Bharuch district of Gujarat is situated in the southern part of the state of Gujarat. The district has 8 talukas, of which the major ones are Bharuch (District headquarter), Ankleshwar, Valia, Jhagadia and Jambusar. The total area of the district is 5,253 sq. km. as per 2001 population census the population of the district is 1.3 million with 261 persons per sq. km.

History of Bharuch District
Bharuch district was a major shipping building centre and sea port in the important pre-compass coastal trading routes to points west, perhaps as far back as the days of the Pharaohs, which utilised the usual Monsoon winds or galleys. Many goods from the Far East were trans-shipped there for the annual monsoon winds making it a station for several key land-sea trade routes and Bharuch was certainly known to the Greeks, the various Persian Empires and in the Roman Republic. With the advent of the Age of Discovery, the existence of deep draft sea going shipping it began a long slow decline in importance as it was a bit too far north to be convenient to shipping not confined to keeping within sight of shore.

Geography of Bharuch District
The geographical location of Bharuch district is 21.30 degree to 22.00 degree North (Latitude) and 72.45 degree to 73.15 degree East (Longitude). The average rainfall of the place is 800 mm.

Education of Bharuch District
Bharuch district has a literacy rate of 74.79 percent. There are 850 primary, 118 secondary and 55 higher secondary schools in the district. The 17 ITIs offer several industrial training programmes in Cutting and Sewing, Fitting, Diesel engine mechanic, Information Technology and electronic system management. K.J. Polytechnic College present in Bharuch offers diploma courses in electronics, mechanical, computers, cosmetic design, and chemical civil and in electrical engineering. Narmada College of Management in Bharuch offers MBA courses and has an intake capacity of 60.

Economy of Bharuch District
Bharuch is an industrial base in sectors as diversified as chemicals and petrochemicals, textiles, drugs and pharmaceuticals and ports and ship building. A number of private business conglomerates have their presence in Bharuch. Some of them include Guardian Corporation, Videocon, Reliance, Tatas, Aditya Birla Group, Welspun-Stahl Rohrren, Aventis, Wockhardt, Rallis, Pfizer, Larsen and Toubro, Bayer, Glenmark, Lupin and Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd. Several key private players have developed their facilities in and around Dahej port, including Indo-Gulf, Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Company Limited (GCPTCL) and Petronet. Chemicals, engineering and textiles are the three major Small Scale Industry sectors present in Bharuch district.

Major horticulture crops being produced in the district are banana, mango, cucurbits, papaya and brinjal. In the year 2006-07, Bharuch had the highest production of Banana accounting for 8, 18,940 metric tones, followed by cucurbits with a production of 22,720 MT. Total production of cotton in Bharuch district was 257100 Bales.

Tourism in Bharuch District
Bharuch district is well known for its ancient monuments such as Swaminarayan Temple, Narmadamata Temple and the Vaishnav Haveli which are more than 150 years old. Imparting the culture and tradition of Gujarat and some rare manuscripts, presence of Raichand Deepchand Library, which was set up in the mid 19th century is witnessed in the district. The district is a home to the well known Shoolpaneshwar wildlife sanctuary. Other celebrated places in Bharuch are Kadiadungar, Jama Masjid, Kabirvad, Valanda Kothi and the golden bridge.

How to reach Bharuch District
By Road:National Highway 8 passes through the district, connecting it with Ahmedabad (182 km) and Mumbai (362 km). Its distance from major industrial centers: Surat (96 km), Jamnagar (453 km), Gandhinagar (210 km), Rajkot (365 km), Vadodara (71 km), Mehsana (256 km), Ankleshwar (13 km) and Vapi (163 km).

By Rail:Almost all the talukas of Bharuch are well connected with the rail network. A broad gauge rail line of 50 km is present in the district. In total, there are 33 railway lines in Bharuch district.

By Air:The nearest airport to the district is in Vadodara (69 km) followed by another airport in Ahmedabad (175km).

By Port:The nearest port is at Dahej. The anchorage is at a distance of 5 km from the old port and 6 km from a container terminal in Jageshwar, Bharuch.