Kochi formerly known as Cochin is a major city and seaport of India, located in Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala. It has a population of 564,589, with an extended metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration in the state and the second largest city in Kerala after the state capital. Kochi is the most cosmopolitan city in Kerala and widely referred as the commercial capital of the state.
In 1102 AD, Kochi became the seat of the Kingdom of Cochin, which traced its lineage to the Kulasekhara Empire. Heralded as the Queen of Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast from the 14th century. Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in India. It remained the capital of Portuguese India until 1530, when they opted for Goa as their capital. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.
Kochi entered a period of economic growth after 2000, leading to a spurt in the city’s development. The city hosts the Indian Navy’s Southern Command and the Indian Coast Guard. Kochi’s major development is attributed to the presence of several major industries like Cochin Shipyard, the Port of Kochi, and Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), academic centres like Cochin University and Cochin Special Economic Zone, which had a recorded turnover of Indian rupee17124 crores of exports in FY 2009-10, ranking fourth largest in India, contributing to the overall economic growth of the city and the suburban area.
