Chapter-6

Development and present Status of Nashik District

6.1 Introduction
Nashik today is one of the fastest growing cities in India and has even
been identified as a tier-2 metro. The city's economy is driven chiefly by the
engineering and manufacturing industry (which has been around since the
seventies) as well as the progressive agriculture in area surrounding the city.
Auto majors such as Mahindra and Mahindra, BOSCH and Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs) such as VIP, Samsonite, CEAT etc. have their plants here
and have spawned a huge network of auto component suppliers and engineering
ancillary services. It is also a pharmaceutical hub with presence of
GlaxoSmithKline, Glenmark and Fem Pharma. In recent years, Nasik has also
carved a niche for itself as India's "Napa Valley" and locally established wine
brands such as "Sula" have attained international acclaim. Modern efforts are on
to promote the growth of an export-oriented rose farming and wine industry in
the district. Nashik is also deemed "the third most industrialised city of
Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune", mainly due to extensive industrial
development in recent times. It is home to an important thermal power plant
(Eklahare) and a National Treasury Printing Press (India Security Press at Nashik
Road). HAL, one of the Navratnas of Government of India is also located at
Ozar, Nashik. There are five "Industrial Zones" in the Nashik area and its
outskirts (Satpur, Ambad, Sinnar, Igatpuri and Dindori). Nashik has a number of
sugar mills. It is also chief exporter of white onions, grapes and pomegranates.
Mumbai-Pune-Nashik is being seen to be developed as Golden Triangle of
Maharashtra and accordingly infrastructural facilities are being developed by the
Government.
6.2 A Historical Perspective (History of Pilgrim City)
Nashik has a personality of its own, due to its mythological, historical,
social and cultural importance. The city is situated on the banks of the Godavari
River, making it one of the holiest places for Hindus all over the world. Nashik
has a rich historical past, as the mythology has it that Lord Rama, the King of
Ayodhya, made Nashik his adobe during his 14 years in exile. At the same place
Lord Laxman, by the wish of Lord Rama, cut the nose of "Shurpnakha" and thus
this city was named as "Nasik".

Milestones in the history of Nashik

Some of the major events in the history of Nashik are :
· 1840 : Sarvajanik Vachanalaya established. (Public Library)
· 1854 : Sharanpur Colony formed.
· 1861 : Deolali Cantonment formed.
· 1862 : Nashik Road railway station was built.
· 1864 : Nashik Municipality formed.
· 1869 : Nashik district formed.
· 1894 : Saint Andrew Church built.
· 1894 : Construction work for Victoria Bridge started.
· 1910 : Police Training School established.
· 1922 : Distillery started at Nashik Road.
· 1927 : Security Press formed at Nashik Road.
· 1941 : Artillery Center migrated to Nashik Road from Quetta in Pakistan.

6.3 Development and Growth of the city

Urbanization and Development:
Nashik has transformed from a small pilgrimage town to a modern mid-
sized city in the last two decades or so. The growth of industries brought about a
major growth in population resulting into expansion of the footprint of the city
into the hinterland and resulted into growth of suburbs along the periphery of the
city. The natural benefits of geography and climate and abundant availability of

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water catalyzed this growth. The retail revolution in India also left an impact on
Nashik with multiple medium and large sized retail malls opening up in the city
after the year 2002. Stand-alone branded apparel stores and food chains followed
the trend and have opened up outlets to cater to the growing urban population.
Hotel Taj, Jupiter and many other have started serving the city and industrialists
and visitors of Nashik. Considering the need of city, aero plane service is also
commenced on daily basis to Mumbai, the financial capital of our Country.
Some of the other statistics are given below:
• The literacy rate in Nashik is 85.67%.
• People living below poverty line: 5.6%
• Human Development Index(from 2001-2008):90.00%
• Infrastructure Development: 80%

6.4 Industrial Growth in Nashik

Pre-independence Period
During this period the whole district was humming with handicraft
activities mainly in engraving on gold, silver, copper and brass utensils,
manufacturing locks, making paper and weaving textile items like colored
sarees, Paithanee, carpets, blankets, silk cloth etc. Nearly 35000 artisans were
engaged in these cottage-industrial activities.
The first sign of modern industry as such in this region can be traced back to
1882 when a Paper Mill at Yeola with an employment of 200 workers was
started. The work of India Security Press, with a capital investment of Rs. 28 lacs
was started in 1923 and printing work was commenced in 1925. The printing of
currency notes began in 1928.
Encouraged by the favourable conditions conducive to the industrial
growth, the private sector also stepped in. The era of modern industrialization
started during the 4th decade of the 20th century with the establishment of the
Walchand Group at Ravalgaon. In 1933 the first sugar factory was founded in
Nashik District. That very year the first foundry was also started. In 1936 the first

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soap factory was witnessed by the Nashikites, coinciding with the emergence of
power loom sector in Malegaon.
Nashik’s contribution in Service Industrial Field, particularly in insurance
sector has been a pioneering one. The first Insurance Company, the Sahyadri
Insurance Company was commenced in 1936 at Nashik.
In 1943, the first Cement Tiles Factory was started at Nashik. During pre-
independence period only Nashik entered into a very special cottage industry
activity namely Beedi manufacturing. In the absence of its main raw material i.e.
Tendu leaves, it is indeed a great achievement that this industry took a solid base
and shape at Sinnar. It provided employment to thousands of illiterate and poor
adivasees, especially women, in the drought-prone areas. Still this industry
assumes a great importance in the rural economy not only in the district but even
in the whole State of Maharashtra.

Post-Independence period
We may, briefly note the major industrial happenings during the first two
decades after India got independence.
A government printing press, with an investment of Rs. Two cores, was
established. Small units mainly related to consumer items, like ice, soap,
agricultural implements, pharmacies, textile, processing and packing food and
other agricultural products etc. were started. During this period, Malegaon in the
District, came up as a growing centre for power looms and principally for
weaving coloured sarees. During the first decade of the post independence period
the number of power looms doubled i.e. from 4000 to 8000 and by the end of
1970, the authentic number of power looms reached the incredible 25000.

Modern Industrialization
Nashik is one of the fastest growing cities of India; the credit hugely goes
to its industrialization and development since 2002 with malls, new urban areas,
infrastructure, educational institutions etc. It is also a pharmaceutical hub with
presence of Glaxo SmithKline, Glenmark and Fem. In recent years, Nasik has

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also carved a niche for itself as India's "Napa Valley" and locally established
wine brands such as "Sula" and "Zampa" have attained international acclaim. The
natural benefits of geography and climate and abundant availability of water
catalyzed this growth.
The industrial development of Nashik area may be thought of mainly in
two periods, namely pre-independence and post-independence period. The post-
independence period, we may divide, again in three stages i.e. from 1948 to
1960, 1960 to 1985 and the last one and a half decade of the 20th century.
The systematic, scientific and channelised process of the modern
industrial development of Nashik, in the true sense of the term, started in 1962
when Satpur M.I.D.C. was declared to have come into existence with some land
being handed over to Nashik Industrial Co-Op. Estate Limited; popularly called
as NICE Area. During the first decade 50 units, mainly pertaining to consumer
products and ancillary units, investing about Rs. 25 crores and giving jobs to
3000unemployedwerestarted. These include few large units also like MICO,
Tapadia, VIP etc. During this period, MSEB started Thermal Power Unit at
Eklahare near Nashik Road. Other few large units like Citric, Vindhya papers,
Kirloskar Tractors etc. Were established in private corporate sector.
In this very decade, Nashik was placed on the world industrial and defense
map of India as MIG Air-Craft Unit of the famous Hindustan Aeronautics
Ltd (HAL) was started at Ozar in 1964. It is located 10 miles (16 km) from
Nashik employing about 7000 people.
The major transformation of Nashik took place during the last fifteen
years. The Satpur MIDC Area (636.98 hectares) was flooded with industrial
activities. An additional MIDC Area of 520.55 hectares at Ambad was declared
in 1980 and at Malegaon near Sinnar an area of 587 hectares was added in 1988.
At Sinnar the Sinnar Co-Op. Industrial Estate Ltd. came into existence on Shirdi
Road at Musalgaon with an area of 103 hectares. Now Nashik produces almost
everything from pin to Aeroplane. It also caters to the needs of agro-based
industrial products and their exports oriented processing. At present more than
175 large and medium industrial units are functioning with an investment of Rs

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1169 crores providing employment to more than 27000 workers .The total
number of SSI units having permanent registration is 7547 having an investment
of Rs 325 crores and employing more than 30000 persons.
Apart from Satpur, Ambad and Sinnar, the district is having MIDC areas
at Malegaon, Dindori, Vinchur, (Proposed) Peth and Surgana. Very recently
water of Girna dam has been reserved for Malegaon MIDC area and in the
coming years, a tremendous development of industrial activities in Malegaon
MIDC can be witnessed.
The district is having industrial co-operative estates at Nashik, Sinnar,
Malegaon, Manmad, Yeola, Pimpalgaon (Baswant), Kalwan, Igatpuri, Chandwad
and Nandgaon. Efforts are also going on to have such an estate at Satana.

Map of Nashik district industrial area is shown in the Map no.6.1

The development of special economic zone (SEZ) over 1010 hectares in

Nashik has brought the most spectacular developments in the commercial real
estate market of Nasik. The project carries with all unique features such as race
track, city Theatre, Botanical Garden, IT zones, areas of education, the
development of tourism, entertainment and other such things which makes it

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stand out. The project has been backed and supported by the Maharashtra
Industrial Corporation. It is being developed by Indiabulls and it will also have
its own Thermal Power Station. Land acquisition is complete and other
developments are being carried out. The company has planned to set up 1320
MW Thermal Power Project in Sinnar. Total investments will be of around Rs
25,000 crores and it will create thousands of jobs.

6.5 Other data relating to the city

Latitude 190-33' and 200-53' North
Longitude 730-16' and 750-6' East
Area 259.13 Sq. Km (Second largest in Maharashtra after Mumbai)
Population 6,48,000 (1991 census)
Industrial Estates
Name Area Units
Satpur 1600 Acres 700
Ambad 1400 Acres 600

Demography: The Population of the city has grown from 6.56 to 10.77 lakh
during 1991-2001 period recording 64% decadal growth rate. The growth rate
has been very rapid during the past three decades (50% +). With continued high
rate of growth (49% and 44% during the decades 2001-11 and 2011-21) the city
estimates the population to be 17.5 and 26 lakh.

Urban transport: -A total of 1974 kms of road network exists of which 430 kms
are WBM roads, 262 kms are Concrete roads and the balance is tarred roads. City
bus services are being operated by MSRTC. 185 buses on 32 routes cater to 1.4
lakh passengers’ average per day.
The city is developing as a major education centre.. There are two
universities (Maharastra Aurogya Vigyan Vidyapeet and Yaswant Rao Chauan
Open University), international Schools, Medical, Architecture, Business
management and Engineering colleges are located in the city. There are

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conscious efforts (land reservation building institutions, 50% concession in
general tax) made to promote the city as an education centre. Infrastructure
development under JNNURM is expected to further the economic development
prospects of the city.

6.6 Recent Developments

Recently the government decided to prepare IT parks in the city of
Nashik. The V-Tech park is one of the largest IT parks of Maharashtra. Nashik is
also emerging as a BPO/IT destination and is in list of the selected Tier II cities
for BPO/IT companies; companies like Datamatics, WNS, Winjit Technologies,
I-Tech System, Nasik Online, Netwin and gloStream, which develops electronic
medical record software and practice management solutions, have a presence in
Nashik. Legrand, Jindal Steel at Sinnar are also pride for the Sinnar MIDC. Five
and Seven Star Hotels like Taj, Jupiter and many other have started their
branches in the city. As per the Need of the Industry and growth of the city, aero
plane service is also started from Nashik on daily basis to Mumbai. Now,
recently Nashik is also known for various educational institutes starting their
units in the city. Many international schools, colleges in various fields like
Management, Engineering, Wine Technology, Fashion Designing, Medical,
Architectural have been started and students from all over the country are
pursuing their studies in this city. It is being known for quality education
departed by all such institutions.
Nashik is deemed to be "the third most industrialized city of Maharashtra
after Mumbai and Pune", mainly due to extensive industrial development in
recent times. All the factors are proportionally related to the growing demand for
property in Nashik. Investors in Nashik are spurring up in leaps and bounds.
Hence anyone planning of investing in a lucrative city, without second thought
Nashik is an excellent proposition.

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Industries
Small Scale Industries - Weaving rough blankets, cloth, curing hides, making
copper and brass vessels and rolling bidis are some of the small scale industries
of the district. Rough blankets are woven at Dubere and Thangaon. Sinnar and
Nashik have bidi-rolling units. Wooden articles are made in Peth and Surgana.
Besides these, small villages are engaged in making earthenware pots, leather
chappals and shoes, bricks and tiles etc.

Large Scale Industries - There are sugar factories in Malegaon, Niphad, Baglan,
Kalvan, Dindori and Nashik talukas. Igatpuri and Peth talukas have rice mills,
while Malegaon, Baglan, Chandwad, Yeola and Niphad talukas have oil mills.

Private Estates
One can witness the growth of particularly large and medium scale
industries coming up on Mumbai-Agra road sector, mainly in Igatpuri Taluka,
between Nashik and Igatpuri. Day by day this area is taking the shape of an
industrial complex having big as well as export oriented units. World's greatest
manufacturers have set up plants in Nashik MIDC area: Bosch India [leader in
auto ancillary], Crompton Greaves Limited, ABB Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra
Ltd, Kirloskar Oil, Ceat Tyres, Schnider, Jyoti Structure, VIP Ltd, Graphite India
Ltd, 'Surya Murphy', Glaxo Pharma, Coca Cola, and Victor Gasket Ltd. Besides
these, an even IT sector has entered a market, but the growth is slow due to the
lack of infrastructure and technical support. Nashik is now popular for the Wine
industries. Around 60% of wine production from india is done at Nashik.
Vinchur Wine Park is a grape wine park administered by the Maharashtra
Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Many renowned Indian and MNCs
established themselves in Nashik:

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Table 6.1- Renowned Indian and MNCs in Nashik
Cable Corporation of
Mahindra and Mahindra Garware
India
Kirloskar Oil
Crompton Greaves Siemens
Engines
BOSCH India Caprihans Gabriel India Ltd
Thyssen Krupp Fem Care Pharma IBP
Samsonite Glaxo Smithkline PCVL Castings
CEAT ABB LandT
Essar Steel Hypermart
Atlas Copco VIP Luggage
Ltd.
Sharda Motor Industries
Jindal Steel HLL
Limited
GloStream Technologies
Perfect Circle Sula wines
Pvt. Ltd.
Glenmark Pharma EPC Irrigation Legrand

Rural, Cottage and Small Scale Industries:

The Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) is implementing various
schemes for promotion to the rural and cottage industries such as Special
Component Plan for SC. Margin Money Scheme and DRI scheme KVIB
operates in two ways. They sponsor proposals to the banks under above schemes
and also conduct training courses. A National level Training Institute is situated
in Nashik on Trimbak Road to cater training needs of various trades.

Data Centers:

ESDS Software Solution Pvt. Ltd. has come up with the first Data center
in Nashik. It is a 4000 sq.ft. data center in an square acre land located in Satpur
MIDC, NICE Area.

6.7 Growth Prospects of the city

Now Nashik offers most advantageous position over many coming-up

industrial zones to the state, national and multinational establishments. Though
majority are from engineering sector, Nashik is also attracting agro-based and
food units along with 100% export units. In the near future nearly 8000 crores
investment is expected. More than 300 large and medium size units are expected
to commence and take shape within two decades to come.

Conclusion

Nashik, a very old city having history right from the Ramayana days has
changed according to the developments all over. It is the city having nice
combination of pilgrim city and industrial hub in North Maharashtra. Kumbh-
mela held every 12 years is the holy icon for the city. Government and Private
Large Scale Units operating in and around city give special importance to the city
on the industrial map on India. Small and Medium size industries which are
vendors of all such large scale units are also large in numbers and have created
ample number of employment.

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