built in Rajkot.
Products made in Rajkot include jewellery, silk embroidery and watch parts. Industrial products includebearings, diesel engines, kitchen knives and other cutting appliances, watch parts (cases and bracelets), automotive parts, forging industry, casting industry, machine tools, share market and software development.[citation needed] The city is also home to severalCNC machine and auto parts manufacturers.
There are about 500foundry units in Rajkot. The cluster came up mainly to cater to the casting requirements of the local diesel engine industry. The geographical spread of the cluster includes Aji Vasahat, Gondal Road, Bhavanagar Road areas, Shapar, Veraval and Metoda. The majority of foundry units in Rajkot produce grey iron castings for the domestic market. About 2% of the foundry units export castings such as electric motor castings and automobile castings.
Rajkot also houses Western Region Pipelines Headquarter ofIndian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) near Gauridad village. Also natural gas industries like GSPL and GSPC are also present. A petroleum depot of IOCL is also present.
In the near future, the government of Gujarat will allocate large land areas for the development of Special Economic Zone[43] which will be split into three areas and will include industries such as software and automobiles. As per recent market reviews, Rajkot is becoming Asia's biggest automobile zone.
The city of Rajkot involves development of a Green Field Area covering approximately 930 acres of land with an estimated project cost of Rs 2100 cr. Design planned by INI design studio, the project is envisaged to have world class, Smart physical infrastructure with utilities that are environment friendly, sustainable, functionally smart and technology driven.[44] The Rajkot Smart City Plan achieved a perfect score of 81 out of 81 points and was awarded the highestPlatinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), making it the first green-rated Platinum-levelSmart City in India.[45]
The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has secured the third rank in the Indian Smart Cities Awards Content (ISAC) 2022 for its project of rejuvenating Atal Sarovar in area specific development component of Smart City initiative.[46] Rajkot’s smart city plan involves a new water management system.[47]
Rajkot is governed by many government bodies, including Jilla Seva Sadan (Rajkot District Collector Offices), Rajkot Municipal Corporation,Rajkot Urban Development Authority.
Preceded by
Pradip Dav
City Mayor Sep 2023–present
Succeeded by
Naynaben Pedhadiya
Preceded by
Anand Patel
City Municipal Commissioner April 2023–present
Succeeded by
Tushar D. Sumera
Preceded by
IPS Raju Bhargava
City Police Commissioner May 2022–present
Succeeded by
Brajesh Kumar Jha
The city civic body has started a 24x7 call centre, the first of its kind in Gujarat and the second in the country to take care of all complaints relating to civic management. Citizens can now get all their complaints registered with the Rajkot Municipal Corporation by dialling a single number with an assurance that the problem would be addressed within 72 hours.[48]
The Rajkot City Police are responsible for law enforcement and public safety in Rajkot, India. They are a subdivision of the state police force of Gujarat and are headed by a commissioner. The Rajkot police force is responsible for the protection and safety of Rajkot citizens.[49]
TheGujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) runs regular buses to and from Rajkot to othercities of Gujarat and several cities of neighbouring states. More than 81000 people travel daily with GSRTC.[citation needed] Rajkot is very well connected with theGujarat State Highways and theNational highways of India. Rajkot is allocated the vehicle registration code GJ-03 by RTO. There are a number of private bus operators connecting the city with other cities of Gujarat and various other states of India.
Rajkot has two railway stations.Rajkot Junction railway station (station code: RJT) is the more widely used railway station for passenger trains, and has services to all the major cities of India. Its elevation is 128 m above sea level. The other, smaller, railway station isBhaktinagar railway station (station code: BKNG), served only by trains from Somnath, Veraval, Junagadh and Porbandar.
Rajkot Municipal Corporation has restored city bus services with Public Private Partnership in 2007. RMC and a private company is providing around 80CNG buses under 15 to 20 routes in city and suburbs.
Rajkot BRTS
Rajkot BRTS was launched on 1 October 2012.[50] ThisBus rapid transit System (BRTS) currently has a 10.5-km long Blue corridor with 19 stations and a fleet of multiple electric AC buses are serving this route. The corridor is located in the west part of the city through the 150 Ft Ring road connecting Madhapar chokdi on the Jamnagar road to Gondal chokdi on the Gondal road.
The fully completed project in future will have two more corridors – Green and Red from Arvind Maniyar Nagar to Saurashtra University and Greenland Chowk to Saurashtra University respectively involving 157 buses in three colours.Rajkot thus becomes the second city in Gujarat to have BRTS after Ahmedabad. After the operational success of BRT system in Ahmedabad and Rajkot, Surat too inaugurated it's BRTS in 2013.
Rajkot Metro
GMRC, a joint venture company between theGovernment of India andGovernment of Gujarat has submitted a detailed project report (DPR) for the Rajkot Metro to the Union Government. Rajkot Metro will be 38 km long and will have two lines, predominantly elevated with some underground stations. The total estimated cost of this project is Rs 10,000 crore. Similar DPR is also submitted for the Vadodara Metro.[51] Currently GMRC operates theAhmedabad Metro and will inaugurateSurat Metro in 2027.
State-ownedAll India Radio has a local station and has a FM channel 102.4Vividh Bharati in Rajkot which transmits various programs of mass interest.Rajkot also has various private local news media and digital websites.[55] Private FM stations like 98.3Radio Mirchi, 93.5Red FM, 92.7Big FM and 94.3 MY FM also serve the people of Rajkot with excellent entertainment and events.
Rajkot is famous for providing education to Mahatma Gandhi, at theAlfred High School. A number of schools in the city are run by Rajkot Municipal Corporation. They include 20 schools and learning centres,[56] which consist of 3 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 4 junior high schools, 4 senior high schools, 1 education centre, and 1 special school.[57] Rajkot is home toRajkumar College, Rajkot, also known as RKC. RKC is the oldest of the Chiefs' schools of India similar toMayo College atAjmer andDaly College atIndore.
Rajkot also has the Union Government HRD Ministry runJawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. It was started at the Juni Khadki school premise of Sir Lakhajiraj High School and later moved to its own building on the Jamnagar Road. It is aCBSE Board affiliated, residential school for girls and boys, providing education to those selected at the Class VI level all India entrance test.[58][59]
The city is home toSaurashtra University, several colleges, and other institutions of higher education, both public and private. Rajkot has three private universities,RK University,[60]Atmiya University and Marwadi University.[61] The city has 12 engineering colleges. It has a Performing Arts College (Vocal, Classical dance, Tabla vadan etc.) oppositeHemu Gadhvi Natya Gruh. The Saurashtra University is the city's public university. It is spread across approximately 410 acres (1.7 km2) of green land with 28 post-graduation departments.[62]
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Medical College is government medical college in Rajkot. It was established in 1995 and offers MBBS, MD and MS courses.AIIMS Rajkot, anAIIMS institute has started its medical college with its inaugural batch of MBBS Students in December 2020.[63][64]
Rajkot’s healthcare is served by both government and private providers. Along with modern allopathic care, many residents also rely on Ayurveda and Homeopathy. Major public hospitals like Civil Hospital (PDU) and AIIMS provide affordable treatment, while private multi-specialty hospitals offer advanced medical facilities.
Civil Hospital, Rajkot (also known as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Civil Hospital) is the largest government hospital in the city. It is located on Jamnagar Road at Hospital Chowk and provides affordable treatment to a large section of the population. The hospital is affiliated with Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Government Medical College, Rajkot, which was established in 1995 and admits around 150 MBBS students annually.[65][66]
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rajkot is a government medical institution and part of the AIIMS network in India. It offers tertiary healthcare, medical education, and research facilities in multiple specialties including medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and more.[67]
Sterling Hospital, Rajkot is a private multi-specialty hospital with 208 beds and one of the region’s largest critical-care infrastructures. It is part of Sterling Hospitals chain and NABH-accredited.[68][69]
Wockhardt Hospital, Rajkot is a private multi-specialty hospital founded in 2006, offering services in cardiology, orthopedics, neurology, gastroenterology, urology, and more. It operates under the Wockhardt Hospitals chain and holds NABH/NABL accreditation.[70][71]
Synergy Superspeciality Hospital, Rajkot is a private multi-specialty hospital with NABH accreditation, offering services in cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, oncology, gastroenterology, critical care, and more.[72]
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^See Kane, R.P.; ‘Extreme of the ENSO Phenomenon and Indian SummerMonsoon Rainfall’; International Journal of Climatology, vol. 18 (1998), pp. 775-791
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