Madurai

Madurai is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai district, which is governed by the Madurai Municipal Corporation established on 1 November 1866. As of the 2011 census, it is the third largest metropolis in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore in terms of population and 27th largest urban agglomeration in India. Located on the banks of Vaigai River, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoongaa Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps".

Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India and South Asia. The third Tamil Sangam, a major congregation of Tamil scholars, is said to have been held in the city. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the Mauryan Empire, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 300 BCE are evident from excavations by Archeological Survey of India in Manalur. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Pandyan Kingdom, the Chola Empire, the Madurai Sultanate, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Madurai Nayaks, the Carnatic kingdom, and the British East India Company's British Raj. The city has a number of historical monuments, with the Koodal Azhagar temple, the Meenakshi Temple and the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal being the most prominent.

Madurai is an important industrial and educational hub in Tamil Nadu. The city is home to various automobile, rubber, chemical and granite manufacturing industries. Madurai has important government educational institutes such as the Madurai Medical College, the Homeopathic Medical College, the Madurai Law College, the Agricultural College and Research Institute and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Madurai. The city covers an area of 147.97 km² (57.13 sq mi) and had a population of 1,470,755 in 2011. The city is also the seat of a bench of the Madras High Court.

It is one of the few towns and cities selected for the AMRUT mission, undertaken by the Government of India. The Government of Tamil Nadu contributes to the infrastructure development in the city.