Kolkata/kolkt/, formerlyCalcutta/klkt/, is thecapitalof theIndianstateofWest Bengal. Located on the east bank of theHooghly river, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre ofEast India, while thePort of Kolkatais India's oldest operating port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1million, making it thethird-most populous metropolitan areain India. As of 2008, its gross domestic product (adjusted forpurchasing power parity) was estimated to beUS$104 billion, which would bethird highest among Indian cities, behindMumbaiandDelhi.[12]As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by theNawab of BengalunderMughalsuzerainty. After the Nawab granted theEast India Companya trading license in 1690,[13]the area was developed by the Company intoan increasingly fortified mercantile base. NawabSiraj ud-Daulahretook Kolkata in 1756 after the Company started evading taxes and due to increasing militarization of the fort. The East India Companyretook it in the following yearand in 1793assumed full sovereigntyafter Mughal governorship (Nizamat) was abolished. Under the East India Company and later under theBritish Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of British held territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism inBengal, led to a shift of the capital toNew Delhi. The city was the centre of theIndian independence movement; it remains a hotbed ofcontemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkatawhich was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politicswitnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, an economic rejuvenation has led to accelerated growth.As a nucleus of the 19th- and early 20th-centuryBengal Renaissanceand a religiously and ethnically diverse centre of culture in Bengal and India, Kolkata has established local traditions in drama, art, film, theatre, and literature that have gained wide audiences. Manypeople from Kolkataamong them several Nobel laureateshave contributed to the arts, the sciences, and other areas, whileKolkata culturefeatures idiosyncrasies that include distinctivelyclose-knit neighbourhoods(paras) andfreestyle intellectual exchanges(adda). West Bengal's share of theBengali film industryis based in the city, which also hosts venerable cultural institutions of national importance, such as theAcademy of Fine Arts, theVictoria Memorial, theAsiatic Society, theIndian Museumand theNational Library of India. Among professional scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts theAgri Horticultural Society of India, theGeological Survey of India, theBotanical Survey of India, theCalcutta Mathematical Society, theIndian Science Congress Association, theZoological Survey of India, theInstitution of Engineers, theAnthropological Survey of Indiaand theIndian Public Health Association. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian citiesby giving importancetoassociation footballand other sports.Contents[hide] 1Etymology 2History 3Geography 3.1Urban structure 3.2Climate 4Economy 5Demographics 6Government and public services 6.1Civic administration 6.2Utility services 6.3Military and diplomatic establishments 7Transport 8Healthcare 9Education 10Culture 11Media 12Sports 13Sister cities of Kolkata 14See also 15References 16Further reading 17External links