India Design Festival 2008

About Pune

Pune City

Located in the Sahayadri Hills, near the west coast of India, Pune is a fascinating city with a healthy climate all year round. Pune is one of the biggest industrial towns of Maharashtra and known as the automobile city as many big auto mobile companies have their head Quarters here.

Notably, even though Pune is the seventh largest city in India, it has the sixth largest metropolitan economy and the highest per capita income in India, with the least income disparity between the rich and poor. Pune currently has 2 sister cities, Bremen in Germany and San Jose in California, USA.

Pune has been known by a plethora of sobriquets. Popular among them: Queen of the Deccan, cultural capital of Maharashtra, pensioner's paradise and Oxford of the East. Pune is one of the historical cities of India with a glorious past, an innovative present and a promising future.

This sprawling metropolis conjures up a myriad image - ancient forts, ornate palaces, lush gardens, shopping arcades, educational institutions and rolling hills. The Ganapati festival celebrated yearly, called the Pune Festival, has made its mark on the tourist map of India.

Latitude & Longitude

Pune is located at 18^o32' North 72^o 51' East situated at the confluence of Mula and Mutha rivers.

Weather

Pune experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Typical summer months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from 35 to 39^oC (95 to 102^oF). Warmest month in Pune is April. The city often receives heavy thundershowers with sharp downpours in May. Nights in Pune are significantly cooler compared to most other parts in this region owing to its high altitude. June, brings with it heavy showers. Pune receives moderate rainfall. The city receives an annual rainfall of 722 mm, mainly between June and September as the result of southwest monsoon. October with cooler nights signals the onset of winter. Pune experiences winter from November to February. Overall the weather is very pleasant in the city with temperature ranging from 20 to 28^oC (68 to 82^oF).

Industry

Pune is a major industrial centre, growing very fast every year.It is home to one of the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers, - Bajaj Auto. The world's second largest forging company Bharat Forge Ltd is also in Pune. It is also home to Kinetic Engineering, Force. The manufacturing plant of India's largest car manufacturer, Tata Motors, is in Pune. DaimlerChrysler also has an assembly line for its Mercedes Benz brand in Pune. Cummins Engines Co Ltd has a Research & Technology India center in Pune in addition to its manufacturing plant. Whirlpool as well as LG have appliance manufacturing plants near Pune. Frito Lay and Coca Cola also have manufacturing plants in Pune. Pune is also home to numerous small and medium-sized enterprises.

Pune has a burgeoning software industry. Many of India's major software players such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam, Mastek Ltd., Persistent Systems, Patni Computer Systems and Kale Consultants, Kanbay Software, S1 Services, Cybage, have their presence in Pune. Global majors like HSBC Global Technology, PTC, IBM, SIEMENS, Sybase, EDS, I-Flex, Cognizant, Sasken, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Inc., Amdocs, Avaya, Veritas Software, Aftek Infosys, Syntel, Zensar and TIBCO Software have a major presence in Pune's various Software Technology Parks and other areas. Some of the prominent IT parks in the city are the Hinjewadi IT Park, Magarpatta Cybercity, etc.

Pune is also emerging as a prominent city for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies. Companies like Convergys, WNS, Progeon, EXL and MphasiS have started their operations in Pune. Pune comes as a natural choice for the BPO companies due to the availability of skilled manpower.

Culture

Pune is a vibrant cultural city and home to people of various religious denomination and denominations. It also hosts various national festivals and cultural events throughout the year. During the month of August or September each year, the city celebrates the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. The festival culminates in a carnival-like procession along the busy thoroughfares of the city. This is one of the most important yearly events in the city. Indeed, it was in Pune that Lokmanya Tilak initiated the concept of the "Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav" - the collective communal celebration of the festival of Lord Ganesha. The city also has an active Marathi theatre community. In the month of December, Pune hosts the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival. Many renowned performers of Hindustani classical music perform through 3 consecutive nights creating hype unique to this city. It is one of the most eagerly awaited festivals in the city.

Pune is the cultural capital of Marathi people. The city has given birth to or attracted body of organization for the Marathi literati, also has its headquarters in Pune. Marathi Theatre is an integral part of Marathi culture. Both - Experimental and Professional theatre - receive whole-hearted patronage from Marathi community.

Interesting Facts about Pune

Pune has the impeccable record of highest growth within a span of 20 Years.
Pune has the highest number of software companies in India - 212, followed by Bangalore - 208, Hyderabad - 97.
Pune has 42 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in a given city.
Pune is the only city in the world to have commercial and defense Airport operating from the same strip.
Pune has highest number of public sector and government Organizations in India.
Pune University has highest number of students going abroad for higher studies.
Pune has only 38% of local population (i.e. Marathi). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 20% North Indians,10% Tamilians, 14% Telugus, 10% Keralites, 8% Europeans, 5% Africans, 2% Bengalis and 6% a mixture of all races.
Pune has the highest density of traffic in India.
Pune has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
Pune is considered the fashion capital of east.
Pune has produced the maximum international sportsmen in India for all sports next to Mumbai & Delhi.
Pune has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for many high profile Prize nominations.
Pune has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Pune (except Gulf).
Pune has produced highest number of Bharat Ratna awardees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pune

Hotels in Pune

5 Star Hotels

Le Meridien

4 Star Hotels

3 Star Hotels