PROFILE OF ANAND DISTRICT CHAPTER - 3 PROFILE OF ANAND DISTRICT 3.1 An introduction of Anand District 3.2 Geographical location of Anand District 3.3 Population of Anand District 3.4 Business activities carried out in Anand District 3.5 Industrial Infrastructure 3.6 Occupation of Anand District 3.7 Education in Anand District 3.1 An Introduction of Anand District: The geographical hierarchy of the state of Gujarat shows that it is located on the western coast of India, with Arabian Sea in the West, Rajasthan on the Northern, Madhya-Pradesh in the east and Maharashtra in the South and South-East. Gujarat also shares an international border with Pakistan at the North-Western fringe. Gujarat is the only state in India which has the longest coastline of about 1600 km. It's social, econonnical and industrialization advancements has made it one of the most privileged and prosperous states of our country. Out of the country's total industrial output 19.8% is provided by Gujarat and that is why it is one of the most industrialized states of the country. The capital of Gujarat is Gandhinagar which is one of the planned cities of India. It is the soil where the father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi was born and has immensely contributed many increments and events which are closely associated with independence struggle of our country against the Britishers. 93 3.2 Geographical location of Anand District: The district, Anand is situated in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat in Western India. Anand is located near the Gulf of Cambay in the Southern part of Gujarat. The district is bounded by Kheda district to the North, Ahmedabad district to the west, Baroda district on the south and Bharuch district to the East. Anand as a district came into existence on 2^^ October 1997, on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. Anand district spreads over an area of 2951 sq. km. so far as its geographical location is concerned it is 72.15 to 73.18 easts (longitude) and 22.07 to 23.29 norths (latitude). According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 16,47,759. Anand itself is the main and head quarter of Anand district. It comprises of 353 villages. Anand district has been bifurcated into eight talukas; (1 )S o jitra (2) Tarapur (3 ) U m reth (4 ) A nand (5 ) Borsad (6 ) Petlad (7) Khambhat (8 ) A nklav Anand is famous as the milk-city in not only Gujarat but all over India. It is also famous for the White Revolution which was the vigorous and great efforts put in by Dr. Vargese Kurian to enhance the city and country to become self-sufficient in milk & milk- products. It is the home town of not only Gujarat's but also India's largest and biggest co-operative dairy "Amul". The city hosts the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and Anand Agriculture University. Anand is also known as the educational centre of the 94 state as it accommodates almost 80 colleges encompassing and offering different courses both at graduation as well as post­ graduation level. Vallabh Vidyanagar which is a suburb of Anand is well known for its educational institutes, attracting students from all over Gujarat. All these educational institutes are affiliated to Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar -Anand. Khambhat one of the talukas of Anand is known for sweets, akik stone. The regional language of the state is Gujarati and is therefore also spoken in Anand district. Apart from Gujarati, Hindi & English languages are also spoken in the district. Anand is placed third in the seismic zone. 95 3.3 Population of Anand District: According to the census of 2001, the population of India was 1,02,70,15,247. Among them there are 53,12,77,078 males and 49,57,38,169 females in India. Anand district spreads over an area 2915 sq. km. of area. As per 2001 census Anand district's population is 18,56,712. The density of population of Anand district is 613 persons per sq. km. There are 910 females against 1000 males in Anand. So, sex ratio is not equal. Among the total population of Anand 18,56,712 persons of Anand there are 9,72,355 males and 8,84,357 females. 5,07,917 persons of Anand district are living in urban area and the rest of them are residing in the rural areas. So, we can say 27.38% people live in urban area. If we consider the Scheduled Tribe population, there are 22,835 persons who can be put among this category and out of them 10,010 persons are living in urban areas. Total 11,93,404 persons are literate in the district and among them 3,67,885 persons are in urban area. If we focus on the male literacy rate, there are 7,17,909 males who are literate and among them 2,07,878 live in urban areas. Talking about the females' literacy rate, out of the total 4,75,495 females who are literate, 1,60,007 live in urban areas. The overall male literacy rate in the district is 86.1% and in the urban area it is 89.4% . 61.9% overall females are literate in the district & 74.3% females are literate in urban area of Anand district. If the rural area of the Anand district is to be talked about, there are 13,48,901 persons living in rural Anand. Among this number the total numbers of children below the age of 6 years live in rural Anand. Out of the total population 74,302 people belonging to the 96 Scheduled Castes and 12, 825 people belonging to Scheduled Tribes live in rural areas. In rural areas of Anand the educated lot is 8 ,2 5 ,5 1 9 . Out of the total population 92.64% of Anand district lives in rural areas. Out of the total population residing in rural area 7,06,685 males are educated and 6,42,216 females are educated. 97 3.4 Business activities carried out in Anand District: So, far as business in Gujarat is concerned Anand has a repute to be one of the epic-centers for business. Anand is famous all over India and Asia continent as the milk-city of India and Asia; for it has the privilege to accommodate and establish The Amul Dairy', which holds the record to be the biggest co-operative milk-society. It is with the contribution of this doing that the White Revolution came into existence because of which there was a vast enhancement in the production of milk-products and the milk-commodities stated to be exported to other countries bringing name & fame to our country. As the economy of our country largely depends on agriculture and therefore ours is an agriculture economy. The district Anand also being a part of this economy largely depends on agriculture. Due to agriculture and allied agricultural activities carried out In Anand district, many cattle are owned by the farmers. The land of Anand district is very fertile & productive as compared to other areas of Gujarat. So, farming and agriculture remains the primary source of occupation for most of the people residing in Anand district. Major productions of Anand are banana, tobacco, groundnut, potato, cotton, papaya, mango, onion, cabbage etc. The year 2006-2007 has accomplished the target to achieving the third highest productions in banana in the state amounting to 5,26,185 M.T., followed by potato with the production of 1,88,940 M.T. Except the urban population of Anand most of the people are engaged in agricultural activities throughout the year. The geographical conditions are conducive for farming here as the land is quite productive & fertile, there is good amount of water available suitable for farming and most importantly the city, Anand also hosts the Agricultural University which helps the farmers intimating them with new and modern techniques of farming which not only yields to 98 good production but better soil fertility too. All these conditions and connbinations give good rewards to the farmers. Because of all these favorable and suitable conditions for farming, the industrialists have also inclined towards agricultural sector. These are so many Industrial units at Anand which are related with food & agriculture. For farming purposes, farmers keep cattle as a subsidiary. The objective behind rearing these cattle is two-folded. One is they are helpful in farming, tilling lands, their dung can be used as fertilizers to land and another is they give good amount of milk, as a result of which, dairy industries are also well established in the district. So, it won't be wrong to claim that agriculture and its related food industries are the main business of the district. The developed countries' economy is largely dependent on industries as it aims at rapid development. So, our country has also adopted industrialization and after agriculture the second business source of the people is industries. There are so many big industries in Anand district like Chemicals, Building, Engineering, Auto parts. Mineral etc. Anand district is a hub for Chemical, Plastic industries, Auto and Engineering and Food & Agro industries. The emergence of Khambhat port, will a cargo handing capacity and ship building yards would considers to be a major driver of the employments. There were big industries but over 950 units of small and medium enterprises are present in Anand district. Small industrial units engaged in Lathes & machine tools. Rice production, Wood products and Tobacco stemming have contributed positively to keep down the ratio of unemployment.