Pune

Pune (पुणे in Marathi), formerly Punavadi and Poona (पूना in Marathi), Maharashtra state, western India, is situated at the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers. Called the ?Queen of the Deccan,? Pune is the cultural capital of the Marathi people. According to the 2001 census provisional results, it had a population of 3,755,000 in 2001. This figure includes the population of the city of Pimpri-Chinchwad which is the industrial twin of Pune. The combined population of the metropolitan region would be between 4.5 to 5 million in 2004. Marathi is the language of the majority of the people residing here. This decade has seen a sizeable investment in the software and automobile sector, in the city. This has prompted a huge influx of youth from all over the country. Several suburbs are now completely cosmopolitan, and real-estate prices have boomed.

Pune is home to happiest Indians in the world

The happiest Indians in all the world live in Pune and India's Western seaboard is absurdly happy compared to both Delhi, its political centre, and Silicon Alley down south in Bangalore, while Kolkata is our capital of cheerlessness, according to a survey of gross national happiness across the planet.

Related Topics:
Pune - Delhi - Bangalore - Kolkata

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The survey is published here by GfK-NOP, the market research organisation that happily boasts it figures among the top four worldwide, with sales of EUR 672 million last year and operations in 63 countries.

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It reports that more than half of all Pune residents say they are "very happy with the overall quality of life". Pune is closely, if surprisingly, followed by its richer, sassier neighbour, Mumbai, which comes in at 42 per cent.

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