Pune (pronounced /ˈpuːneɪ/, Marathi: पुणे, formerly known as Poona, is the eighth largest city in India, and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai. Situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula (Marathi: मुळा) and Mutha rivers(Marathi: मुठा), Pune is the administrative capital of Pune district and the 7th Metro city of India.
Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD. Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire, lived in Pune as a boy, and later oversaw significant growth and development of the town during his reign. In 1730, Pune became an important political centre as the seat of the Peshwa, the prime minister of the Chhatrapati of Satara. After the town was annexed to British India in 1817, it served as a cantonment town and as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency until the independence of India.

Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities, having more than a hundred educational institutes and nine universities. It also boasts a growing industrial hinterland, with many information technology and automotive companies setting up factories in Pune district.

The name punna (also transcribed Poona) derives from Punya Nagari (Sanskrit, "City of Virtue"). The oldest reference to this name is on a Rashtrakuta copper plate dated to [937]Current Era in which the town is referred to as Punya-Vishaya or Punak Vishaya. By the 13th century, it had come to be known as Kasbe Pune or Punavadi. Although the city's name is sometimes transcribed as Poona in English, a practice particularly common during the British Raj, the spelling "Pune" has now^{[clarification needed]} become standard.^{[citation needed]}

Pune is also known as The Oxford of the East, due to the various educational institutions, and also sometimes referred to as The Detroit of India owing to the many manufacturing companies, particularly automobile giants, having their base within the city's metropolitan area.

Copper plates dated to 758 and 768 show that, by the 8th century, an agricultural settlement known as 'Punnaka' existed where Pune is today. The plates indicate that this region was ruled by the Rashtrakutas. The Pataleshwar rock-cut temple complex was also built during this era.

Pune was a part of Yadava Empire of Deogiri from the 9th century to 1327. It was later ruled by the Nizamshahi sultans, until it was annexed by the Mughal empire in the 17th century. In 1595, Maloji Bhosale was appointed the jahagirdar of Pune and Supe by the Mughals^[

In 1625, Shahaji Bhonsle appointed Rango Bapuji Dhadphale as the administrator of Pune. He was one of the first major developers of the town, overseeing the construction of the Kasba, Somwar, Ravivar and Shaniwar Peths.After destruction of town in raid of Vijapur sultan during 1630, Again from 1636 to 1647, Dadoji Kondev- a military and administrative officer of Shahaji Bhonsle, oversaw development and construction in the area, he not only stabilzed revenue system of Pune and 12 Mavals but also developed effective methods to control disputes and law & order situation. Construction also began on the Lal Mahal palace, as Shahaji's son, Shivaji Bhonsle (later Chattrapati Shivaji) was to move there with his mother Jijabai. The Lal Mahal was completed in 1640^[3]. Jijabai is said to have commissioned the building of the Kasba Ganapati temple herself. The Ganapati idol consecrated at this temple is regarded as the presiding deity (gramadevata) of the city^[4].
Shivaji was crowned Chhatrapati in 1674, he oversaw further development in Pune, including the construction of the Guruwar, Somwar, Ganesh and Ghorpade Peths.

Baji Rao I became Peshwa of the Maratha empire, ruled by Chattrapati Shahuji, in 1720. By 1730, the palace of Shaniwarwada had been constructed on the banks of the Mutha river, ushering in the era of Peshwa control of the city. The patronage of the Peshwas resulted in the construction of many temples and bridges in the city, including the Lakdi Pul, Parvati temple and the Sadashiv, Narayan, Rasta and Nana Peths. The Peshwas fell into decline after their loss in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1802, Pune was captured from the Peshwa by Yashwantrao Holkar in the Battle of Poona, directly precipitating the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803-05.

The Third Anglo-Maratha War broke out between the Marathas and the British in 1817. The Peshwas were defeated at the Battle of Khadki (then transcribed Kirkee) on 5 November 1817 near Pune, and the city was seized.^[5] It was placed under the administration of the Bombay Presidency, and the British built a large military cantonment to the east of the city (now used by the Indian Army). The Pune Municipality was established in 1858. Pune was at one time the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency.
Nanasaheb Peshwa, the adopted son of the last Peshwa Bajirao II, rose against British East India Company rule in 1856, as part of the Indian Mutiny. He was helped by Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Tatya Tope. After the mutiny failed, the final remnants of the Maratha empire were annexed to British India.

Pune was an important centre for the social and religious reform movements of the late 19th century. Many prominent social reformers lived here, including Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde and Jyotirao Phule.

Pune is located 560m (1,837 ft) above sea level on the western margin of the Deccan plateau. It is situated on the leeward side of the Sahyadri mountain range (the Western Ghats), which separate it from the Arabian sea. It is a relatively hilly city, with its tallest hill, Vetal Hill, rising to 800m (2,625 ft) above sea level. Just outside the city, the Sinhagad fort is located at a height of 1300m.

Central Pune is located at the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers. The Pavana and Indrayani rivers, tributaries of the Bhima river, traverse the northwestern outskirts of the metropolitan Pune. Pune lies very close to the seismically active zone around Koyna Dam, about 100 km south of the city, and has been rated in Zone 4 (on a scale of 2 to 5, with 5 being the most prone to earthquakes) by the India Meteorological Department. Pune has experienced some moderate-intensity and many low-intensity earthquakes in its history. Although no major earthquakes have originated in Pune itself, an earthquake of magnitude 3.2 took place in the Katraj region near Pune on May 17 2008, a low intensity earthquake observed on night of 30 July 2008,the intensity of the earth quake was meaured at 4.2 as per news resources around 12:41 am^{[citation needed]}. The epicenter for the Earth Quake was in Koyna Dam field 2004

Pune has a tropical wet and dry climate with average temperatures ranging between 20°C to 28°C.

Pune experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Typical summer months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from 30 to 38 °C (85 to 100 °F). The warmest month in Pune is April; although summer doesn't end until May, the city often receives locally developed heavy thundershowers in May (although humidity remains high). Even during the hottest months, the nights are usually cool due to Pune's high altitude. The highest temperature ever recorded was 43.3°C on April 30, 1897^[7].
The monsoon lasts from June to October, with moderate rainfall and temperatures ranging from 10°C to 28°C (50°F to 82°F). Most of the 722 mm of rainfall in the city fall between June and September, and July is the wettest month of the year. Pune once received rainfall on 29 consecutive days^{[citation needed]}.
Winter begins in November; November in particular is known as the Rosy Cold (Marathi: गुलाबी थंडी). 

The daytime temperature hovers around 28 °C (83 °F) while night temperature is below 10 °C (50 °F) for most of December and January, often dropping to 5 or 6 °C (42 °F). The lowest temperature ever located was 1.7 °C on January 17, 1935

Pune International Airport is an international airport at Lohegaon, operated by the Airports Authority of India. It shares its runways with the neighboring Indian Air Force base, the only one of its kind in the world. Apart from domestic flights to all major Indian cities, this airport serves two international direct flights: one to Dubai (operated by Air India Express), and one to Frankfurt (operated by Lufthansa). New airport at Chakkan is opening shortly The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation is responsible for the design and construction of a new Pune International Airport. The area between Chakkan and Rajgurunagar, around the villages of Chandus and Shiroli, is currently being considered as a construction site. If constructed here, it will be 40 km from central Pune along the Pune-Nashik National highway (NH-50)and will be the largest one in Asia.

Pune has a rapidly growing software industry as well, with multinational companies such as BitWise Solutions,Cognizant technology Solutions, BMC Software, Persistent Systems, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra,Patni Computer Systems, Wipro and Infosys having large offices here. Some global organisations have set up their technology development centres in Pune, for example, Barclays Technology Centre, HSBC Global Technology Center and John Deere Technology Center. The growing software industry has led to the construction of IT parks to encourage new IT companies. This includes the Rajiv Gandhi IT Park at Hinjawadi, the Magarpatta Cybercity, the MIDC Software Technology Park at Talawade, the Marisoft IT Park and Kumar Cerebrum IT Park at Kalyani Nagar, the International Convention Centre (ICC), Weikfield IT Park and many others.

 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 to.








                                                                                                                                                                                             Pune is served by two highways:

1. Old Pune-Mumbai Highway: This is a major arterial road serving the Pune metropolitan area. The highway begins at the centre of the city i.e. Shivaji Nagar and stretches up to Dehu Road. Most sections of the highway feature 8 lanes (4 in each direction). It features a series of flyovers and underpasses making certain sections traffic signal-free.
2. Western Bypass: This road is a part of the National Highway 4 and forms a metropolitan bypass of the city, skirting through its western border. It is also known as Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass Highway. It stretches from Dehu Road in the north to Katraj in the south. This highway features 4 lanes (2 in each direction) and a series of flyovers/grade-separators. All the westbound roads of Pune intersect this highway.

Both public transport (autorickshaws and buses) and private transport (cars, motorcycles and scooters) are popular in Pune. According to one study, there were then 400,000 cars and 1.7 million two-wheelers in Pune in 2007^{[citation needed]}. More than 200,000 vehicles are added to the traffic in Pune every year.
Public buses within the city and its suburbs are operated by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML). A Pune Bus Rapid Transit system has been proposed, in which dedicated bus lanes would allow buses to travel quickly through the city. Buses to towns within Pune district surrounding Pune, as well as cities throughout Maharashtra are run by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. Private bus companies also run buses to major cities throughout India, especially Mumbai. Initially, about 10 years ago, the public transport was a little too bad. Recently, a new fleet of buses have started plying and doing good business; morover, routes have been extended/added to cope up with the burdening population of the metro. Lately (since August 2008), CNG (Compressed natural gas) buses have started operating and saving fuel cost for the government.
Pune is well-connected to other cities by Indian highways and state highways. National Highway 4 (NH 4) connects it to Mumbai and Bangalore, NH 9 to Solapur and Hyderabad, and NH 50 to Nashik. State highways connect it to Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, and Alandi.
Since 2002, Pune has been connected to Mumbai via the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, India's first six-lane high-speed expressway. Both pre-paid air-conditioned "cool" cabs and private bus companies ply this route, connecting Mumbai and Pune in three hours.Out of the total distance of 165 km from Mumbai to Pune, the Express Highway part is 96 km.A ring road is being planned to be constructed for the convenience of traffic.
Pune has witnessed an extraordinary growth in vehicular density and has consequently seen an alarmingly high increase in traffic offenses, accidents, and fatalities resulting from these

The city of Pune is managed by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The Corporation consists of 149 directly elected councilors^[11], who are led by the Mayor of Pune, a titular position mainly acting as an ambassador and representative of the city. Actual executive power is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service who is appointed by the Maharashtra state government.

Apart from the PMC, four other administrative bodies are active within the Pune metropolitan area:

• Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), responsible for Pimpri-Chinchwad and its surroundings,Pune is International Airport.

• Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB)^[13], responsible for Khadki,

• Pune Cantonment Board (PCB)^[14], responsible for Pune Cantonment, and

• Dehu Road Cantonment Board, responsible for the Dehu Road area.

A plan to establish a single Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA), consisting of the combined municipal councils, corporations, and other local governments of Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Lonavala, Talegaon, Bhor, Shirur, Saswad, the three cantonments and hundred villages near the city, has been considered since 1997, but might come to fruition this year^[15]. This body will then be the executing authority which will acquire and develop reserve land to improve the infrastruction of the Pune metropolitan area.




The Pune Police is headed by the Police Commissioner of Pune, an officer of the Indian Police Service. The Pune Police report to the state ministry.