Kochi (െകാച്ചി) (often known by the Portuguese name of Cochin) is the largest (pop. 1,355,000 in 2001) city in the state of Kerala, India, and one of the principal seaport in the country.

Also known as "Queen of the Arabian Sea", Kochi is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Old Kochi loosely refers to a group of islands and peninsula including Willingdon Island, Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, etc. Today Kochi includes Ernakulam city, old parts of Kochi, Kumbalangi, and outlying islands. For many centuries up to and during the British Raj, the city of Cochin was the seat of the eponymous princely state. The history of that state is detailed at Kingdom of Kochi.

The city derives its name from the Malayalam word "Kochazhi" meaning small lagoon. This was changed to Cochin by Europeans for easy pronunciation. The city reverted to its original name "Kochi" in 1996. The city is still widely referred to as "Cochin".

The city

Kochi is famous for its natural harbour and was the centre of the Indian spice trade for many centuries. It is home to a naval base and an airport, and is well connected to all the major Indian cities. Willingdon Island is a large artificial island, created by dredging the Vembanad Lake under Lord Willingdon's direction. A large shipyard makes ships, especially cruisers and carriers for the Indian Navy, and straddles Wellington Island.

Fort Kochi, situated on the Fort Kochi/Mattancherry peninsula, is the historical part of the city and home to many tourist attractions, such as the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, the Mattancherry Palace and the Santa Cruz Basilica. Most economic activity is now centred in Ernakulam, however.

Kochi is well connected to other parts of the world through roads, rail, water and air. There is an international airport called Cochin International Airport which is about 25 km north of the city. The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is located in Kochi, as are many other educational institutions. The Maharaja's College, which has seen the best of literary figures within its faculty and its students, is one of them. Kochi has a lot of sight seeing places. Some of them are the Bolgatty palace, Chinese fishing nets, boating through the back waters, the Tripunithura Palace (also called Hill Palace; on the top of a hill). There are two main railway stations in Ernakulam, which are well connected to the rest of India.

Kochi also houses the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. Due to this, the surrounding places, Thevara, Thoppumpady, Fortcochi, Kadavanthra etc are home to people (mainly Navy Personnel) from all parts of India.

The population is a mix of people from all parts of Kerala and most of India. Malayalam is the language of communication, although English is used in business circles. English, Hindi and Tamil are widely understood, but rarely spoken.

Kochi is

Kochi is on the verge of a dynamic development by the linking of the Goshree Islands (Vypeen, Vallarpadam, Mullavukad) to Kochi by the Goshree bridges.

History and heritage

Kochi was once ruled by Portugal (from 1503 to 1663), followed by the Netherlands; the city and its territory were ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 in exchange for the island of Banca.

The synagogue in Kochi is the oldest in India. Kochi was a major settlement for a large Jewish community, which figured prominently in the business and economic strata of Kochi society. They were known as Malabar Yehuden and now increasingly as Cochin Jews. The community has now almost entirely migrated to Israel and the United States. The copper tablets presented to them in ancient times were shipped to Kennedy Airport Sanctuary where they are on display. Kochi now has a multicultural and secular community comprising Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and other denominations. Syrian Orthodoxy was the sole Christian tradition in Cochin for a long time. However, since the Portuguese arrival in the princely state of Cochin (then known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam) in the 1500s, Roman Catholicism has been a dominant force in the city. Kochi also harboured the grave of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, who was buried at St. Francis Church until his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539. Cochin (Tripunithura) remained the capital of Cochin State (Perumpadapu Swaroopam with 17 Gun Salute) from late 18th Century till joining the Indian Union in 1947. Cochin was the first princely state to Join Indian Union willingly.

Local business and economy

Kochi is the biggest city in Kerala by volume of trade. The economy of the city can be classified as a business economy with concentration on the service sector. Major business areas are gold and textile retail, seafood and spices export, information technology, tourism and allied services, health services, banking, shipbuilding, fishing and allied activities. Kochi is home to the International Pepper Exchange, where pepper is globally traded.

The economy of the city is mostly dependant to trade and retail activities. As most of Kerala, inward remittances from abroad by Non Resident Indians (NRI) is also a major source of income. Exports and allied activities are another major source of income. Tourism has of late, become a major contributor to city income.

The state government has given priority to the establishment of Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing enterprises to exploit the opportunities that have arisen in the field. Projects include Kochi Info Park, Smart City Project (not finalized), SEPZ (Special Export Processing Zone). IT and BPO are seen as fields where there is immense employment and revenue potential for the city.

The Cochin fishing harbour, located at Thoppumpady is a major fishing port in the state and supplies fish to the local and export markets.

Major employers

• Cochin International Airport or CIAL, situated 30 km north of the city at Nedumbassery is the first port of call for most of the people coming to the state of Kerala by air. The airport also acts as an air-cargo terminal for most of the state. It is the first public-private partnership airport in India.

• The Headquarters of the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy is situated at Venduruthy about 5 kilometers south
  
  
  
  of the city centre.

• The Cochin Shipyard is another major employer in the city and also one of the biggest ship builduing facilities in South India.

• Cochin Port Trust, located on Willington Island, controls the Cochin Port.

• Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), a petroleum refinery situated in Ambalamedu, on the outskirts of the city.

• Fertilisers and Chemicals Travencore (FACT) located at Udyogamandal and Ambalamedu.

• The High Court Of Kerala is situated in the city. Consequentially, legal services are a major contributor to the economy.

• Tourism and allied industries employ a large number of people in the city.

• Kochi has now become a major destination for IT and ITES companies. The availability of 15 Gbps bandwidth, through undersea cables such as FLAG, SAFE and SEA ME WE 3 ensures seamless data flow from world wide which helps the IT business. The Infopark promoted by Govt. of Kerala is home to companies like Wipro and TCS. The establishment of Smart City project by Dubai Internet City will make Kochi the Silicon Valley of Kerala.

• Eloor(Udyogamandal), situated 17 km north of the town of Cochin, is an island of 11.21 square kilometers and is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. There are more than 247 industries viz. FACT, Travancore Cochin Chemicals, Indian Rare Earths Hindustan Insecticides Limited) and many others manufacturing a range of products like chemical-petrochemical products , pesticides, rare earth elements, and rubber processing chemicals, fertilizers, zinc/chrome compounds and leather products.

Other than these big companies, there are several small units in the service sector that cater and contribute to the economy.

Education and health care

Kochi is a centre of healthcare and education with several hospitals that are rated as the best in the state, located in and around the city. Health services also form a vital part of the local economy. AIMS (Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre), Lisie Hospital, Medical Trust Hospital, Ernakulam Medical Centre, Lakshmi Hospital and Lake-shore hospital are major hospitals.

Education

The city of Kochi also serves as an educational centre with premier educational institutions and research centres like CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) and AIMS(for medical education) situated in the city. In the area of tertiary education Maharajas College, Cochin College, Sacred Hearts College , Rajagiri College, St.Alberts Collegee , St.Theresa's College, Union Christian College, Aquinas College are the torch bearers.

Model Engineering College , one of the prominent engineering instituions in Kerala is situated in Thrikkakara, close to the heart of the city. Prominent colleges for engineering and management studies in Kochi include School of Communication and management studies, Toc-H Institute of Science and Engineering , Rajagiri College of Engineering.

In primary and secondary education, Kochi has a large number of schools, those that are run by government and by private parties.The prominent schools in the city include Navy Children School, Kendriya Vidyalaya,S.B.O.A Public School,Chinmaya Vidyalaya,Toc-H Public School, Assissi vidyaniketan, Choice School and Bhavans Educational Institutions.

Transport

Kochi is extensively connected, due to its strategic position to all major cities in India. Kochi has an , a and and a well established rail and road network.

For transport within the city, buses are available throughout the day. Auto rickshaws, commonly called autos are also a popular means of transport. The red busses are the backbone of public transport within the city.

The major roads in the city are:

M G Road: The M.G road stretching from Thevara Junction to Madhava Pharmacy Junction is the business spine of the city with most of the retail and business outlets concentrated along it.

Broadway: Contrary to the name, this is one of the narrowest streets in the city and had its heyday back in the 1970s and 1980s. It still has offices of the major dealers in wholesale goods, and remains a centre of buisiness activity in the city. The streets adjoining broadway form a part of the street vendor network.

Banerji RoadThe Banerji road is the northermost east-west cordidoor in the city running from the High Court of Kerala to Kaloor. The Ernakulam-Town railway station is situated on this road.

Sahodaran Ayyapan RoadThe SA road is the southern east-west interconnection connecting Ernakulam-south with Vyttila and NH-47. It is one of the busiest streets in Kochi today .

Shanmugham RoadThe Shanmugham road runs from the High Court junction to link with Park Avenue, parallel to broadway. Access to the Goshree bridges is through an extention of this road from the High Court junction. Developed as a model road by the corporation, one of the city's scenic spots, the Marine Drive is located parallel to it. It also provides access to grounds adjacent to the backwaters, a centre of many fairs and exibitions.

Park AvenuePark Avenue as its name suggests is a road of parks , with the Subhash park and Childrens' park on the west, adjacent to the backwaters. This road has the addresses of the Corporation of Kochi, General Hospital, Maharajas college, Law college and the Guest House.

Chitoor Road : Many retail businesses are along 'Chitoor road' that runs parallel to M.G Road. It is a one-way street that runs from Chittor to Valanjambalam.

Future Development

• The Indian Central Government has given permission for an international transhipment container terminal at Vallarpadom (Vallarpadom Container Transhipment Terminal Project). This port will be operated by Dubai Ports International (DPI) for 30 years under a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) agreement.

• Also on the cards is Petronet LNG terminal.The proposed LNG plant is expected to become operational by 2009 at Puthuvypu. This terminal would have a capacity of 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum initially and will be eventually increased to double its initial capacity. An agreement for the supply of 5 Mt/yr from Iran had been signed which would be sufficient to meet the additional capacity.

• The Kerala State Government has concluded talks with Dubai Internet City to develop an Information Technology park called 'Smart City' in Kochi.

• A metro rail project was mooted by the K.S.R.T.C (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) to alleviate the traffic congestion in the city. A viability study was concluded by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the project is waiting for the go ahead from the central government.

• A Special Economic Zone would be setup to promote the industrial growth of the city in the areas of Biotechnology and Nanotechnology.

Kochi (Inde) कोचीनml:കൊച്ചി Kochi Cochim Kochi, India Kochi (Indien)ta:கொச்சி 柯枝