Andhra Pradesh facts for kids

Andhra Pradesh (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్) is a state in the Republic of India. About 75,727,000 people lived there as reported in census of 2001. The eastern boundary is a 600 miles (970 km) coastline along the Bay of Bengal. The state has an area of 106,195 square miles (275,040 km²). It is bigger than Burkina Faso but smaller than Ecuador. In traditional Indian geography it falls under the South Indian zone.

The capital city is Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh has a gross domestic product (GDP) of 123,560 (in millions of US dollars). That makes it number 3 in India in terms of GDP, after Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. It holds a position in the provinces of the world with more than a billion dollars in GDP. Andhra Pradesh is also called "Rice Bowl of India".The latitude and longitude is 17.3660°N and 78.4760°E respectively.

History

Toponomy

A tribe named Andhra was mentioned in Sanskrit texts such as Aitareya Brahmana (800–500 BCE). According to Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda, the Andhras left north India and settled in south India. The Satavahanas have been mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jateeya and Andhrabhrtya in the Puranic literature. They did not refer themselves as Andhra in any of their coins or inscriptions; it is possible that they were termed as Andhras because of their ethnicity or because their territory included the Andhra region.

Early and medieval history

Archaeological evidence from places such as Amaravati, Dharanikota and Vaddamanu suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan Empire. Amaravati might have been a regional centre for Mauryan rule. After the death of Emperor Ashoka, Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE, and was replaced by several smaller kingdoms in the Andhra region.

The Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan region from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century. The later Satavahanas made Dharanikota and Amaravathi their capital, which according to the Buddhists is the place where Nagarjuna, the philosopher of Mahayana lived in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

The Salankayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Andhra region between Godavari and Krishna with their capital at Vengi (modern Pedavegi) from 300 to 440 CE.

Kakatiyas ruled Andhra Pradesh state for nearly 200 years and constructed several forts. They were succeeded by the Musunuri Nayaks.

The Reddy dynasty (1325–1448 CE) was established by Prolaya Vema Reddi in the early 14th century, who ruled from present day Kondaveedu.

The Vijayanagara Empire originated in the Deccan Plateau region in the early 14th century. It was established in 1336 by Harihara Raya I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Sangama Dynasty.

Modern history

Harihara and Bukka, who served as treasury officers of the Kakatiyas of Warangal, founded the Vijayanagara Empire. In 1347 CE, an independent Muslim state, the Bahmani Sultanate, was established in south India by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah in a revolt against the Delhi Sultanate. The Qutb Shahi dynasty held sway over the Andhra country for about two hundred years from the early part of the sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century.

In the early nineteenth century Northern Circars was ceded to the British East India Company and became part of the Madras Presidency. Eventually this region emerged as the Coastal Andhra region. Later the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad ceded five territories to the British that eventually became the Rayalaseema region. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the princely state of Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy. However, Komaram Bheem, a tribal leader, started his fight against the erstwhile Asaf Jahi Dynasty for the liberation of Hyderabad State. Meanwhile, the French occupied Yanam, in the Godavari delta, and (save for periods of British control) would hold it until 1954. In 1947 Vizianagaram was the largest Hindu princely state in Andhra Pradesh.

India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. The Nizam wanted to retain the independence of the Princely Hyderabad State from India, but the people of the region launched a movement to join the Indian Union. The state of Hyderabad was forcibly joined to the Republic of India with Operation Polo in 1948.

Post independence

In February 2014, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bill was passed by the Parliament of India for the formation of Telangana state comprising ten districts. Hyderabad will remain as a joint capital for not exceeding ten years. The new state of Telangana came into existence on 2 June 2014 after approval from the President of India.

Geography

The state has varied topography ranging from the hills of Eastern Ghats and Nallamala Hills to the shores of Bay of Bengal that supports varied ecosystems, rich diversity of flora and fauna. There are two main rivers namely, Krishna and Godavari, that flow through the state. The seacoast of the state extends along the Bay of Bengal from Srikakulam to Nellore district. The plains to the east of Eastern Ghats form the Eastern coastal plains. The coastal plains are for the most part of delta regions formed by the Godavari, Krishna, and Penner Rivers. The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and individual sections have local names. The Eastern Ghats are a major dividing line in the state's geography. The Kadapa Basin formed by two arching branches of the Eastern Ghats is a mineral-rich area. The Ghats become more pronounced towards the south and extreme north of the coast. Most of the coastal plains are put to intense agricultural use. The Rayalaseema region has semi-arid conditions.

Natural vegetation and conservation

Andhra Pradesh Forest Department deals with protection, conservation and management of forests. The total forest cover of the state after the bifurcation is left with an area of 22,862 km². The forest in the state can be broadly divided into four major biotic provinces. They are:

1. Deccan Plateau
2. Central Plateau
3. Eastern Highland
4. East Coastal Plains

Eastern Ghats region is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the Ghats give way to the Deccan Plateau, where shrub vegetation is more common. The vegetation found in the state is largely of dry deciduous types with a mixture of teak, Terminalia, Dalbergia, Pterocarpus, Anogeissus, etc.

The state has many Sanctuaries, National Parks and Zoological Parks such as, Coringa, Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, Indira Gandhi Zoological Park etc. Atapaka Bird Sanctuary, Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary and Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary attracts many migratory birds. The state possesses some rare and endemic plants like Cycas beddomei, Pterocarpus santalinus, Terminalia pallida, Syzygium alternifolium, Shorea talura, Shorea tumburgia, Psilotum nudum, etc. The diversity of fauna includes tigers, panthers, hyenas, black bucks, cheetals, sambars, sea turtles and a number of birds and reptiles. The estuaries of river Godavari and Krishna support rich mangrove forests with fishing cats and otters as keystone species.

Climate

The climate of Andhra Pradesh varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. Summers last from March to June. In the coastal plain, the summer temperatures are generally higher than the rest of the state, with temperature ranging between 20 °C and 41 °C. July to September is the season for tropical rains. About one third of the total rainfall is brought by the northeast monsoon. October and November see low-pressure systems and tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal which, along with the northeast monsoon, bring rains to the southern and coastal regions of the state.

November, December, January, and February are the winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has a long coastal belt the winters are not very cold. The range of winter temperature is generally 12 °C to 30 °C. Lambasingi in Visakhapatnam district is the only place in South India which receives snowfall because of its location as at 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above the sea level. It is also nicknamed as the Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh and the temperature ranges from 0 °C to 10 °C.

Demographics

Largest cities of Andhra Pradesh

• Visakhapatnam - population 1,735,922

• Vijayawada - population 1,434,358

• Guntur - population 743,354

• Nellore - population 600,869

• Kurnool - population 424,920

• Kadapa - population 343,054

• Rajahmundry - population 341,831

• Kakinada - population 312,538

• Tirupati - population 287,482

• Eluru - population 283,648

The population of Andhra Pradesh in the year 2014, as per census 2011 is 4,96,34,314 ; with a density of 304.5/sqkm .

Religion in Andhra Pradesh
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			90.87%
Islam			7.32%
Christianity			1.38%
Others			0.43%

Andhra Pradesh ranks tenth of all Indian States in the Human Development Index scores with a score of 0.416. The National Council of Applied Economic Research district analysis in 2001 reveals that Krishna, West Godavari and Chittoor are the three districts in rural AP with the highest Human Development Index scores in ascending order.

Languages

The official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu. The Minister of Tourism and Culture has issued a declaration of the Telugu language as a Classical Language.

Religions

Majority of the people in Andhra Pradesh are Hindus while Muslims constitute a sizeable minority. According to the 2011 census, the major religious groups in the state are Hindus (90.87%), Muslims (7.32%) and Christians (1.38%). Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and the people who declined to state their religion make up the remaining portion of population.

Hinduism

Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati is the world's second richest temple and is visited by millions of devotees throughout the year. Andhra Pradesh is home to Shankaracharya of Pushpagiri Peetham. Other Hindu saints include Sadasiva Brahmendra, Bhaktha Kannappa, Yogi Vemana, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Yogi Sri Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swami.

Mahayana-Buddhism

Buddhism spread to Andhra Pradesh early in its history. The Krishna River valley was "a site of extraordinary Buddhist activity for almost a thousand years." The ancient Buddhist sites in the lower Krishna Valley, including Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda and Jaggayyapeta "can be traced to at least the third century BCE, if not earlier."

The region played a central role in the development of Mahayana Buddhism, along with the Magadha-area in northeastern India.

Administrative divisions

Regions

it comprised two regions: Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Now, the state comprises two regions:

• Kosta
• Rayalaseema

Mandals

The 50 revenue divisions are in turn divided into 670 mandals. Chittoor district has the most mandals with 66 and Vizianagaram has the least with 34.

Cities

There are a total of 31 cities which include, 16 municipal corporations and 14 municipalities. There are two cities with more than one million inhabitants, namely Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

Economy

Andhra Pradesh was ranked eighth among other Indian states in terms of GSDP for the financial year 2014–2015. The GSDP at current prices was ₹5,200.3 billion (US$88 billion) and at constant prices was ₹2,645.21 billion (US$45 billion). The domestic product of agriculture sector accounts for ₹545.99 billion (US$9.3 billion) and Industrial sector for ₹507.45 billion (US$8.6 billion). The service sector of the state accounts more percentage of the GSDP with a total of ₹1,305.87 billion (US$22 billion). In the 2010 list by Forbes magazine, there were several from Andhra Pradesh among the top 100 richest Indians.

Agriculture

Andhra Pradesh economy is mainly based on agriculture and livestock. Four important rivers of India, the Godavari, Krishna, Penna, and Thungabhadra flow through the state and provide irrigation. 60 percent of population is engaged in agriculture and related activities. Rice is the major food crop and staple food of the state. It is an exporter of many agricultural products and is also known as "Rice Bowl of India". The state has three Agricultural Economic Zones in Chittoor district for mango pulp and vegetables, Krishna district for mangoes, Guntur district for chilies.

Besides rice, farmers also grow jowar, bajra, maize, minor millet, coarse grain, many varieties of pulses, oil seeds, sugarcane, cotton, chili pepper, mango nuts and tobacco. Crops used for vegetable oil production such as sunflower and peanuts are popular. There are many multi-state irrigation projects under development, including Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects and Nagarjuna Sagar Dam.

Livestock and poultry is also another profitable business, which involves rearing cattle in enclosed areas for commercial purposes. The state is also a largest producer of eggs in the country and hence, it is nicknamed as "Egg Bowl of Asia".

Fisheries contribute 10% of total fish and over 70% of the shrimp production of India. The geographical location of the state allows marine fishing as well as inland fish production. The most exported marine exports include Vannamei shrimp and are expected to cross $1 billion in 2013–2014.

Industrial sector

The industrial sector of the state includes some of the key sectors like Pharma, Automobile, Textiles etc. Sricity located in Chittoor district is an integrated business city which is home to many renowned firms like PepsiCo, Isuzu Motors, Cadbury India, Kellogg's, Colgate-Palmolive, Kobelco etc. The PepsiCo firm has its largest plant in India at Sri City.

The state is also emerging in information technology and biotechnology. The IT/ITES revenues of Visakhapatnam is at ₹14.45 billion (US$250 million) in 2012–2013. The development of IT in Tier-II and Tier-III cities like Vijayawada, Kakinada and Tirupati is also improving. In the fiscal year 2012–2013, Vijayawada's IT/ITeS revenues were ₹1,153 million (US$20 million) crore. Tirupati with ₹693 million (US$12 million) and Kakinada with ₹615 million (US$10 million) stand next. For the benefit of state i.e., After separating Telangana from andhra, people of andhra protested for special status during the month of January in 2017

Resources

Andhra Pradesh is one of the storehouses of mineral resources in India. Andhra Pradesh with varied geological formations, contain rich and variety of industrial minerals and building stones.

Andhra Pradesh is listed top in the deposit and production of mica in India. Minerals found in the state include limestone, reserves of oil and natural gas, manganese, asbestos, iron ore, ball clay, fire clay, gold diamonds, graphite, dolomite, quartz, tungsten, steatitic, feldspar, silica sand. It has about one third of India's limestone reserves and is known for large exclusive deposits of barytes and galaxy granite in the international market.

Mining

Mining is identified as one of the growth engines for the overall development of industry and infrastructure. The Tummalapalle Uranium mine in Andhra has confirmed 49,000 tonnes of ore and there are indications that it could hold reserves totalling three times its current size. 700 million tonnes of metal grade Bauxite deposits in proximity to Visakhapatnam Port.

Reliance Industries Limited struck nine trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in the KG basin, 150 km (93 mi) off the Andhra Pradesh coast near Kakinada. Discovery of large quantity of natural gas in KG Basin is expected to provide rapid economic growth. During the year 2016, nearly 134 trillion cubic feet of methane hydrate deposits were explored in KG basin whose extraction is adequate to impart energy security for many decades to India.

Power plants

The state is a pioneer nationwide in solar power generation. APGENCO is the power generating company owned by the state. The state has become power surplus with excess power generation being exported to other states.

Thermal (natural gas and coal based) and renewable power plants totalling to 21,000 MW were installed in the state by the year 2015.

Culture

Andhra Pradesh has rich culture and heritage. Kuchipudi, the state dance originated in the village of Kuchipudi in Krishna district, had entered the Guinness World Records for performing Mahabrinda Natyam with a total of 6,117 dancers in Vijayawada. It had thirteen geographical indications in categories of agricultural handicrafts, foodstuff and textiles as per Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. It increased to fifteen with the addition of Banaganapalle Mangoes and Bandar laddu. The other GI tagged goods are, Bobbili Veena, Budithi Bell and Brass Craft, Dharmavaram Handloom Pattu Sarees and Paavadas, Guntur Sannam, Kondapalli Toys, Machilipatnam Kalamkari, Mangalagiri Sarees and Fabrics, Srikalahasti Kalamkari, Tirupati Laddu, Uppada Jamdani Sari and Venkatagiri Sari. and ponduru khaddaru.

Arts, crafts and artifacts

Machilipatnam and Srikalahasti Kalamkari are the two unique textile art forms practised in India. There are also other notable handicrafts present in the state, like the soft limestone idol carvings of Durgi. Etikoppaka in Visakhapatnam district is notable for its Lac industry, producing lacquered wooden.

The state has many museums, which features a varied collection of ancient sculptures, paintings, idols, weapons, cutlery and inscriptions, and religious artifacts such as the Amaravati Archaeological Museum, Visakha Museum and Telugu Cultural Museum in Visakhapatnam displays the history of the pre-Independence and the Victoria Jubilee Museum in Vijayawada with large collection of artifacts.

Music and films

Many composers of Carnatic music like Annamacharya, Kshetrayya, and Bhadrachala Ramadas were of Telugu descent. Modern Carnatic music composers and singers like Ghantasala, Sujatha Puligella and M. Balamuralikrishna are also of Telugu descent.

Cuisine

Telugu people's traditional sweet Pootharekulu originated from Atreyapuram village, Andhra Pradesh.

Tourism

The state has several beaches in its coastal districts such as, Rushikonda, Mypadu, Suryalanka etc.; caves such as, Borra Caves, Indian rock-cut architecture depicting Undavalli caves and the country's second longest caves named as Belum Caves. The valleys and hills include, Araku Valley, Horsley Hills, Papi Hills etc. Arma Konda peak located in Visakhapatnam district is the highest peak in Eastern Ghats.

The state is home to various religious pilgrim destinations such as, Tirumala Temple, Simhachalam Temple, Annavaram, Srisailam temple, Kanaka Durga Temple, Amaravati, Srikalahasti Kadiri temple, Shahi jamia masjid in Adoni, Gunadala Church in Vijayawada, Buddhist centres at Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda etc., and many more as well.

Transport

The state is well connected to other states through road and rail networks. It is also connected to other countries by means of airways and seaports as well. With a long seacoast along the Bay of Bengal, it also has many ports for sea trade. The state has one of the largest railway junctions at Vijayawada and one of the largest seaports at Visakhapatnam.

Roads

Roads in Andhra Pradesh consist of National Highways and state highways with district roads as well. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is the major public bus transport owned by the state government which runs thousands of buses connecting different parts of the state. Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) in Vijayawada is one of the largest bus terminals in Asia.

Railways

Andhra Pradesh has a total broad gauge railway route of 3703.25 km and has no metre gauge railway. The rail density of the state is 16.59 per 1,000 km (620 mi), compared to an all India average of 20. The Howrah–Chennai main line which runs through the state is proposed to be upgraded into a high-speed rail corridor through the Diamond Quadrilateral project of the Indian Railways.

The railway network spans two zones, further subdivided into divisions – Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal railway divisions of South Central Railway zone., and Waltair railway division of East Coast Railway zone. There is a demand for creating a unified zone for the state based out of Visakhapatnam.

There are three A1 and twenty three A-category railway stations in the state. Visakhapatnam railway station has been declared the cleanest railway station in the country. The railway station of Shimiliguda was the first highest broad gauge railway station in the country.

Airports

Visakhapatnam Airport, is the only airport in the state with operating international flights while Vijayawada Airport at Gannavaram is set to launch international flights shortly. The state has four other domestic airports, Rajahmundry Airport at Madhurapudi, at Renigunta, Cuddapah Airport and a privately owned, public use airport at Puttaparthi. There are also 16 small air strips located in the state.

Sea ports

Andhra Pradesh has one of the country's largest port at Visakhapatnam in terms of cargo handling. The other famous ports are Krishnapatnam Port (Nellore), Gangavaram Port and Kakinada Port. Gangavaram Port is a deep seaport which can accommodate ocean liners up to 200,000–250,000 DWT. There are 14 notified non-major ports at Bheemunipatnam, S.Yanam, Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam, Vadarevu etc.

Education and research

Andhra Pradesh has an overall literacy rate of 67.41% as per the 2011 Indian census. The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the administration of the state School Education Department. The mediums of instruction are Telugu, English, Urdu, Hindi, Kannada, Odia and Tamil.

Higher education in the state is administered by the Department of Higher Education. The central universities are All India Institute of Medical Sciences, IIM Visakhapatnam, IIT Tirupati, National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh and IIITDM Kurnool, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy. The Government of Andhra Pradesh established Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) in 2008 to cater to the education needs of the rural youth of Andhra Pradesh. As per the University Grants Commission, GITAM, K L University and Vignan University are the Deemed Universities in the state. There are 18 state universities in the districts providing higher education in horticulture, law, medical, technology, Vedic and veterinary. Andhra University is the oldest of the universities in the state, established in 1926.

Research

Research institutes have been set up by the central state government. Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), National Institute of Oceanography, Visakhapatnam (NIO), School of Planning and Architecture at Vijayawada is an autonomous research institute under Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India, National Atmospheric Research Laboratory carry out fundamental and applied research in atmospheric and space sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research, Visakhapatnam Central Tobacco Research Institute, Rajahmundry under control of ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture Research) conducts fundamental and applied research on Tobacco for the benefit of the farming community, Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR) at Pedavegi near Eluru in West Godavari district serves as a centre for conducting and co-ordinating research on all aspects of oil palm conservation, improvement, production, protection, post-harvest technology and transfer of technology, CCRH Regional Research Institute at Gudivada, Clinical Research Institute at Tirupati and National Institute of Oceanography at Visakhapatnam are some of them.

Space research organisation

Indian Space Research Organisation (or Sriharikota Range (SHAR)) at barrier island of Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh is a satellite launching station. It is India's primary orbital launch site. India's lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 was launched from the centre at 6:22 AM IST on 22 October 2008.

Sports

The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, is the governing body which looks after the infrastructure development in cricket, field hockey, association football, Olympic weightlifting, chess, water sports, tennis, badminton, table tennis, cycling, etc.

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the state.

Provincial symbols of Andhra Pradesh

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  Provincial bird of Andhra Pradesh

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  Provincial animal of Andhra Pradesh

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  Provincial tree of Andhra Pradesh

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  Provincial flower of Andhra Pradesh

Images for kids

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  Telugu Thalli

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  Gandikota fort view

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  Archaeological Museums map of Andhra Pradesh

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  Mangrove forest near Kakinada

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  Andhra Pradesh Political Map

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  Aerial View of Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL)

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  Isuzu Motors India manufacturing plant aerial view

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  IBM-Software-IconicCampus-Visakhapatnam

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  CELKON Manufacturing plant at Tirupati

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  Mangampet Barytes

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  Srisailam Hydel power project

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  Undavalli Caves, is a monolithic example of Indian rock-cut architecture and one of the finest testimonials to ancient viswakarma sthapathis.

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  Gandikota Canyon

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  NH 140 near Tirupati

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  Map of seaports in Andhra Pradesh

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  Visakhapatnam seaport

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  A ship at the Visakhapatnam port

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  Map of universities in Andhra Pradesh

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  Agriculture University, Guntur

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  ICI Tirupati

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  SVU Admin Building

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  S V Agricultural College Tirupati

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  SPA Vijayawada

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  Satish Dhawan Space Centre [SDSC], Sriharikota, Tirupati

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  Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam

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  Map of Andhra Pradesh

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  Map of Sugar industries in Andhra Pradesh

See also

In Spanish: Andhra Pradesh para niños