Bhilai is a city in

Durg district Durg district is a district situated in Chhattisgarh, India. The district headquarters is Durg. The district covers an area of 2,238 km². As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Chhattisgarh (out of Districts of Chhattisgarh ...

of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg- Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg- Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Rai ...

, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

. The Bhilai metropolis contains three municipal corporations: Bhilai Municipal Corporation,

Bhilai Charoda Bhilai Charoda is a municipal corporation and a part of Bhilai city in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. Charoda is an industrial area of Bhilai city. Asia's longest railway marshaling yard is in Charoda, Bhilai. Demographics As of 2001 pdate/s ...

Municipal Corporation and Risali Municipal Corporation.Census van 1 maart 2001 (via archive.org)
/ref> Bhilai is a major industrial and educational hub of central India. The city is home to several industries like

Bhilai Steel Plant The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...

, Jaypee Cement, Orient Cement,

NSPCL Bhilai Power Plant The NSPCL Bhilai Power Plant is a coal-fired captive power station at Bhilai in Durg district, Chhattisgarh, India. The power station owned and operated by NSPCL is a 50:50 joint venture company of NTPC Limited and SAIL A sail is a tensile ...

Steel Authority of India Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is an Indian public sector steel manufacturing corporation based in New Delhi. It is the largest government-owned steel producer, with an annual production of 18.29 million metric tons. Incorporated on 24 ...

, FSNL and ACC Cement. The city is home to the Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai, as well as the

Bhilai Institute of Technology Bhilai Institute of Technology Durg (BIT DURG) is a private engineering college in Chhattisgarh, India. History The commissioning of the Bhilai Steel Plant at Bhilai in 1959 necessitated having suitably trained and skilled personnel to perfor ...

. The city also has the state's oldest zoo,

Maitri Bagh Maitri Bagh Zoo (also known as Garden of Friendship) is a tourist location in Bhilai, India which was established as a symbol of friendship between the Soviet Union and India. It is the largest and oldest zoo of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. ...

Etymology

The term ''Bhilai'' is derived from the

Bhil Bhil or Bheel refer to the various Indigenous peoples, indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. Though they now speak the Bhili ...

tribe which originally inhabited this region and continues to dwell in the nearby forests until today.

History

Bhilai was a small village and a part of the

Haihaiyavansi Kingdom The Kalachuris of Ratnapura, also known as the Haihayas of Ratanpur, were a dynasty that ruled in Central India during the 12th and 13th centuries. They ruled parts of present-day Chhattisgarh from their capital at Ratnapura (modern Ratanpur in ...

until 1740 when it was conquered by the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. The foundation of the modern city of Bhilai was laid in 1955 when the Indian government signed a historic agreement with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Magnitogorsk Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its population is curre ...

to establish a steel plant near the village. The first blast furnace of the plant was commissioned in 1959 by the first president of India,

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independenc ...

Demographics

Population

In the 2011 census,

-Bhilainagar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,064,222, of which 545,916 are males and 518,306 are females. Bhilai has an average literacy rate of 86.63%, with male literacy at 92.22% and female literacy at 80.71%.

Geography

Bhilai lies at 21.21°N 81.38°E in

Central India Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...

at an elevation of 297m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

on the banks of the

Shivnath river Shivnath River (or Seonath River) is the longest tributary of the Mahanadi River, which joins it at Changori in the Janjgir-Champa district in Chhattisgarh, India). It has a total course of . The name comes from the god Shiva in Hinduism, making ...

, a tributary of the river

Mahanadi The Mahanadi River is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...

. It covers an area of 341 km² (132 sq mi). According to the

Bureau of Indian Standards The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government ...

, the town falls under seismic zone 2, in a scale of 2 to 5 (in order of increasing value of vulnerability to earthquakes).

Climate

Owing to its proximity to the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...

, Bhilai has a tropical climate. There are three main seasons: summer, monsoon, and winter. The average annual temperature in Bhilai is 26.6 °C and the city receives an average rainfall of 1188 mm in a year. Summers usually last from May to June, followed by monsoons in July and August. The town receives the bulk of rainfall in July, with an average rainfall of 352mm. There is little rainfall during the winters, with November being the driest month of the year. Durg Bhilai has been ranked 29th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.

Economy

Bhilai is home to the

, the first and largest Indian plant to produce steel rails. The inauguration of the first blast furnace of Bhilai Steel Plant was done by then president of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, which was established with help from the

in 1955. Iron ore from Rajhara, limestone from Nandini, coal from Jharia, manganese from Balaghat, electric power from the Kosa thermal power plant, and water from the Tandula Canal, all nearby, are used in the Bhilai Steel Plant to manufacture rails and structural steel. Pig iron and billets are supplied to foundries and rolling mills located at Kumhari and other sites in central India. The number of steel rails produced by the facility till 2007 can go around the circumference of the earth 7.5 times. This is depicted on the monument at the globe square in the heart of the city. The facility underwent modernisation and expansion and is amongst the leading manufacturers of iron and steel in Asia.

Education

The city serves as an educational hub in the region, with a total of 59 universities and colleges, like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhilai,

Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University (CSVTU) is a state university located in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India. History Establishment In early 2005 the State Government of Chhattisgarh decided to establish the university with the ...

Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Medical Sciences Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Medical Sciences is a private (Government Funded and Regulated)medical school located in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India. It is affiliated with Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Memorial Health Sciences and Ayush University of Ch ...

, Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Government Medical College,

Rungta College Bhilai Rungta College, Bhilai also known as Santosh Rungta Group of Colleges is a group of private educational institutions in Central India in the city of Durg, Chhattisgarh. The multiple campuses under it are affiliated with Chhattisgarh Swami Vive ...

, and Shri Shankaracharya Technical Campus, Dau Shri Vasudev Chandrakar Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya Durg, Hemchand Yadav Vishwavidyalaya. Schools in Bhilai are run either by municipal corporations or privately by entities, trusts, and corporations. The majority of schools are affiliated with the

Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (abbreviated as CGBSE) is a board of education in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. CGBSE is a state agency of the Government of Chhattisgarh, it is responsible for promotion and development of secon ...

and the

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

Transport

Roadways

The twin city of Durg-Bhilai is well connected with a network of national and state highways. Some major highways passing through the city are

National Highway 53 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(NH-53), SH-7 till Bemetara and SH-22 till

Abhanpur Abhanpur is a tehsil (administrative division) in Raipur District, Chhattisgarh, India. It is a part of the Naya Raipur township. Geography Abhanpur is located about 28 km southeast of Raipur. Abhanpur Tehsil (or administrative block) has 105 ...

. The proposed

Durg–Raipur–Arang Expressway Durg–Raipur–Arang Expressway is underconstructed long, six-lane, access-controlled greenfield expressway in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The expressway is a part of Bharatmala Pariyojana, and will pass from Durg through Anjora, Patora, ...

will start from Durg and will pass near the outskirts of Bhilai till

Arang Arang, also known as "The town of temples" of Chhattisgarh, is a block and a Nagar Palika in Raipur District in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is situated near the eastern limits of Raipur City and close to Mahasamund City. Arang is an an ...

, which after completion, will enhance connectivity and commute in the state.

Rail

There are total 15 railway stations in the twin city that includes railway stations serving adjacent and minor neighbourhoods within the city. The main stations are Bhilai Power House railway station and

Durg Junction railway station Durg Junction Railway Station, is a junction station located in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It serves Durg, Bhilai and adjoining areas. Durg Junction is the part of South East Central Railway. It is one of the largest railway junctions of ...

, which are major railway stations, with Durg being the biggest and the busiest, lying on the

Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line The Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line (also known as Mumbai–Kolkata line) is a railway line in India connecting Kolkata and Mumbai via Nagpur. The railway line was opened to traffic in 1900. Sections The trunk line has been treated in more deta ...

Bus transport

The Durg Bus Station is a hub with buses plying to any place in and around Chhattisgarh as well as other parts of the country, with daily bus services operated by private and government buses to all cities within the state and outside the state, like

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

Jharsuguda Jharsuguda (ଝାରସୁଗୁଡ଼ା) is a city and district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Odisha, India. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India t ...

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

, among others.

Metro

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

, Metrolite or Lite Metro (as referred in India), has been proposed by the

Government of Chhattisgarh Government of Chhattisgarh also known as the State Government of Chhattisgarh, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by th ...

, which will pass from

Naya Raipur Nava Raipur, officially known as Atal Nagar-Nava Raipur, is a planned city and fully Greenfield project, Greenfield city in Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is planned to replace Raipur as the capital city of Chhattisgarh. The Government of Chh ...

to Durg via

and Bhilai.

Air

The nearest major airport is Swami Vivekananda International Airport at Raipur, located east from Bhilai. The airport at

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-larges ...

is currently a private airport operated by the

, located north of the city. In recent years, it has been considered for the airport to be developed to handle commercial operations, and make it a domestic airport.

Notable people

Teejan Bai Teejan Bai (born 8 August 1956) is an exponent of Pandavani, a traditional performing art form, from Chhattisgarh, in which she enacts tales from the Mahabharata, with musical accompaniments. She has been awarded the Padma Shri in 1987, Padma ...

, Pandvani singer *

Anurag Basu Anurag Basu (born 8 May 1970) is an Indian director, screenwriter, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is best known for films that tackle bold themes of passion, envy, and adultery. After initial setbacks, he achieved his breakthrough with ...

, Bollywood director *

Anupama Bhagwat Anupama Bhagwat is an Indian sitar maestro. Early life Born in Bhilai, India, Bhagwat was introduced to playing sitar at age 9 by Shri. R. N. Verma. At 13, she started training under Bimalendu Mukherjee, doyen of the Imdadkhani gharana. ...

, sitar player *

Rajesh Chauhan Rajesh Chauhan (; born 19 December 1966) is a former Indian cricketer who played in 21 Tests and 35 One Day Internationals from 1993 to 1998. He was part of the Indian spin trio of Kumble-Raju-Chauhan, in the 1990s. Although his own contributi ...

, a former cricketer in the Indian cricket team *

Budhaditya Mukherjee Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee () is an Indian classical sitar and surbahar maestro of the Imdadkhani gharana (school), recognizable by his intricate vocalic playing complemented by spectacular high speed playing. He holds a unique distinction of ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player *

Amit Sana Amit Sana (born 1 March 1983) is an Indian pop artist, playback singer, live performer and the finalist of ''Indian Idol 1''. He was also a part of the show Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar. He sings predominantly in Hindi. Apart from this, he has also ...

, runner-up in ''Indian Idol 1'' * Tejal Shah (born 1979), visual artist, curator *

Shashank Singh Shashank Singh (born 21 November 1991) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Punjab Kings. He is a right-handed batsman, as well as a right-arm offbreak bowler. Career Shashank played club village cricket in the north east of England for Bold ...

, Indian cricketer *

Krishnamurthy Subramanian Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian (born 5 May 1971) is an Indian economist who served as the 17th Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India. Subramanian is a leading expert on economic policy, banking and corporate governance, who was ...

, 17th Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India *

Devendra Yadav Devendra Singh Yadav (born 1990) is an Indian National Congress politician and member of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2018, elected twice from Bhilai Nagar. In the 2023 election, when the Congress faced in rout in urban areas, he wa ...

, MLA Bhilai Nagar and former mayor of Bhilai

References

External links

{{Authority control Metropolitan cities in India Company towns in India