Kota (), previously known as ''Kotah'', is the third-largest city of the western

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 ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. It is located about south of the state capital,

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

, on the banks of

Chambal River The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central India, Central and North India, Northern India, and thus forms part of the drainage system of the Ganges. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a brie ...

. As of 2024, with a population of over 1.5 million, it is the third most populous city in Rajasthan, after Jaipur and

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

. It serves as the administrative headquarters for

Kota district Kota District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Kota is the administrative headquarters of the district. During the period around 12th century AD, Rao Deva, a Hada Chieftain conquered the territory and fou ...

and

Kota division The Indian state of Rajasthan is located in the northwestern part of the country and stretches between 23°03'N and 30°12'N latitude and 69°30'E and 78°17'E longitude. As of 1 January 2025, for administrative purposes the state is divided int ...

. It was founded as a walled city in the 14th century in the erstwhile

Bundi state Bundi State, founded by Hada Rao Devda (ruler of the Hada Chauhan dynasty), was a princely state in India. The former state was located in modern-day Rajasthan. It was ruled by Hada Chauhan Rajputs. The last ruler of Bundi State signed t ...

and became the capital of the princely state of Kota in 1625, following the separation of the Bundi and the Kota state. Kota is known for its coaching institutes for

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

entrance exams, such as JEE and

NEET A NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", is a person who is Unemployment, unemployed and not receiving an education or Vocational education, vocational training. The classification originated in the United Kingdom in ...

. Each year, over 200,000 students move to Kota to prepare for these competitive exams, earning it the nickname ''Coaching Capital of India''. In addition to several monuments, Kota is known for its palaces and gardens. The city was included among 98 Indian cities for

Smart Cities Mission Smart Cities Mission was an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen-friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development ...

initiated by the

Indian Prime Minister The prime minister of India (ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the e ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

in 2015 and was listed at 67th place after results of first round were released following which top 20 cities were further selected for funding in the immediate financial year.

History

The history of the city dates back to the 12th century CE when Rao Deva, a Chauhan Rajput chieftain belonging to the Hada clan conquered the territory and founded

Bundi Bundi is a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. Climate The climate is hot semi arid (BSh), not having enough rainfall to qualify as a tropical savanna climate (Aw). The climate is quite warm, and most of the ra ...

and

Hadoti Hadoti is a region of Rajasthan state in western India, which was once called the Bundi Kingdom. The biggest cities are Jhalawar and Kota. It includes the districts of Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar and Kota and is bounded on the west by the Me ...

. Later, in the early 17th century, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

, the ruler of Bundi – Rao Ratan Singh, gave the smaller principality of Kota to his son, Madho Singh. Since then Kota became a hallmark of the Rajput gallantry and culture. Indian - Dewali celebrations at Kotah - Google Art Project

Indian - Dewali celebrations at Kotah - Google Art Project

Kota became an independent state in 1631 when Rao Madho Singh, the second son of Rao Ratan of

undi Undi is a village in West Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located about 39 kilometers from Eluru Eluru ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the States and union territories of India, ...

was made the ruler, by the Mughal Emperor

. Soon Kota outgrew its parent state to become bigger in area, richer in revenue and more powerful. Maharao Bhim Singh played a pivotal role in Kota's history, having held a 'Mansab' of five thousand and being the first in his dynasty to have the title of

Maharao {{Short description, Variation on Indian royal title Maharaja Maharao is a variation on the Indian (mainly Hindu) royal title Maharaja, also meaning ' great king' in Hindi. It is composed of ''Maha-'' 'great' and the royal title ''Rao'', a variation ...

. Zalim Singh, a diplomat, and statesman, emerged as another prominent figure of the state in the 18th century. Although initially being a general of Kota's army, he rose to the regent of the kingdom after the king died leaving a minor on the throne. He remained a direct administrator of the state. In 1817, a treaty of friendship was signed between him and the British on his condition of carving out part from the existing state for his descendants resulting in Jhalawar coming into existence in 1838. Kota was not involved in the earlier events of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. However, when in October 1857 rebels murdered the local British resident and his two sons, British forces responded by storming the city and, after some resistance, capturing it in March 1858. In the 1940s, social activist Guru Radha Kishan organised trade union activities and campaigned against the colonial government. He left Kota after the local administration learned of the arrest warrant issued against him for his participation in Indian Independence activities.

Geography

Kota is located along the banks of the

in the southern part of

. It is the 3rd largest

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Rajasthan after

and

. The cartographic coordinates are . It covers an area of .Statistics by Govt. of Rajasthan
It has an average elevation of 271 metres (889 ft). The district is bound on the north and northwest by

Sawai Madhopur Sawai Madhopur (IAST: ''Savāī Mādhōpur'', IPA: əˈʋaːiː ˈmaːdʱoːpʊɾ is a city in the southeastern part of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarter of the Sawai Madhopur district, and forms a ...

, Tonk and

districts. The Chambal River separates these districts from Kota district, forming the natural boundary. The city of Kota is situated at the centre of the southeastern region of Rajasthan a region very widely known as

, the land of the Hadas. Kota lies along the banks of the Chambal river on a high sloping tableland forming a part of the Malwa Plateau. The general slope of the city is towards the north. The comparatively rocky, barren, and elevated land in the southern part of the city descends towards a plain agricultural land in the north. The Mukundara hills run from southeast to northwest axis of the town. Kota has fertile land and greenery with irrigation facilities through canals. The two main canals; called as left main canal (towards Bundi) and right main canal (towards Baran) originate from the reservoir created by Kota Barrage. The tributaries of these canals make up a network in the city and surrounding areas of Rajasthan and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and supplements the irrigation of these areas.

Climate

Kota has a semi-arid climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BSh''), bordering on a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Koppen: Aw), with high temperatures throughout the year. Summers are long, hot, and dry, starting in late March and lasting till the end of June. The temperatures average above 40 °C in May and June, frequently exceed 45 °C with temperatures as high as 48.5 °C also been recorded. The monsoon season follows with comparatively lower temperatures, but higher humidity and frequent, torrential downpours. The monsoons subside in October and temperatures rise again. The brief, mild winter starts in late November and lasts until the last week of February. Temperatures hover between 26.7 °C (max) to 12.0 °C (min). This can be considered the best time to visit Kota because of intense heat in the summer. The average annual rainfall in the

is 800.6 mm. Most of the rainfall can be attributed to the southwest

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

which has its beginning around the last week of June and may last till mid-September. Pre-monsoon showers begin towards the middle of June with post-monsoon rains occasionally occurring in October. The winter is largely dry, although some rainfall does occur as a result of the Western Disturbance passing over the region. Kota has been ranked 38th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Kota City had a population of 1,001,694 of which male and female are 528,601 and 473,093 respectively. The provisional results of census 2011 reported city's population as 1,001,365. The urban agglomeration of Kota consists of city only.Kota City Census report
census 2011 The sex ratio was 895 and 12.14% were under six years of age. The effective literacy rate was 82.80%, with male literacy at 89.49% and female literacy at 75.33%. According to 2011 census,

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

is the majority religion in the city practised by about 80.5% of the population.

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s form a large minority (15.9%) followed by

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and ...

(2.2%),

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

(0.9%) and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

(0.4%). Harauti, a dialect of

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of Indic languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the state * Rajasthani architecture, Indian ar ...

is widely spoken in Kota with

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Marwari Marwari may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India, largely in the Thar Desert ** Marwari people, an Indian ethnic group originating in the Marwar region ** Marwari language, the language of the Marwari ...

and English being the other languages spoken.

Government institutions and courts

Karna Ghatotkacha fight sculpture in Kota">Ghatotkacha.html" ;"title="Karna Ghatotkacha">Karna Ghatotkacha fight sculpture in Kota Governmental institutions in Kota include: *Municipal Corporation (North-South) *Collectorate *Office of the Divisional Commissioner *Rajasthan Housing Board *Command Area Development (CAD) *Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) Now (KDA) Kota Development Authority *Office of the Superintendent of police (India), Superintendent of Police, Inspector-general of police, Inspector General of Police, and the Income Tax commissioner of Kota range. *Office of the Divisional Railway Manager, Kota Division, West Central Railway *Office of Deputy Commissioner of central excise and service tax Instrumentation Ltd is a Public Sector company based in Kota. Its clientele includes public sector entities such as the

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (commonly known as BSNL) () is an Indian central public sector undertaking, under the ownership of Department of Telecommunications, which is part of the Ministry of Communications, Government of India with its he ...

and

VSNL Tata Communications Limited (previously known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) is an Indian telecommunications company. It was a government-owned telecommunications service provider before being sold to the Tata Group in 2002 under the Third ...

. Presently, it has been shut down. The

District court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

provides court and notary services.

Economy

The city is the trade centre for an area in which

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

and

oilseeds Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed o ...

are grown; industries include cotton and oilseed milling, textile weaving, distilling, dairying, and the manufacture of metal handcrafts. Kota also has an extensive industry of stone-polishing (tiles) of a stone called Kota Stone, used for the floor and walls of residential and business buildings. Since last 15 years Kota has emerged as an Education hub of the country as producing excellent results in IIT-JEE and medical entrance exams.

Kota educational industry

Kota is known as a major center for competitive

test preparation Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course, tutoring service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests. Examples of these tests include ...

, attracting around 150,000 students each year, as reported in 2023. These students come from across the country to enroll in coaching institutes that prepare them for national entrance exams for engineering and medical colleges. The industry generates an estimated $350–$450 million annually, with over 300 coaching centers, including the Allen Career Institute, which tutors more than one million students nationwide. The coaching industry in Kota originated in the 1980s when

Vinod Kumar Bansal Vinod Kumar Bansal or VK Bansal (26 October 1949 – 3 May 2021) was an Indian educationist and the founder of the Bansal Classes in Kota, Rajasthan, Kota, Rajasthan. He made Kota famous throughout India for Joint Entrance Examination, IIT-JEE ...

, a mechanical engineer, began tutoring students after being diagnosed with a degenerative condition that confined him to a wheelchair. His methods, inspired by the

Kumon is an educational network based in Japan and created by Toru Kumon. It uses his "Kumon Method" to teach mathematics and reading, primarily to young students. History Kumon was founded by Toru Kumon, a Japanese educator, in July 1958, when ...

method of learning, emphasized systematic problem solving. Bansal's success in helping students gain admission to prestigious institutions like the

Indian Institutes of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are a network of engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Inst ...

(IIT) drew more students to the city. Over time, other coaching centers were established by former colleagues and associates, eventually transforming Kota into an educational hub.

Kota Doria or Kota Doriya and Sarees

Weaving in Kota was started by Maharana Bhimdev in the 18th century. The Kota saris like most traditional piece of work had started becoming lost before designer Vidhi Singhania moved to Kota and started working with the workers to revive its market. Many textile shops in the city sell different varieties of Kota doriya. These saris have become one of the trademarks of the city.

Kota stone

The fine-grained variety of limestone quarried from Kota district is known as Kota stone, with rich greenish-blue and brown colours. Kota stone is tough, non-water-absorbent, non-slip, and non-porous. The varieties include Kota Blue Natural, Kota Blue Honed, Kota Blue Polished, Kota Blue Cobbles, Kota Brown Natural and Kota Brown Polished.

Food

Kota is famous for Dal Kachori.

Industries

Kota is one of the industrial hubs in

northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

, with chemical, cement, engineering and power plants based there. The total number of industrial units in the district in 2010–11 stood at 12908 with 705 registered units. The district power plants show annual growth of 15–20% due to their strategic locations.

Power plants

Kota is surrounded by five power stations within its 50 km radius. # Kota Super Thermal Power Plant – thermal # Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata Chittorgarh district (65 kilometres from Kota) – nuclear # NTPC Anta Gas Power Plant in Antah

Baran district Baran district is a district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The headquarters of the district are located at the city of Baran. History Before Indian independence in 1947, most of present-day Baran district was part of the princely stat ...

(50 kilometers from Kota) – gas # Jawahar Sagar Power Plant – hydro #

Kalisindh Thermal Power Station Kalisindh Thermal Power Station is a 1200Megawatt, MW coal-fired power station located in Rajasthan States and union territories of India, state in western India. It is located 12 km away from Jhalawar town in Jhalawar district. It consists of t ...

(in Jhalrapatan, Jhalawar) – thermal # Surya Chambal Power Plant in Rangpur

- biomass

Education

Coaching Institutes

The city is especially known in India as a centre for the preparation of various national level competitive examinations through which the students seek admissions in various engineering and medical colleges of the country. Often termed as the "

Kota Factory Kota Factory is an Indian Hindi-language television series created by Saurabh Khanna, directed by Raghav Subbu and produced by Arunabh Kumar for The Viral Fever. The story is set in Kota, Rajasthan, an educational hub famous for its coaching ...

", the town contains more than 40 large coaching institutes for aspiring students trying to pass entrance exams for Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), through the IIT-JEE and prominent medical colleges such as the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) of India using NEET-UG. Since 2000, the city has emerged as a popular

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

destination for competitive exams preparation and for profit educational services. The education sector of Kota has become one of the major contributors to the city's economy. Kota is popularly referred to as "the coaching capital of India". Over 150,000 students from all over the country flock every year towards the city for preparation of various exams such as IIT- JEE and NEET-UG etc. Many hostels and PGs are located in Kota near the vicinity of coaching centres for students. Students live here for 2–3 years and prepare for the exams. The annual turnover of the Kota coaching industry is about ₹1500 crore. The majority of the students here are enrolled in schools, providing the facility of "dummy schooling", which gives students admissions without the need to attend it regularly. However, it is an illegal practice. In 2019,

The Viral Fever The Viral Fever, abbreviated to TVF, is an Indian video on demand and over-the-top media service and YouTube channel started by TVF Media Labs in 2010, and currently owned and operated by Contagious Online Media Network Private Limited. Accord ...

launched a

Web Series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

called

to depict the lives of students who study at Kota. Kota's emergence as a coaching hub began in 1985 when

, an engineer set up Bansal Classes that eventually became Bansal Classes Private Limited. In 2024 , Kota has also witnessed a significant decline in the number of students enrolling from 2-2.5 lakh students to just 85000-1 lakh students and revenue from ₹6,500-7,000 crore to ₹3,500 crore which is a decline by 50%, owing to the significant rise in student suicides and stricter rules implemented for coaching institutes by the Rajasthan Government and the

Ministry of Education (India) The Ministry of Education (MoE) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The ministry, headed by Sanya Shresth, is further divided into two departments: the Department ...

Student Suicides

In the past few years, reports of students dying by suicide in the city have increased. These suicide incidents have sparked nation-wide outrage and debate on mental health and well-being of students in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

.As per reports, students feel stressed and get pressurized in order to crack their target competitive exam. As per

National Crime Records Bureau The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing crime data, as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL). NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is ...

report of 2014, 45 suicide cases of students were reported in the city. In year 2015, 17 such cases were found. For the same cause, many coaching centres have also appointed counsellors and are organising recreational activities to help students. The

has launched the UMMEED (Understand, Motivate, Manage, Emphatize, Empower, Develop) scheme in view of the rising suicide cases in Kota. The Rajasthan Government has proposed a new law "Rajasthan Coaching Centre (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2024" to address the alarming rise in student suicide cases in Kota the "Coaching Capital Of India". Kota has earned the city, the notorious tag of "Suicide capital" of students. In 2023 26 cases of suicides were reported which was the highest ever recorded in the history of Kota. In 2024, Kota has witnessed a 50% decline in student suicide cases due to the various measures being implemented by the Kota District Administration. In January 2025, Kota has again witnessed a surge in student suicide cases with a total 6 students ending their lives in less than a month. The Kota District Administration has also launched a new initiative "Kota Cares" in view of the rising suicide cases in the city.

Colleges

* Government Medical College, Kota * University Engineering College, Kota

Universities

* Agriculture University, Kota * Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kota * Rajasthan Technical University * University of Kota * Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University

Places of interest

Some of the popular visitor attractions in and nearby the city include Chambal Riverfront, City Park Chambal Garden, Seven Wonders Park, Kishore Sagar Lake, Jag Mandir Palace, Garh Palace, Umed Bhawan Palace, Chatra Vilas Garden, Ganesh Udyan, Traffic Garden, Godavari Dham Temple, Geparnath Mahadev Temple, Garadia Mahadev Temple, Chattaneshwar Mandir, Kota Zoological Park, Abheda Biological Park, City Park(IL Oxizone), Chatrapati Shivaji Park, Maharao Madho Singh Museum, Kota Government Museum, Brijraj Bhawan Palace, Abheda Mahal, Royal Cenotaphs at Kshar Bagh, Kota Barrage, Khade Ganesh Ji Mandir, Shiv Puri Dham, Maa Trikuta Mandir, Kansua Shiv Mandir, Darrah National Park and Jawahar Sagar Dam.

Transport

Kota is well connected with road and rail to all major cities within Rajasthan as well as those located outside the state.

Roadways

Kota have two major interstate bus terminals, namely, Nayapura Bus Stand at Nayapura and Roadways New Bus Stand at Ramchandrapura. National Highway No.27 (via

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

) and National highway No.52 (via

Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...

, Churu,

Sikar Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is largest city of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhu ...

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the States and Territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore ...

and

Hubli Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of ...

) pass through the Kota City. National Highway No.27 is a part of East-West Corridor(

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is locate ...

) and National Highway No.52 connects Punjab to Karnataka (

Sangrur Sangrur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District. Geography Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet). Climate Health services City has PGIM ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

—

Ankola Ankola is a town municipal council and taluka in the Uttara Kannada district of the Indian state of Karnataka. The town is approximately from district headquarters Karwar. Ankola is a small town surrounded by temples, schools, paddy fields ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

). The total road length in Kota district is 2,052 km as of March 2011. There are also three upcoming expressway projects in the form of

Delhi–Mumbai Expressway The Delhi–Vadodra–Mumbai Expressway is a 1,350 km long, 8-lane wide (expandable to 12-lane) under-construction (partially operational) access-controlled expressway connecting India's national capital New Delhi to its financial capital ...

(Via Kota, Rajasthan and

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

), Kota–Hyderabad Expressway (Via

) and Chambal Expressway.

Railways

Kota is well connected to all the major cities of India with rail. Kota Junction is one of the divisions in

West Central Railway The West Central Railway (abbreviated WCR), one of the 19 zones of the Indian Railways, came into existence on 1 April 2003. It is headquartered at Jabalpur. It was created by taking away two divisions namely Bhopal division and Jabalpur divi ...

. It is a station on the

New Delhi–Mumbai main line New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. There are four railway stations within Kota and in its vicinity. One Substation of East Kota City is Sogariya(Kota Bypass) Railway Station and Another suburban station of South Kota city is Dakaniya Talav railway station which has a stoppage of Avadh Express, Dehradun Express and Ranthambore Express. The city is a halt for over 182 trains, including Mumbai Rajdhani Express, August Kranti Rajdhani Express, Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express, Madgaon Rajdhani Express, Mumbai New Delhi Duronto Express, Golden Temple Mail, Paschim Express, Bandra Terminus-Hazrat Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express, Kevadiya–Hazrat Nizamuddin Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express,

Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express The 12917 / 12918 Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express is one of the Sampark Kranti Expresses, a train on India's broad-gauge network, connecting Ahmedabad (code: ADI) and Delhi (code: NZM), a distance of approximately 1085 km. The train runs ...

Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express The 12907 / 12908 Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express is a Sampark Kranti Superfast Express train that operates between in Mumbai and in Delhi, India. Background This train was introduced as one of the Sampark Kranti trains announced by t ...

, Goa Sampark Kranti Express,

Kerala Sampark Kranti Express The 12217 / 12218 Kerala Sampark Kranti Super Fast Express is a Superfast Express service among Sampark Kranti Express category that runs between Kochuveli railway station in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala and Ch ...

, Indore–Jaipur Express, Gangaur SuperFast Express, Mewar Express,

Dayodaya Express The 12181 / 12182 Dayodaya Express is a Superfast Express trains in India, Superfast Express train service running between of Jabalpur in Eastern Madhya Pradesh and of Rajasthan. The Train initially ran between Jabalpur and Jaipur, later it w ...

, Jodhpur – Indore Intercity,

Hazrat Nizamuddin - Indore Express The Arabic word ''ḥaḍra'' (, ; construct state: ''ḥaḍrat''; plural: ''ḥaḍrāt''), and its derivatives in languages of the Persianate world (; ; ; ; ) are used to form various styles in the Arab world, Iran, the Republic of Azerbai ...

, Garbha Express,

Marusagar Express The Marusagar Express is a weekly express train that runs between Ajmer and Ernakulam, connecting Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka to Kerala. The train runs through four zones of Indian Railways, travelling 2860&n ...

(Ajmer – Ernakulam Express / Ernakulam Express), Jaipur–Mysore Superfast Express, Swaraj Express,

Chennai Central–Jaipur Superfast Express Chennai Central–Jaipur Superfast Express is a Superfast Express trains in India, Superfast Express bi-weekly train run by Indian Railways connecting Capital of Tamil Nadu Chennai Central railway station, Chennai Central with Rajasthan's Capit ...

, Coimbatore–Jaipur Superfast Express, Jodhpur – Puri Express, Bandra Terminus–Gorakhpur Avadh Express, Bandra Terminus–Muzaffarpur Avadh Express, Jodhpur – Bhopal Express. The

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

—

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

railway line passes through the Kota Junction. The district has 148.83 km of railway line in the Kota – Ruthia section, 98.72 km on

Nagda Nagda () is an industrial town in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the administrative headquarters of the city of Ujjain, in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the bank of the Chamba ...

—

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

(Mumbai-Delhi) section and 24.26 km on Kota —

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (; also Chitror or Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It wa ...

section. A broad-gauge railway facility between Kota and

via

exists.

Airways

Kota Airport Kota Airport is a domestic airport in Kota in the state of Rajasthan, India. History Spread over 152 acres, Kota Airport was originally built by the royal family of the princely state of Kota and was taken over by the government in 1951. Th ...

is a civil airport serving Kota, Rajasthan, India. Spread over 447 acres, Kota Airport was originally built by the royal family of the princely state of Kota and was taken over by the government in 1951. This Airport Also Known As Rajputana Airport. Originally serviced by

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a state-owned airline in India that later became a division of Air India Limited before ultimately ceasing operations. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international servic ...

Dakota aircraft and later by Vayudoot and Jagson Airlines, shutdown of major industries and Kota becoming a major railway junction effected decreased demand for air transport and the withdrawal of the airlines. Kota Airport has had no scheduled services operating since 1999. The nearest international airport is

Jaipur International Airport Jaipur International Airport is an international airport serving Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. It is located in the southern suburb of Sanganer, located from the city centre. It is the List of the busiest airports in India, 13th-busiest a ...

situated around 240 km away from Kota. The development of Kota greenfield airport has been approved 15 kilometres outside of the city.

Sports

400px, Jay Kaylon Cricket Stadium The city is home to Jay Kaylon Cricket Stadium located in Nayapura area. Among several matches, six

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

matches have been played in the stadium. The stadium also hosted RCL T20 2016, an inter state cricket league with six participating teams. Kota has majority of sports teams like Cricket, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Badminton, Shooting, Table Tennis, and Lawn Tennis.

Media

Television

There are five major regional TV Channels in Kota. * DD Rajasthan * Media House Rajasthan(MHR News) * ETV Rajasthan * India news Rajasthan *

Jan TV Jan TV is a satellite television channel from India owned by CSL Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. It was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr.Ashok Gehlot on 13 May 2012 in Jaipur. Management Jan TV Editor-In-Chief is Mr. Surendra Kumar Surana ...

A wide range of other Hindi, English, and other language channels are accessible via cable subscription and direct-broadcast satellite services.

Dish TV DishTV India Ltd. (stylised as dishtv) is an Indian subscription based satellite television provider based in Noida. DishTV was launched by the Zee Group on 2 October 2003. It ranked #437 and #5 on the list of media companies in Fortune Indi ...

Tata Sky Tata Play is an Indian subscription-based satellite television (DTH) service provider owned by Tata Group. it was using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A GSAT-10 and GSAT-24 satellites. Incorporated in 2005, ...

, Radiant Digitek,

Airtel digital TV Airtel Digital TV is an Indian subscription based satellite television provider owned by Bharti Telemedia Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel. It launched DTH satellite television service in India on 9 October 2008. Airtel D ...

are entertainment services in Kota.

Newspapers

Major daily newspapers in Kota include: *

Rajasthan Patrika ''Rajasthan Patrika'' () is an Indian Hindi- Rajasthani language daily newspaper. It was founded by Karpoor Chandra Kulish in 1956 and published as ''Rajasthan Patrika'' in Delhi and Rajasthan, and as ''Patrika'' in 9 other states. As per Ind ...

(

) *

Dainik Bhaskar ''Dainik Bhaskar '' () is a Hindi-language daily newspaper in India which is owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to the World Association of Newspapers, it ranked fourth in the world by circulation in 2016 and per the Indian Audit ...

(Hindi) * Dainik Navajyoti (Hindi) *Chambal Sandesh (Hindi)

Radio

There are five radio stations in Kota, with four broadcasting on the FM band, and one

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

station broadcasting on the AM band. *

(102.0 MHz) * Big FM (92.7 MHz) *

My FM My (stylized as My FM on radio) is a Malaysian-Chinese language radio station managed by Astro Radio, a subsidiary of Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad. In 2015, as according to Nielsen RAM Survey Wave #1, My FM maintained its position as Malays ...

(94.3 MHz) * FM Tadka (95.0 MHz) * Radio City (91.1 MHz)

Notable people

* Hari Kumar Audichya *

Onkarlal Berwa Onkarlal Berwa (1916–1996) was an Indian politician. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from Kota, Rajasthan as a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh The Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, shor ...

Om Birla Om Birla (born 23 November 1962; ) is an Indian politician from Rajasthan. He is currently serving as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha since 19 June 2019, when he was re-elected for a second term in June 2024. He serves as a Member of Parliament, L ...

* Bhuvnesh Chaturvedi * Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi *

Shanti Kumar Dhariwal Shanti Kumar Dhariwal (born 29 October 1943) is an Indian politician and Former Cabinet minister in Ashok Gehlot ministry and also member of 11th, 13th and 15th and 16th Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. He also served as Member of Parliame ...

* Krishana Kumar Goyal * Nandini Gupta * Shail Hada * Taj Haider * Bhupendra Jadawat * Dau Dayal Joshi * Raghuveer Singh Koshal * Shiv Kumari of Kotah * Bhuvaneshwari Kumari * Nikita Lalwani * Pramod Maheshwari * Aniruddh Singh *

Bhim Singh II Brigadier HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahim Mahendra Maharao Raja Sir Bhim Singh II Bahadur, Order of the Star of India, KCSI (14 September 1909 – 20 July 1991) was the last ruling Maharaja of the Hada (clan), Hada Chauhan Dynasty, Chauha ...

* Ijyaraj Singh * Umed Singh II

References

External links

Official website of Kota District
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