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Ranchi is the capital city of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement^[1] for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Orissa, Western West Bengal and the present eastern Chhattisgarh. Jharkhand State was formed on 15 November 2000 by carving out the Bihar divisions of Chota Nagpur and Santhal Parganas.

The name Ranchi comes from “archi” an Oraon/Kurukh word for the farmer’s “baton” in use while ploughing. Before that up to 1927, this place (Ranchi) was known as “Kishunpur”. The area was an agricultural locality and Doranda (‘duran’ ‘दुरङ’ means song/sing & ‘da ah’ ‘दअः’ is water – Mundari words), in between Hinoo & Harmoo River was a better known place for its military base and garrison. The present Purani Ranchi was originally known as the village Archi.

Ranchi is a prominent political, commercial, industrial, and educational hub of eastern India.

Geography

Ranchi is located at 23°21′N 85°20′E / 23.35°N 85.33°E / 23.35; 85.33.^[2] The total area covered by Ranchi – Municipal Area is about 141 square kilometers and the average elevation of the city is 661 m above MSL.

Geographically, Ranchi is located on southern part of the Chota Nagpur plateau which forms the eastern edge of the Deccan plateau system. The area surrounding Ranchi has been endowed with natural attractions and it is referred to as the “City of Waterfalls”. The most popular waterfalls are Dasham, Hundru, Jonha Falls, Hirni and Panchghat, which are all active perennially.

The Subarnarekha river and its tributaries constitute the local river system. Dams in Kanke, Rukka and Hatia have been built over these channels to cater to the water requirements of the local population.

Ranchi has a hilly topography and its combination with dense tropical forests ensures that it enjoys a comparatively moderate climate compared to the rest of the state.

Climate

Ranchi has a sub-tropical climate. Temperature ranges from maximum 37 to 20°C during summer, and minimum 22 to 3°C during winter. The annual rainfall is about 1430 mm. From June to September the rainfall level is about 1,100 mm.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[3] Ranchi had a population of 846,454. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ranchi has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 68%. In Ranchi, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

According to the current estimates, the population of the city is now about 1,300,000, making it the largest in Jharkhand. The city witnessed a sudden surge in population after the declaration of the new state of Jharkhand in 2000. Owing to the rising employment opportunities and opening of numerous regional and state level offices, banks, and marketing companies, the city witnessed the influx of migrants. Ranchi has always enjoyed a cosmopolitan environment and still entails a mix of people from different regions of the country.

Education

Primary and Secondary Schools

The two best and oldest schools in the city are St. Xavier’s Doranda, and Loreto Convent. They have traditionally excelled in imparting a strong foundation in education and discipline resulting in their alumni spread all over the world excelling in professions like academics, engineering, medicine, journalism etc.

There are a couple of Central Schools. Newer schools like DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, DPS, St. Thomas are now creme-de-la-creme of the schools in Ranchi. Ranchi is reputed to be a centre of education, and it also attracts students from the neighbouring cities and towns.

Most of the government-run schools in Ranchi are affiliated to Jharkhand Academic Council, while most of the private schools are affiliated to ICSE and/or CBSE boards. A number of Christian Schools are convents or are run by the Jesuit missionaries of the Roman Catholic, Gossner, Evangelical, and Lutheran Churches and the Church of North India.

Higher Education

Most of the colleges and institutions of higher education of Ranchi are under the jurisdiction of Ranchi University. There are also Agicultural and Veterinary Colleges, which are part of the Birsa Agricultural University located at Kanke.

St. Xavier’s College, Yogoda Satsang College, Marwari Boys’ College, Birla Institute of Technology, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Central Institute of Psychiatry, National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology,Gossner College and Doranda College are other major local institutions.

Transportation and commuting

Road

Ranchi has road connectivity with 2 National Highways (NH-23 & 33) crossing it and NH-75 originating here. Recently to May 2009 the state government with the support of NHDC has constituted a plan to expand the road connectivity of different district headquarters to this capital city with 4-lane highways of international standards.

One peculiarity of this capital city is that there is no local bus services. For commuting one can hire a cycle rickshaw, auto rickshaw, or taxi.

The State Bus Terminus near the Ranch Railway station has direct buses available for traveling to Bokaro Steel City, Jamshedpur, Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Alipurduar, Siliguri, Kolkata, or Rourkela. The State Bus Terminus is located near the Ranchi Railway station; and Khad Garaha and Ratu Road, both private bus agencies, have similar options.

Rail

Ranchi has witnessed growth in railway connectivity between 2006-9. The annual Railway budgets allocated funds for growth due to demand. Currently Ranchi has frequent connectivity with all major centres in India.

The Railway Stations in the city are the following: Tatisilwai, Namkum, Ranchi Junction, Argora & Hatia

Air

Ranchi has a domestic airport – Birsa Munda Airport (Code: IXR) managed by the Airports Authority of India. The airport terminal is situated in Hinoo approximately 7 km south of the city center. The single runway airport is approximately 10000 feet in length and supports navigation/traffic control systems such as HIRL and PAPI. Airlines include Indian Airlines, JetLite, Kingfisher Red and MDLR Airlines.ranchi is conected with all major cities like mumbai,delhi,kolkata,chandigarh,patna,bubnaneswar,bangalore etc. via air.

Trade, commerce, and industry

As an important administrative and military base of the eastern India during the British Raj, Ranchi developed as an important centre of trade and commerce, including a traditional base for sericulture and manufacture of shellac. Villages around Ranchi has been described as the ‘vegetable bowl’ of Jharkhand and truckloads of green vegetables are transported from the city to different parts of Jharkhand, Bihar, as also to Kolkata.

After India gained independence, Ranchi continued to grow and a number of industrial facilities were located in and around the city, and it emerged as an important industrial centre. Along with other two industrial townships of Jamshedpur and Bokaro, it completes the industrial structure of Jharkhand. Techno-industrial facilities of Ranchi include Heavy Engineering Corporation, MECON, CCL, and Shipping Corporation of India.

The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) founded its research and development center here in 1974 and today it is the largest steel research centre of the country, employing over 350 scientists and addressing the R&D needs of SAIL while also providing diverse scientific services to other organizations on contract basis.

Health care facilities and important hospitals

The city is traditionally the medical centre for the entire region of about 400 km in radius. Many hospitals, both private and public, dot the city.

• The Rajendra Medical College now known as Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, RIMS is the largest of three medical colleges in the state. Neurodiagnostic facilities exist in the Advanced Diagnostic Centre.

• The Indian corporate hospital chain (Apollo Hospitals Group) runs a private hospital on the outskirts of the city.

• Ranchi is famous across India for its psychiatric care centers. Ranchi has some of the largest facilities for mentally-challenged patients at Kanke. There are three major hospitals taking care of patients with psychiatric illnesses.

1. Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke
2. RINPAS, Kanke^{[clarification needed]}
3. Davis Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Kanke^{[clarification needed]}

Tourist attractions

Temples

Jonha Falls – This is a popular tourist destination situated 40 km from the City.

• Rajrappa Mandir About 65 km from Ranchi for the worship of Goddess Kali, known as Chhinnamastika. Also a tourist place; has great picnic spots.
• Pahari Temple – Heart of the city
• Durga Badi – Near Firayalal Chowk at the heart of the city.
• Jagannathpur Temple – Built in the architectural style of Puri temples about 300 years old
• Surya Temple – 38 km from Ranchi on Ranchi-Tata NH Road
• Parasnath or Shikharjee – A major pilgrimage of the Jain’s about 200 km from Ranchi in Girdih District.
• Ramakrishna Mission and Ashram, Morabadi
• Dewri Temple – 58 km from Ranchi on Ranchi-Tata NH 33 road
• Doranda Jain Mandir – 4 km from Ranchi
• Head Quarters of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, situated about 200 metres from Ranchi railway station.

Dhurwa dam 2 km from vidhan sabha

• Buddha Vihar, Chhotanagpur Buddha Society, Nepal House, Doranda Ranchi.

Hirini Falls are One Of the Famous Falls of Ranchi(Jharkhand)

Festivals

Ranchi is home to people of many castes, creeds and sects. All festivals are celebrated with pomp, glory and in harmony. People from nearby as well as far off places visit Ranchi during the holidays.

Parks and resorts

Ranchi is known as being a major city with many waterfalls near it.

• Nakshatra Van – Heart of the city, near Raj Bhawan (Governor’s House)

• Birsa Zoological Park – 14 km from Ranchi^{[clarification needed]}

• Night Safari – 14 km from Ranchi^{[clarification needed]}

• Deer Park – 16 km from Ranchi on Ranchi-Khunti Road^{[clarification needed]}

• Sidhu Kaanhu Park – Heart of the city

• Dr. Zakhir Hussain Park – Heart of the city

• Ranchi Hill – Pahari Baba Temple – Heart of the city.

• Tagore hill – Morabadi, 5 km from the center of the city

• Rock Garden – Kanke Road, 4 km from the center of the city^{[clarification needed]}

• Fun Castle – Ratu, 7 km from Ranchi^{[clarification needed]}

• Crocodile Farm – Ormanjhi, 19 km from Ranchi^{[clarification needed]}

• Ranchi Lake – Heart of the city^{[clarification needed]}

• Dhurwa Dam^{[clarification needed]}

• Jonha Falls – About 35 km from Ranchi

Other than these recognized parks (most of which have entry fee), there are many open playgrounds which are vanishing fast as the government/administration has initiated massive constructions on available government lands.^{[citation needed]}

Media

The city has several newspapers, the most circulated being Prabhat Khabar, Dainik Jagran, Aaj Daily and RanchiExpress.

There are also some local news channels delivered through the cable TV network, PBL Nazar, and Jharkhand TV. Besides these local channels, ETV Bihar/Jharkhand and Sahara Samay Bihar/Jharkhand are two regional channels for this state run by Indian news networks.

Besides the AIR (All India Radio) run Vividh Bharti 103.3 FM, radio station, there are private FM Channels as well. Radiomantra 91.9 FM…(life ka mantra) is owned by the Dainik Jagran Media house. Big 92.7 FM which a joint venture by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani and Adlabs, 104.8 Radio Dhoom owned by Prabhat Khabar has recently been launched and the B.A.G group’s venture 106.4 FM Radio Dhamaal comprises the Fm channel network in Ranchi.

Sports

Cricket is a popular sport in Ranchi. M. S. Dhoni, the captain of Indian Test, One Day and T20 Team, was born and brought up in Ranchi. He led the team to win the T-20 cricket world cup 2007. The popularity of cricket in the state has grown by leaps and bounds, after Dhoni was made captain of the Indian Cricket Team.

The city has one of the best field hockey facilities, with a newly constructed arsto turf stadium. Quite a number of players, specially women, from Jharkhand have represented India. Jaipal Singh Munda was the captain of the Indian Hockey team during the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, though he did not lead the team in the final.