D.1. Functional Classification of Towns
On the basis of dominant or specialized functions, Indian cities and towns can be broadly classified as follows:
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1. Administrative towns and cities |
Towns that serve as administrative headquarters for higher-level governance are known as administrative towns. Examples include Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, and Chennai. |
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2. Industrial towns |
Industries are the primary driving force of cities like Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Hugli, and Bhilai. |
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3. Transport Cities |
Some towns serve as key ports involved in export and import activities, such as Kandla, Kochi, Kozhikode, and Visakhapatnam. Others act as major hubs for inland transport, including Agra, Dhulia, Mughal Sarai, Itarsi, and Katni. |
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4. Commercial towns |
Towns and cities specializing in trade and commerce are kept in this class. Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna, etc. are some examples. |
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5. Mining towns |
These towns have developed in mineral rich areas such as Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankaleshwar, Singrauli, etc. |
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6. Garrisson Cantonment towns |
These towns emerged as garrisson towns such as Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur, etc. |
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7. Educational towns |
Starting as centres of education, some of the towns have grown into major campus towns such as Roorki, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani, and Allahabad etc. |
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8. Religious and cultural towns |
Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Kurukshetra, Haridwar and Ujjain came to prominence due to their religious/cultural significance. |
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9. Tourist towns |
Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Pachmarhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udagamandalam (Ooty), Mount Abu are some of the tourist destinations. |
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