Ludhiana is a largest city of Punjab state situated about 100 Kms. From its capital Chandigarh. It is the largest industrial town of Punjab. The city stands on the banks of river Sutlej. Ludhiana is well known as NRI district as its large population lives abroad in United States of America and Canada. The written history of Ludhiana is available from about 14Thcentury A.D., how it was formed by some Muslim invaders, rulers changed to Mughals and then to British before finally getting independence in 1947. Sukhdev Thapar who along with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru was hanged for revolting the British government was born in Ludhiana.
The temperature in Ludhiana ranges from a low of 7 degrees in winters to a high of 40 degrees in summers. It receives about 750mm rainfall annually. In 2001 Ludhiana had a population of about 14 Lacs inhabitants. Punjabi is the official language of Ludhiana. Because of generally warm and accepting nature of Punjabis, people from other cultures have now settled in Ludhiana and hence new culture and languages like Hindi, English, Rajasthani, Himachali are mixing with the Punjabi language. Ludhiana is known for its rich culture, from its recent past it has emerged as a seat of performing arts like singing and other literary activities like publishing. Ludhiana was rated as having best business atmosphere in India, in the year 2009. It was at number one position in per capita income earnings in 2008.
Ludhiana is an unorganized Industrial town with thousands of small manufacturing units producing engineering goods, machine parts, domestic appliance, Hosiery and clothes. It is the largest bicycle manufacturing center in the country and produces more than 50% of nations Bicycles. It also produces 60% of Tractor parts in India. Most of the Auto and two wheeler parts are produced in Ludhiana. It is largest producer of Sewing machines in India. Parts of four wheelers like BMW, Mercedes are produced here thus exposing the skill to the whole world. Hosiery industry of Ludhiana is famous for its woolen sweaters and cotton T-Shirts. Monte Carlo and many other top brands in India are produced at Ludhiana.
Apart from industries Ludhiana is a major producer of dairy and Agriculture products. It has become a major trading hub for many of merchandise for entire North India. Ludhiana is facing problems of shifting of its industrial units to surrounding hill states, which have zero tax policies. Avoiding labor problems is also one reason of the shift. Earlier a setback was faced when the units shifted to Faridabad in Haryana when khalistan revolution moment was full blowing in the state in 1980s.
Another business generating source in the city is its Stock Exchange which is the only stock exchange of Punjab. Ludhiana has many good educational institutions. Its Agricultural University is largest in Asia, and the college of Veterinary sciences college is Veterinary and Animal Science University now. There are many Engineering colleges in Ludhiana. It is also becoming a major IT hub of its region.
