About pune:
Pune (Marathi: पुणे ) (formerly known as Poona in British era, Punyanagari in old time )is the seventh largest metropolis in India and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra.
It is situated 560 metres (1,837 feet) above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the right bank of the Mutha river.Pune city is the administrative headquarters of Pune district and was once the center of power of the Maratha Empire.
Pune is known to have existed as a town since 847 AD. It was the first capital of the Maratha Empire underChhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosale. In the 18th century, Pune became the political centre of Indian subcontinent, as the seat of Peshwas who were the prime ministers of the Maratha Empire.
Pune is sometimes considered the cultural capital of Maharashtra.Since the 1950-60s, Pune has had traditional old-economy industries which continue to grow. The city is now also known for Manufacturing, Automobile, Government & Private sector Research Institutes, Information technology (IT) as well as Educational, Management and Training institutes that attract migrants, students and professionals not only from India but also from South East Asia, Middle East and African countries.
Toponomy
The name Pune is derived from Modi Puṇyanagari (पुण्यनगरी) (City of Virtue). The oldest reference to this name was found on a Rashtrakuta Dynasty copper plate dated 937 C.E., which refers to the town as Punya-Vishaya or Poonak-Vishaya (पुण्य – विष्य).
By the 13th century, it had come to be known as Punawadi (पुनवडी).Till the 1960s the official name of the city was Poona which then changed to Pune.
Economy
As one of the largest cities in India, and as a result of its many colleges and universities, Pune is emerging as a prominent location for IT and manufacturing companies to expand. Pune has the seventh largest metropolitan economy and the sixth highest per capita income in the country.
The automotive sector is prominent in Pune. It is home to the Automotive Research Association of India, which is responsible for the homologation of all vehicles available in India. All sectors of the automotive industry are represented, from two-wheelers and autorickshaws to cars, tractors, tempos, excavators and trucks. Automotive companies like Tata Motors,Mahindra & Mahindra, Mercedes Benz, Force Motors (Firodia-Group), Kinetic Motors have set ups in Pune. Automotive companies including General Motors, Land Rover, Jaguar, Renault, Volkswagen, and Fiat have set up greenfield facilities near Pune, leading The Independent to cite Pune as India's "Motor City". Several automotive component manufacturers like Saint-Gobain Sekurit, TATA Autocomp Systems Limited, Robert Bosch GmbH, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Visteon, and Continental Corporation are located here.
India's largest engineering conglomerate, the Kirloskar Group, was the first to bring industry to Pune by setting up Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. in 1945 at Kirkee in Pune. The Group was originally set up in Kirloskarwadi. Kirloskar Brothers Limited(India's largest manufacturer and exporter of pumps and the largest infrastructure pumping project contractor in Asia), Kirloskar Oil Engines (India's largest diesel engine company), Kirloskar Pneumatics Co. Ltd. and other Kirloskarcompanies are based in Pune.
The Hinjawadi IT Park (officially called the Rajeev Gandhi IT Park) is a project being started by MIDC to house the IT sector in Pune. When completed, the Hinjawadi IT Park is expected to have an area of about 2,800 acres (11 km). The estimated investment in the project is 
600 billion (US$10 billion). To facilitate economic growth, the government made liberal incentives in its IT and ITES Policy, 2003 and leased properties on MIDC land. The IT sector employs more than 70,000 people. Software giant Microsoft intends to set up a 7 billion (US$120 million) project in Hinjewadi.
600 billion (US$10 billion). To facilitate economic growth, the government made liberal incentives in its IT and ITES Policy, 2003 and leased properties on MIDC land. The IT sector employs more than 70,000 people. Software giant Microsoft intends to set up a 7 billion (US$120 million) project in Hinjewadi.
Pune Food Cluster development project is an initiative funded by the World Bank. It is being implemented with the help of SIDBI, Cluster Craft to facilitate the development of the fruit and vegetable processing industries in and around Pune.
The Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions trade is expected to get a boost once the Pune International Exhibition and Convention Centre (PIECC) completes in 2017. The 97-hectare PIECC will boast a seating capacity of 20,000, with a floor area of 13,000m2. It will have seven exhibition centres, a convention centre, a golf course, a five-star hotel, a business complex, shopping malls and residences. The US$115 million project is developed by the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority. Nowadays a growing number of automotive dealerships are springing up all over the city. They include luxury car makers like Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and bike manufacturers like Kawasaki, KTM and Harley Davidson
Notable people
- Anu Aga, industrialist
- Pankaj Advani, leading billiards and snooker player
- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, leader of Pune's Brahmins
- Bhimsen Joshi, Hindustani classical vocalist
- Chandu Borde, cricketer
- Cyrus Poonawala, businessman
- Deepika Samson, television actress
- Dhanraj Pillay, hockey player
- Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, social reformer
- Nilu Phule, actor
- P. A. Inamdar, educationalist, visionary
- Pu La Deshpande, writer
- Raghunath Mashelkar, scientis
- Rahul Bajaj, industrialist
- Hrishikesh Kanitkar, cricketer
- Sanjay Kirloskar, industrialist
- Shaiju Mathew, author, film director
- Shanta Shelke, writer
- Shantanurao Laxmanrao Kirloskar, industrialist
- Sharad Talwalkar, actor
- Baba Kalyani, industrialist
- Milind Date, flautist, composer, producer
- Girish Doshi, Architect
