Overview of the State | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

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OVERVIEW	OF	THE	STATE 
 
Maharashtra occupies the western and central part of the country and has a 
long coastline stretching nearly 720 km along the Arabian Sea.  The Sahyadri 
mountain ranges provide a natural backbone to the State on the west, while the 
Satpuda hills along the north and Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri ranges on the east 
serve as its natural borders. The State is surrounded by Gujarat to the North West, 
Madhya Pradesh to the North, Chhattisgarh to the East, Telangana to the South 
East, Karnataka to the South and Goa to the South West.  
The State enjoys tropical monsoon climate. The hot scorching summer 
from March onwards is normally followed by monsoon in early June. The rich 
green cover of the monsoon season persists during the mild winter that follows 
through an unpleasant October transition. The seasonal rains from the western 
sea-clouds are very heavy and the rainfall is over 400 cm on the Sahyadrian 
crests. The Konkan on the windward side is endowed with heavy rainfall, 
declining northwards. East of the Sahyadri, the rainfall diminishes to a meagre 
70 cm in the western plateau districts. The rains slightly increase eastwards in the 
Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.  
Maharashtra is the second largest state in India in terms of population and 
has geographical area about 3.08 lakh sq. km.  The State has 36 districts which are 
functioning under six revenue divisions viz. Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, 
Amravati and Nagpur, with effective machinery for planning at the district level. 
For local self-governance in rural areas, there are 34 Zilla Parishads, 351 
Panchayat Samitis and 27,920 Gram Panchayats. The urban areas are governed 
through 26 Municipal Corporations, 230 Municipal Councils, 111 Nagar 
Panchayats and seven Cantonment Boards. 
Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India, 
houses the headquarters of most of the major corporate & financial institutions.  
India's main stock exchanges & capital market and commodity exchanges are 
located in Mumbai.