The Union Territory of Pondicherry is located on the
Coromandel Coast, nearly 160 Kms from the city of Chennai.
The French ruled the territory for about 300 years.
This former French colony exudes a Mediterranean aura
with its elegant homes, calm atmosphere and serene locales.
The city has imbibed the Tamilian culture.
The Union Territory of Pondicherry comprises of four
coastal regions viz- Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and
Yanam. Pondicherry and Karaikal are situated on the
East Coasts in Tamil Nadu, Yanam in Andra Pradesh and
Mahe on the West Coast in Kerala.
Fact File
| Population (2001 Census) (as
on March 2005) |
10,50,218 |
| Gross state domestic product
at current prices (2004-2005) |
US$ 1.39965 bn |
| Gross state domestic product
at constant prices (1993-1994) for 2004-2005 |
US$ 0.777751 bn |
| Net state domestic product at
current prices for 2004-2005 |
US$ 1.26578 bn |
| Net state domestic product at
constant prices (1993-94) prices for 2004-2005 |
US$ 0.675178 bn |
| Per
capita income |
US$
765.9 |
| Literacy
rate (In percentage) |
81.49 |
| Male |
88.89 |
| Female |
74.13 |
| Language |
Tamil,
Malayalam, Telugu, French, English |
Source:
CSO
Advantage Pondicherry
- IT Hardware capital of India.
- Education Hub of South India.
- Proactive Government administration and incentives.
- Reliable connectivity with state of the art communication
networks
- Presence of unique spiritual centres such as the
Aurobindo and Auroville ashram that draw international
attention.
- Stable socio-political environment.
Economic Infrastructure
Aviation
A medium size airport is available in Pondicherry.The
International airport is at Chennai which is at 2 hours
drive from Pondicherry.
Rail
Pondicherry is connected through a meter gauge (being
converted to broad gauge) railway line with Villupuram.
There is only one railway station between Pondicherry
and Villupuram i.e. Villianur.
Road
Total road length of the state is 2552 kms. The road
length per 1000 sq.km is 4575. Pondicherry is well connected
to most of the major towns of southern India by road.
Pondicherry and Chennai are well linked through picturesque
East Coast Road (ECR). Total number of Motor vehicles
in Pondicherry is 251183 and the vehicle density per
Sq.Km is 507.
Ports
Pondicherry is accessible to major ports like Chennai,
Tuticorin, Cochin and Vishaghapattinam.Also, Pondicherry
port is being modernised.
Power
As part of the southern-grid, adequate power has been
allocated to Union Territory of Pondicherry. Steady
supply of power is presently available at rates cheaper
than neighbouring states.
The installed capacity of power utilities in Pondicherry
as on 31st January 2007 stood at
| Sector |
Hydro |
Thermal
|
RES |
Nuclear |
Grand Total |
| |
|
Coal |
Gas |
Diesel |
Total |
|
|
|
| State |
0.00 |
0.00 |
32.50 |
0.00 |
32.50 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
32.50 |
| Private |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.60 |
0.00 |
0.60 |
| Central |
0.00 |
214.01 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
214.01 |
0.00 |
13.13 |
227.14 |
| Sub-Total |
0.00 |
214.01 |
32.50 |
0.00 |
246.51 |
0.60 |
13.13 |
260.24 |
Source: powermin.nic.in
The power requirement of the Union Territory of Pondicherry
is 175 MW and the power availability is 229 MW.For the
power generation 32.50 Gas based power project has been
commissioned. The per capita electricity consumption
of Pondicherry is 1161 KWH as compared to all India
which is 320.1 KWH.
Telecommunications
Pondicherry is a part of the Global Information Highway.
Good telecom infrastructure including cellular, pager,
ISDN, and Internet services are available.
It has recorded 92730 numbers of telephone lines and
holds 31 telephone exchanges. The tele density in Pondicherry
is 48.7 lines per 1000 persons.
