Transportation Network

Maharashtra has an efficient network of all weather roads and railways. Most of the cities are connected by air through Government or privately owned airlines/air taxies.

Road Transport

The total road length in Maharashtra is approximately 246,000 km, in a total land area of about 308,000 sq. km. This works out to almost 80 km of road length per 100 sq. km of area.

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation ply buses that connect almost all the towns and villages of the state. In addition, the cities have private and non-private taxis and autorickshaws.

Railways

Maharashtra has 5,987 kms of railway route length which comprise about 8.7 percent of the total railway route length in the country. Almost all major cities in the state are connected with the country's railway network. Mumbai is also the headquarters of the Central Railways and the Western Railways.

The Konkan Railway line which is a reflection of the spirit and determination of the people of Maharashtra is helping to transfer the state's agricultural coastline into an industrial belt and a tourist destination.

Air Transport

Mumbai has two airports, Sahar(International) Airport and the SantaCruz (Domestic) Airport. It is also the headquarters of Air India, the country's international carrier. Almost all other cities having airports in India and majority of international destinations are linked to Mumbai through direct flights. Cities of Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur have regular commercial flights. Ten other cities in the state have airports/airstrips.

Ports

With a coastline of 720 kms, Maharashtra has several natural ports. Besides 48 minor ports, the two principal ports are located in Mumbai, viz. The Jawaharlal Nehru port (at Uran, outside Mumbai) and the Mumbai Port.

Power

As of today the installed capacity of Power in the State is 12238 Mw, a relatively comfortable generation capacity based on current demand for power. Maharashtra is also one of the few states in the country to achieve 100 percent electrification of its villages.

To meet the growing demand for power in future, the state has also identified several power projects for development by independent power producers. The first phase of the Enron Power Project has gone on stream and Power Purchase Agreements have been signed with two independent power producers viz. Reliance and Ispat.

Telecommunications

Maharashtra has the highest number of direct working telephone lines in the country. It is now possible to get a telephone connection in Mumbai and certain other cities almost instantaneously. ISDN services are now available in Mumbai and Pune.

More than 120 towns in Maharashtra are linked to 210 countries worldwide through International Subscriber Dialing.Mumbai is linked via Subscriber Trunk Dialing to more than 1.390 cities in the country. Telex and fax facilities are commonplace and telegraph offices exist in almost all villages.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., introduced internet services in 1995 connecting Mumbai and Pune with cyberspace. The cities of Nasik, Aurangabad and Nagpur also have Internet nodes now. Almost 50% of the country's Internet users are in Maharashtra.

Financial Infrastructure

Mumbai is the hub of the country's financial infrastructure. The Reserve Bank of India, the country's largest commercial bank, are headquartered in Mumbai.

In the financial services sector, virtually all the foreign entrants have selected Mumbai as their centre of Indian operations. These include Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS Securities, SBC Warburg, BZW and the Jardine Fleming Group.

Commercial Banks

The banking network spans all of Maharashtra and reaches even the remote rural areas. Also, key international banks like Citibank, American Express Bank and Bank of America operate in Mumbai and other major cities.

Investment Banks

The two largest domestic investment banks in India, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India and Industrial Development Bank of India are headquartered in Mumbai.

Maharashtra State Finance Corporation provides loans and financial assistance for small and medium size projects, while SICOM LTD. is actively engaged in project advisory services and providing training and advisory facilities to would be and first-time entrepreneurs.

Capital Markets

Maharashtra has four active stock exchanges, viz.
* Bombay Stock Exchange
* Over the country Exchange of India
* Pune Stock Exchange and
* National Stock Exchange.