Surat

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For other uses, see Surat (disambiguation).

Surat

Suryapur

Metropolis

From top: Tapi River panorama, International Business Center,

Vesu Skyline, Gopi Talav, Surat Airport, BAPS Temple Surat

Nickname(s): 

Diamond City of India[1]

 Surat

Location of Surat in Gujarat, India

Show map of Gujarat Show map of India Show all

Coordinates:  21°10′12.864″N 72°49′51.819″ECoordinates:  21°1

0′12.864″N 72°49′51.819″E

Country  India

State Gujarat

District Surat

Zone 7

Government

 • Type Mayor–Council

 • Body  Surat Municipal Corporation

 Surat Urban Development
Authority
 • Mayor Dr. Jagdish Patel (BJP)[2]

 • Municipal Shri Banchhanidhi Pani, IAS

Commissioner

 • Police R. B. Brahmbhatt, IPS[3]

Commissioner

Area

[4][5]

 • Total 474.185 km2 (183.084 sq mi)
 Elevation 13 m (43 ft)

Population

 (2011)[4][6][7]

 • Total 6,176,000

 • Rank 8th (in India), 2nd (in Gujarat state)

 • Density 13,000/km2 (34,000/sq mi)

 • Metro rank 9th

 • Demonym Surati

Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)

Pincode(s) 394 XXX, 395 XXX

Area code(s) 91-261-XXX-XXXX

Vehicle GJ-05, GJ-19, GJ-28[8]

registration

Sex ratio 1.27[9] ♂/♀

Coastline 35 kilometres (22 mi)

Literacy rate 86.65%[10]

Language Gujarati

Website www.suratmunicipal.gov.in https://surat.nic.in/

Surat is a city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It used to be a large seaport and is now

the commercial and economic center in South Gujarat, which is famous for its
diamonds and textile Industries and as a shopping centre for apparels and
accessories. It is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration in
India. It is the administrative capital of the Surat district. The city is located 284
kilometres (176 mi) south of the state capital, Gandhinagar; 265 kilometres (165 mi)
south of Ahmedabad; and 289 kilometres (180 mi) north of Mumbai. The city centre
is located on the Tapti River, close to Arabian Sea.[11]
Surat will be the world's fastest growing city from 2019 to 2035, according to a study
conducted by Economic Times.[12] The city registered an annualised GDP growth rate
of 11.5% over the seven fiscal years between 2001 and 2008. [13] Surat was awarded
"best city" by the Annual Survey of India's City-Systems (ASICS) in 2013. [14] Surat is
selected as the first smart IT city in India which is being constituted by the Microsoft
CityNext Initiative tied up with IT services majors Tata Consultancy
Services and Wipro.[15] The city has 2.97 million internet users, about 65% of total
population.[16] Surat was selected in 2015 for an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant.
[17][18]
 Surat has been selected as one of twenty Indian cities to be developed as
a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.[19]
Surat is listed as the second cleanest city of India as of 21 August 2020 according to
the Swachh Survekshan 2020 on 20 Aug.[20][21] It suffered a major pipeline fire which
caused some damage.[22]
Surat, famous for its diamond cutting and polishing, is known as the Diamond City of
India.[1]
It has various engineering plants like Essar, Larsen and Toubro and RIL.
Surat won the Netexplo Smart Cities Award 2019 with UNESCO in the resilience
category. Surat’s mayor will receive the award at the UNESCO House in Paris,
France in March next year.[23]

Contents

 1Etymology

o 1.1People from Surat

 2History

 3Geography

o 3.1Climate

 4Economy

o 4.1Diamond polishing

o 4.2Textiles

o 4.3Information technology

o 4.4Diamond Research And Mercantile City (DREAM)

 5Transport

 6Civic institutions

o 6.1Science Center

o 6.2Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium

o 6.3Lalbhai Contractor Cricket Stadium

o 6.4Public Safety

 7Demographics
  8Education

o 8.1Universities

 9Culture

o 9.1Food

 10Surat in Literature

 11People

 12See also

 13References

 14External links

Etymology[edit]
Surat was founded by a man called Gopi, who named the area Surajpur or Suryapur.
[24]
 Duarte Barbosa described Surat as Suratt. Jacob Peeters referred to Surat as
Sourratte which is a Dutch name.[25] There are many other names of Surat in history.
Surat is referred to as Surrat, Surate or Soorat in some literature. [26]
People from Surat[edit]
A resident of Surat is called Surati.

History[edit]
Main article: History of Surat

Surat in 1690
Surat in 1877

Dutch-Armenian Cemetery of Surat

In the 12th and 15th centuries, Surat was managed by Muslims. [24] In 1514, the
Portuguese traveler Duarte Barbosa described Surat as an important seaport,
frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520, the
name of the city had become Surat. It was burned by the Portuguese (1512 and
1530) and conquered by the Mughals (1573) and was twice raided by the Maratha
king Shivaji (17th century). [24]
It was the most prosperous port in the Mughal empire. [27] Despite being a rich city,
Surat looked like a typical "grubby" trader's town with mud-and-bamboo tenements
and crooked streets, although along the riverfront there were a few mansions and
warehouses belonging to local merchant princes and the establishments of Turkish,
Armenian, English, French and Dutch traders. There were also hospitals for cows,
horses, flies and insects run by religious Jains, which puzzled travelers.[27] Some
streets were narrow while others were of sufficient width. In the evening, especially
near the Bazaar (marketplace), the streets became crowded with people and
merchants (including Banyan merchants) selling their goods. Surat was a populous
city during the Mughal era but also had a large transient population: during
the monsoon season, when ships could come and go from the ports without danger,
the city's population would swell.[27] In 1612, England established its first
Indian trading factory in Surat.[24] The city was looted twice by the Maratha
king Shivaji, with the first sacking occurring in 1664.[11][24] Shivaji's raids scared trade
away and caused ruin to the city.[27]
Later, Surat became the emporium of India, exporting gold and cloth. Its major
industries were shipbuilding and textile manufacture. [24] The coast of the Tapti River,
from Athwalines to Dumas, was specially meant for shipbuilders, who were usually
Rassis.[11] The city continued to be prosperous until the rise of Bombay (present-
day Mumbai). Afterward, Surat's shipbuilding industry declined and Surat itself
gradually declined throughout the 18th century. [24][11] Between 1790–1, an epidemic
killed 100,000 Gujaratis in Surat.[28] The British and Dutch both claimed control of the
city, but in 1800, the British took control of Surat. [24][11]
By the middle of the 19th century, Surat had become a stagnant city with about
80,000 inhabitants. When India's railways opened, the city started becoming
prosperous again. Silks, cotton, brocades, and objects of gold and silver from Surat
became famous and the ancient art of manufacturing fine muslin was revived.[24]

Geography[edit]
Tapi river

Surat is a port city situated on the banks of the Tapi river. Damming of the Tapi
caused the original port facilities to close; the nearest port is now in
the Magadalla and Hazira area of Surat Metropolitan Region. It has a famous beach
called 'Dumas Beach' located in Hazira. The city is located at 21°10′N 72°50′E.[29] It
has an average elevation of 13 metres. The Surat district is surrounded by
the Bharuch, Narmada, Navsari, to the west is the Gulf of Cambay and the
surrounding districts. The climate is tropical and monsoon rainfall is abundant (about
2,500 mm a year). According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls
under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V (in order of increasing vulnerability to
earthquakes).[30]
Climate[edit]
Surat has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw), moderated strongly by the Sea
to the Gulf of Cambay. The summer begins in early March and lasts until June. April
and May are the hottest months, the average maximum temperature being 37 °C
(99 °F). Monsoon begins in late June and the city receives about 1,200 millimetres
(47 in) of rain by the end of September, with the average maximum being 32 °C
(90 °F) during those months. October and November see the retreat of the monsoon
and a return of high temperatures until late November. Winter starts in December
and ends in late February, with average mean temperatures of around 23 °C (73 °F),
and negligible rain.
Since the 20th century, Surat has experienced some 20 floods. [31] In 1968, most parts
of the city were flooded and in 1994 a flood caused a country-wide plague outbreak,
Surat being the epicenter. In 1998, 30 per cent of Surat had gone under water due to
flooding in Tapti river following release of water from Ukai dam located 90 km from
Surat and in Aug 2006 flood more than 95 per cent of the city was under Tapti river
waters, killing more than 120 people, stranding tens of thousands in their homes
without food or electricity and closing businesses and schools for weeks. [32][31]
hideClimate data for Surat, Gujarat (1981–2010, extremes 1
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
38.3 41.7 44.0 45.6 45.6 45.6
Record high °C (°F)
(100.9) (107.1) (111.2) (114.1) (114.1) (114.1) (1
30.8 32.3 35.4 36.7 35.8 34.0
Average high °C (°F)
(87.4) (90.1) (95.7) (98.1) (96.4) (93.2) (
15.2 16.7 20.7 24.0 26.8 27.0
Average low °C (°F)
(59.4) (62.1) (69.3) (75.2) (80.2) (80.6) (
 4.4 5.6 8.9 15.0 19.4 20.2
Record low °C (°F)
(39.9) (42.1) (48.0) (59.0) (66.9) (68.4) (
1.5 0.3 0.4 0.2 3.9 245.2 4
Average rainfall mm (inches)
(0.06) (0.01) (0.02) (0.01) (0.15) (9.65) (1
Average rainy days 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.3 7.0
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 41 34 33 42 58 70
Source: India Meteorological Department[33][34][35]

Economy[edit]

Surat growth map

Metropolitan Surat economic centers and industries map

Surat ranked 9th in India with a GDP of 2.60 lakh crore in fiscal year 2016 ($40
billion in 2016). Surat GDP in 2020 will be around $57 billion estimated by The City
Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs. [3][36]
Diamond polishing[edit]

Diamond polisher

Surat is a major hub of diamond cutting and polishing. [37] The first diamond workshops
in Gujarat appeared in Surat and Navasari in the late 1950s. The major group
working in this industry is people from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Because of
demand in the American market from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s (with only a
brief recession in 1979), Surat's diamond industry grew tremendously. Currently,
most of the diamond polishing workshops are running in the Varachha area of Surat,
mostly by the people of the Patel community.[38]
Around the world, 8 out of 10 diamonds on the market were cut and polished in
Surat. This industry earns India about US$10 billion in annual exports. That declined
by about 18% in 2019 due to reduced demand for diamonds. The decline continued
in 2020 when the industry closed for some months because of the COVID-19
pandemic in India.[39]
A legacy of old Dutch trade links, it began after a Surti entrepreneur returned from
East Africa bringing diamond cutters. The rough diamonds are mined in South Africa
and other regions of the African continent, and go from here as smooth gems to
Antwerp, Belgium where the international diamond trade is run mainly by Hasidic
Jews and Jains from Palanpur in North Gujarat. [40]
Textiles[edit]

Surat's Textile District Ring Road

Since it is known for producing textiles, including silk, Surat is known as the textile
hub of the nation or the Silk City of India. It is very famous for its cotton mills
and Surat Zari Craft. Surat is the biggest center of MMF (man-made fiber) in India. It
has a total of 381 dyeing and printing mills and 41,100 power loom units. There are
over a hundred thousand units and mills in total. The overall annual turnover is
around 5 billion rupees. There are over 800 cloth wholesalers in Surat. [41] It is the
largest manufacturer of clothes in India, and Surti dress material can be found in any
state of India. Surat produces 9 million meters of fabric annually, which accounts for
60% of the total polyester cloth production in India. Now the city is focusing on
increasing the exports of its textile.[42]
Information technology[edit]
There are many SME Domestic IT Companies present in Surat. MNC IT companies
like IBM,[43] HCL have satellite or virtual branches in Surat. On 14 February 2014,
Government of Gujarat DST had handover STPI Surat [44][45] at Bhestan-Jiav Road,
Bhestan Near Udhana-Sachin BRTS Route.
Surat city administration will demand for setting up of an information technology (IT)
hub and an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) on the outskirts of the
city.[46]
Microsoft CityNext initiative has tied up with IT services majors Tata Consultancy
Services and Wipro to leverage technology for sustainable growth of cities in India.
The first smart IT city in India is being constituted by the Microsoft CityNext Initiative
in Surat, Gujarat.[15] In 2011, Surat hosted India's first Microsoft DreamSpark Yatra (a
tech event) with speakers from Microsoft Headquarters at Redmond, Washington.
The event was organised by Ex-Microsoft Student Partner Samarth Zankharia.[47]
In May 2015, Tech giant IBM has chosen Surat among 16 global locations for its
smart cities program to help them address challenges like waste management,
disaster management and citizen services. Under the program, IBM will send a team
of experts to each of the chosen cities where they will spend three weeks working
closely with city staff analysing data about critical issues faced by its local bodies; [48]
[18]
 the co-operation continued into 2016.[17]