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Jharkhand Facts and Information

General Information

Capital Ranchi
Formation Date 15 November 2000 (carved from Bihar)
Largest City Jamshedpur
Official Language Hindi (with regional language status to many tribal languages)
State Animal Indian elephant
State Bird Asian koel
State Flower Palash (Flame of the Forest)
State Name Jharkhand

Government and Administration

Chief Minister Hemant Soren
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar
High Court Jharkhand High Court at Ranchi
Legislature Unicameral (81 Assembly seats)
Lok Sabha Seats 14
Number of Districts 24
Rajya Sabha Seats 6

Geography and Environment

Area 79,716 km²
Climate Subtropical
Forest Cover ~29.3%
Major Park Betla National Park, Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary
Major Rivers Subarnarekha, Damodar, Brahmani

Demographics and Social Structure

Density ~414/km²
Literacy Rate 66.41%
Population (2011 Census) 33.0 million
Sex Ratio 948
Tribal Population ~26.2% (32 recognized tribes)

Economy and Industry

Industrial Center Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad
Major Plants Bokaro Steel Plant, HEC Ranchi
Mining Wealth Coal (~40% of India), iron ore, copper, mica, uranium
Steel Heritage Tata Steel (Jamshedpur, est. 1907)

Education and Research

AIIMS AIIMS Deoghar
Central University Central University of Jharkhand
IIM IIM Ranchi
Premier Institute IIT Indian School of Mines (Dhanbad)

Infrastructure and Connectivity

Industrial Towns Jamshedpur (planned by Tatas), Bokaro
Major Airport Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi
Rail Hub Dhanbad Junction, Ranchi Junction

Culture and Heritage

Folk Dance Chhau (UNESCO Intangible Heritage), Jhumar
Major Festival Karma, Sarhul, Sohrai
Sacred Grove Sarna (traditional tribal worship sites)
Tribal Heritage Largest tribal population in India (Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Ho)

Tourism and Places of Interest

Hill Station Netarhat ('Queen of Chotanagpur')
Pilgrimage Baidyanath Dham (Deoghar) — one of 12 Jyotirlingas
Waterfalls Hundru, Dassam, Jonha
Wildlife Betla National Park

Fun facts

Birsa Munda Tribal freedom fighter remembered on Jharkhand Foundation Day
First Tribal-led State Born from a tribal autonomy movement
Mineral Capital Holds ~40% of India's mineral wealth