Greater Noida

History

In the early 1980s, the government of India realised that the rapid rate at which Delhi was expanding would result in chaos, so they planned to develop residential and industrial areas around the capital to reduce the demographic burden. Before Greater Noida City, there were two areas that had been developed—Gurgaon, across the border from Haryana, and Noida, across the border with Uttar Pradesh.

Noida's infrastructure was carefully laid out, but the 1990s saw huge growth in the Indian economy. Migration to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore exceeded planning estimates. Noida was developed to accommodate population growth for 20–25 years. The massive population influx to Delhi, however, caused it to overload in a mere 15 years, although intake is not complete and illegal mining remains a problem.

The government of Uttar Pradesh decided to develop another city as an extension to Noida with better planning. The idea was to create a world-class city approximately 25 km from Noida. A railway station near Boraki and an international airport were included later in the plan intending to develop Greater Noida as an independent city; the airport was however scrapped in early 2012, owing to environmental concerns.

During the 1990s, the Noida extension (now a part of Gautam Buddh Nagar) became what is today known as Greater Noida. The development of the city is managed by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA). Greater Noida is connected to Agra by the six-lane Yamuna Expressway. The annual Indian Grand Prix is held at the Buddh International Circuit. Roads are wide with service lanes for every major road. The sectors are named by letters of the Greek alphabet. All cabling and utilities have been built underground. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma are the oldest sectors. The other emerging sectors include Xu, Delta, Mu, Omicron and Tau. The present GNIDA office is in Gamma II sector just opposite the historical village Rampur Jagir/Jahangir where the revolutionary Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil lived in 1919 when he was hidden underground after the Mainpuri conspiracy. A park has been named "Amar Shaheed Pt. Ram Prasad Bismil Udyan" by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

The 12th and 14th Auto Expos (The Motor Show) were held at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, in February 2014 and 2016 respectively.

Greater Noida West

Greater Noida West, previously known as Noida extension, is a part of Greater Noida and consists of 16 villages: Khairpur Gurjar, Shahberi, Devla, Patwari, Ghanghola, Bisrakh, Roza-Yakubpur, Haibatpur, Itaida, Patwari, Noida, Aminabad, Asadallapur, Maincha and Chipyana Buzurg. All sectors under Noida Extension (Sector 1 to 4) are very much a part of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA).

As of late 2012, plans were being formed to rename it to Greater Noida (West). Planners intended the area to provide NCR region housing.

Demographics

As per provisional data of the 2011 census, Greater Noida had a population of 107,676, with 58,662 males and 49,014 females. The literacy rate was 86.54%, 91.48% of males and 80.65% of females. The demographics of Greater Noida mainly consist of students, corporate employees, and labourers. Students are often temporary residents from other parts of India and abroad. Greater Noida and Noida combined have approximately 200 villages, out of which 110 have a Gurjar majority and 50 villages have yadav as a majority.

Climate

Greater Noida has a similar climate to Delhi: very hot and dry during summer, hot and humid during monsoons, pleasant and dry during spring and autumn, and cool to cold during winters.

According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-III, on a scale of I to V (in order of increasing proneness to earthquakes) while the wind and cyclone zoning is a "very high damage risk", according to the UNDP report. Greater Noida has a Tropical Savanna Climate with three main seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Aside from monsoon weather, it mainly remains dry.

In summer, i.e. from March to June, the temperature ranges from a maximum of 45 °C (i.e. 113 °F) to a minimum of 23 °C (73 °F). Monsoon season prevails during mid-June to mid-September with an average rainfall of 93.2 cm (36.7 inches). The cold waves from the Himalayan region make the winters in Greater Noida very chilly. Temperatures fall down to as low as 3 to 4 °C at the peak of winter. In January, a dense fog envelopes the city, reducing visibility on the streets.

District Administration

The District Administration is headed by the District Magistrate, an Indian Administrative Service officer. S/he is assisted by one Chief Development Officer, three Additional District Magistrates (Executive,Finance/Revenue and Land Acquisition), and one City Magistrate. The district is divided into three Tehsils named as Sadar, Dadri & Jewar each headed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate who reports to the district magistrate. Police Administration is headed by Senior Superintendent of Police, who is an IPS officer and is accountable to District Magistrate for Law and Order enforcement. S/he is assisted by four Superintendents of Police (City, Rural, Traffic and Crime) and eight Deputy Superintendents of Police. The current District Magistrate is Shri Nagendra Prasad Singh.

Places of interest

The major hospitals located in the city include Kailash Hospital, Naveen Hospital, Aastha Hospital, and Sharda Hospital.

Educational Institutions

Schools

Universities

Colleges and institutes

Local media

Sports

Located on Yamuna Expressway, Jaypee Sports City is a planned city aimed for sports, complete with various sports venues like an international standard cricket stadium, a hockey stadium, and an international Formula 1 racing circuit.

On 30 October 2011, Greater Noida hosted the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit constructed by Jaypee Group. It was the seventeenth round of the 2011 Formula One season, and the first Formula One Grand Prix to take place on the Indian subcontinent and even the circuit is the first of its kind in South Asia. The second and third Formula One Airtel Indian Grands Prix, held in October 2012 and 2013, were won by Red Bull Racing Driver Sebastian Vettel, his second and third consecutive wins in India.

Greater Noida Cricket Stadium, also known as "Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium", is located near Jaypee Green Golf Course. The stadium hosted its first Ranji Trophy match between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda from December 1–4, 2015. The ground would now be used by the national cricket team of Afghanistan as its home ground.

National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has opened a badminton academy in Greater Noida Stadium.

Jaypee Greens Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Greg Norman, is situated in Greater Noida. The course opened in June 2000 and received a "Tourism Friendly Golf Course" award from India's Ministry of Tourism in 2011. It is the longest course in India, and has been ranked fifth best Golf Course of India by the website Top100

There will also be a hockey stadium which is under construction and has a sports training academy and infrastructure for other sports.

The Time Trial cycling event for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at Noida–Greater Noida Expressway.

Industries

Of late, Greater Noida has attracted a lot of interest from major corporate houses for setting up their businesses in the city. In November 2016, Patanjali Ayurveda announced that it would be investing Rs. 2,000 Crore in a greenfield investment in Greater Noida. The project has been approved by Uttar Pradesh Cabinet. A clutch of mobile manufacturers have also shown interest in investing in Greater Noida. Taiwan Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association will develop a 210-acre greenfield electronic manufacturing cluster in Greater Noida with an investment of USD 200 million.

Metro Connectivity

The construction of metro is underway in the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida. This project was announced in 2013. The metro would primarily run across the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Delhi Metro already connects some parts of Noida. By April 2018, a 30 km metro link is expected to become operational between Noida and Greater Noida. This link will be operated and managed by an independent entity called Noida Metro Rail Corporation. Keeping in mind the commuter convenience and to provide the last mile connectivity to commuters in Noida and Greater Noida, NMRC launched bus services in December 2016. Another metro link to Greater Noida has also been approved which will connect Greater Noida (West) with Noida.