New Delhi

New Delhi is one of Delhi’s 11 districts and the capital of India. The district is situated on the right bank of the Yamuna River and it was constructed between 1912 and 1929. Predominantly an administrative center, New Delhi was constructed to replace Calcutta as capital of British India and New Delhi was officially inaugurated in 1931 by Viceroy and Governor-General of India Lord Irwin. Many of its public buildings were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyensto provide a sense of grandeur, suggestive of power and permanence.It also contains the diplomatic enclaves of all foreign governments.New Delhi has also been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city and it is also a transportation hub and trade center with manufactures in electronics, automobile parts, engineering products, and electrical appliances.

Founded to replace Kolkata as the capital of Beitish India, New Delhi was designed by architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, New Delhi has broad, symmetrically aligned streets that provide vistas of historic monuments. Between the main government buildings a broad boulevard leads east to west from India Gate, a massive war memorial arch (built 1921), through a great court to the resplendent sandstone and marble Government House (formerly the viceroy's palace; now the residence of India's president). In the southern section of the city is the prayer ground where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated (1948). In the west are Balmiki and Lakshminarayan temples, which Gandhi frequented; the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple (2005) is East Delhi across the Yamuna. After India gained independence in 1947, Delhi remained as the national capital and later in 1956, it was declared as the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Chief Commissioner was replaced by Lieutenant Governor. The first major extension of New Delhi outside of Lutyens Delhi came in the 1950s when the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) developed a large area of land southwest of Lutyens' Delhi to create the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri, where land was allotted for embassies, chanceries, high commissions and residences of ambassadors, around a wide central vista, Shanti Path. The district has a total area of 42.7 km and it forms as a small part of Delhi metropolitan area. It has a population of 249,998 and the most spoken language of New Delhi is Hindi. It has the highest literacy rate in Delhi with a literacy rate of 89.38% according to the 2011 census. New Delhi is also known as a commercial city and it has an estimated net State Domestic Product of Rs 1,595 billion in normal terms. The per capita income as per 2013 was Rs 230000 and it is the second highest in India after Goa. The World Wealth Report of 2011 has ranked economic activity of New Delhi at 39 and New Delhi and Beijing share the top position as the most targeted emerging market retails decision among Asia Pacific markets. Home to several historic sites and museums, New Delhi consist of RashtrapatiBhawan, India Gate, Rajpath, Gandhi Smriti, JantarMantar, National Gallery of Modern Art, National Museum of Natural history, Supreme Court of India Museum, the Buddha Jayanti Park and Lodi Gardens. In the coming years, a new National War Memorial and Museum will be constructed in New Delhi for Rs 4,000 million. New Delhi is also known for its metro, roads and Indira Gandhi international airport.

The city is known for hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games and it has previously also hosted the 1951 Asian Games and 1982 Asian Games. Major sporting venues in New Delhi include the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Ambedkar Stadium, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, R.K. Khanna Tennis Complex, Dhyan Chand National Stadium and Siri Fort Sports Complex. There are new private grounds as well such as Den and tiki-taka. New Delhi has been in controversies for its poor air pollution. In the 2015 Mercer’s annual quality-of-living survey, New Delhi ranked at number 154 out of 230 cities due to bad air quality and pollution. However, the World Health Organization in 2014 ranked New Delhi as the world’s most polluted city among 1600 cities the organization tracked around the world. 

New Delhi hosts 145 foreign embassies and high commissions. It is also home to most of the United Nations regional officers in India which includes UNESCO, UNICEF, FAO, WHO, World Bank, UNAIDS, WFP and IFC.