India States and Cities

By Road

The Kadamba Transport Corporation runs long distance services throughout the state from their main stands at Panjim, Mapusa and Margao and from locations in the adjoining states of Maharashtraand Karnataka. Private buses, serving everywhere else, including the coastal resorts are affordable, frequent and provide a relaxed mode of commuting.

By Rail

The Konkan Railway makes Goa easily accessible by rail from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Mangalore, Ernakulam, Thiruvanthapuram. Goa is also liked to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune via Londa.

By Air

Major hotels have coach services to and from Dabolim Airport, 30 km from the state capital Panaji for picking up and dropping off their guests. The airport has a pre-paid taxi counter. All the major airline services have daily flights to Goa from Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and pUne and twice a week from Chennai and Kochi. The international service airlines also connect Goa with Kuwait and Sharjah twice a week.

Local Transport

Taxis: For tourists, white taxis serve as the main means of traveling between resorts. One will find them lined up outside most charter hotels, where a board invariably lists the destinations in and around the region. The fixed rate fares only apply to peak season and at other times one should be able to negotiate a hefty reduction from the demanded fare.

Motorcycle Taxis: Goa's unique pillion-passenger motorcycle taxis known locally as "pilots" are ideal for nipping between beaches or into towns from the resorts. Bona fide operators ride black bikes with yellow mudguards and yellow number plates. Fares which should be settled in advance are almost half the auto-rickshaw rates.

Rented Motorcycles: Renting motorcycles in Goa gives a lot of freedom to tourists. Officially one needs an international driver's licence to rent or ride anything more powerful than a 25 cc moped. Rates vary according to the season, the vehicle and how long one wants to rent it. Most owners also insist on a deposit and passport as security. The range is pretty standard and the reasonable choice is a 100cc motorbike. These are fine for buzzing to the beach and back, but to travel further the stalwart Enfieldullet 350 cc is popular for tis pose value and its British origins. The smaller Kinetic Honda 100cc which has automatic transmission is a good choice for the novice as well as the all-rounder.

Ferries: If autorickshaws are the quaint, essentially Indian mode of transport, flat-bottomed ferries are their Goan equivalent. Crammed with cars, buses, commuters and scooters, fisherwomen and clumps of bewildered tourists, these blue painted hulks provide an essential service, crossing the coastal backwaters where bridges have not been built. They are also incredibly reasonable and run from dawn till late in the evening.

The most frequented river crossings in Goa are Panjim to Betim, across River Mandovi, Old Goa to Divar Island, Siolim to Chopdem across the Tiracol river and Cavelossim in the far south of Salcete taluka to Assolna.

Private bus services

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 37.8% (male 33,617,953/female 31,741,258)

15-64 years: 58% (male 51,292,535/female 48,921,023)

65 years and over: 4.2% (male 3,408,749/female 3,818,533) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.5 years

male: 20.3 years

female: 20.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.999% (2008 est.)

Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra rests on the Arabian sea on an island. Mumbai is the virtual centre of Indian trade and commerce, and has a superb harbour which provides the city with the country's busiest port. The city is dotted with Victorian mansions and grand public buildings which serve as a gentle reminder of the British Raj. Mumbai is also known as thecommercial capital of India. The city is known for its chic restaurants, hip, western style bars which offer a wide choice of cuisines like Continental, Chinese and numerous Indian dishes.

With its large migrant population and local enterprise, this city is the most cosmopolitan of the metros in India. It enjoys a distinctly tropical climate and has a new, vibrant culture that reflects the affluence and energy of the people. Renowned as the 'Queen of Indian Cities', Mumbai is well connected with all the major cities in the world.

E. M. S. Namboodiripad was the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of Kerala.

The Government of India's 1 November 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated the new Kerala state, incorporating Malabar District, Travancore-Cochin (excluding 4 southern Taluks which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasaragod, South Kanara. A new Legislative Assembly was also created, for which elections were held in 1957. These resulted in a communist-led government - world's first democratically-elected - headed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad.
First Chief Minister of Kerala was E.M.S.Namboothirpaad. Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, (Malayalam: ഏലങ്കുളം മനക്കല്‍ ശങ്കരന്‍ നമ്പൂതിരിപ്പാട്) (June 13, 1909 – March 19, 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala. He was also the first non-Congress chief minister in independent India. He was renowned as a socialist and a Marxist theorist.

There are 07 Union Territories in India: New Delhi(officially National Capital Territory of Delhi), Chandigarh(capital of Haryana and Punjab), Daman and Diu (in west coast of India), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (between Maharashtra and Gujarat), Pondicherry (on the eastern ghat of India), Andaman and Nicobar (group of island located in the Indian Ocean), Lakshadweep (off of the coast of Kerala in the Laccadive Sea).

These are under direct administration by Central Govt. and thus fast developing into a modern belt of Industry and Tourism.