Valsad district

Valsad district is one of the 33 districts in the Western Indian state of Gujarat. It is bound by Navsari district to the north, Nashik district of Maharashtra state to the east, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territory and Palghar district of Maharashtra to the south. The Arabian Sea lies west of the district. The coastal Daman enclave of Daman and Diu union territory is bounded by Valsad district on the north, east, and south. The district's administrative capital is Valsad. The district's largest city is Vapi.

The district covers 3008 square kilometres and is divided into six talukas: Valsad, Vapi, Pardi, Umargam, Kaparada and Dharampur. In 2011, Valsad had population of 1,705,678 of which male and female were 887,222 and 818,456 respectively. In 2001 census, Valsad had a population of 1,410,553 of which males were 734,799 and remaining 675,754 were females. Valsad District population constituted 2.82 percent of total Gujarat population. In 2001 census, this figure for Valsad District was at 2.78 percent of Gujarat population. There was change of 20.92 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Valsad District recorded increase of 29.65 percent to its population compared to 1991. according to 2011 census 62.74% of population lives in rural areas and 37.26% lives in urban regions of district. Valsad is well known for its production of mangoes, sapodilla, and teak, and for its chemical and industrial stretch based on Vapi and Atul.

Valsad

Valsad is a municipality in the Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Britishers called it Bulsar. This city has a collectorate, a district court, and a police headquarters with a historic prison.

Historically, Valsad was a small town covered with forest, with teak production as a major regional industry.It was a part of regional kingdom before colonial era. It was made a district during the Bombay Presidency era, and was governed under Bombay State during the colonial era, following independence (prior to the creation of the state of Gujarat).Today, Valsad is a town inhabited by Gujarati people. Gujarati is the primary language in and around the town.

The main religion followed in the region is Hinduism. Other minority religions include Jainism, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrian, and Sikhism.

A tourist destination, the best time to visit Bulsar is in June-July, post-monsoon, when the roads in and around town are at their best.

Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury had family origins in Valsad, and his original family name (Bulsara) is derived from the former name of the city. Former Bollywood actresses Nirupa Roy and Bindu are also from Valsad.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: [nəreːnd̪rə d̪ɑːmoːd̪ərəd̪ɑːs moːd̪iː], born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since 26 May 2014. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Varanasi. He led the BJP in the 2014 general election, which gave the party a majority in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) – a first for any party since 1984 – and was credited for 2014 BJP electoral victories in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Since taking office as Prime Minister, Modi's administration has focused on reforming and modernising India's infrastructure and government, reducing bureaucracy, encouraging increased foreign direct investment, improving national standards of health and sanitation and improving foreign relations. Modi has been appreciated for starting initiatives like Swachh Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India. Earlier, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi's economic policies (credited with encouraging economic growth in Gujarat) have been praised, although his administration has also been criticised for failing to significantly improve the human development in the state and failing to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots. A Hindu nationalist and a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Modi remains a controversial figure domestically and internationally, despite his progressivism. Known for his tech savvy image, he is the second most followed politician on social media after U.S. President Barack Obama.