The co-ordinates for Aurangabad are N 19° 53' 47" - E 75° 23' 54". The city is surrounded by hills on all directions.
The city was a major silk and cotton textile production centre. A fine blend of silk with locally grown cotton was developed as Himroo textile. Much of the silk industry has vanished over time, but some manufacturers have managed to keep the tradition alive. Paithani silk saris are also made in Aurangabad. The name of this cloth is derived from Paithan town.
In 1889 a cotton-spinning and weaving mill was erected in Aurangabad city, which employed 700 people. With the opening of the Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railways in the year 1900 several ginning factories were started. In the Jalna alone there were 9 cotton-ginning factories and 5 cotton-presses, besides two ginning factories at Aurangabad and Kannad, and one oil- press at Aurangabad. The total number of people employed in the cotton-presses and ginning factories in the year 1901 was 1,016.
Until 1960, Aurangabad languished as a city, remaining an industrially backward. In 1960, the region of Marathwada was merged with Maharashtra. This was the time when the industrial development of the Marathwada region began, propelled through designated backward area benefits. And it was only when the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) began acquiring land and setting up industrial estates that it began to grow. Aurangabad is now classic example of efforts of state government towards balanced industrialisation of state.
Some of the other well known names are: Garware, Ajanta Pharma, AMRI, Glenmark, Lupin, Wipro, Orchid pharma, Endurance systems, Rucha Eng, Indo German Tool Room, Ceekay Daikin Ltd, Cosmos Films, NRB bearings, Hindalco-Almex Aerospace, Can-pack India, Varroc, Dagerfrost, FrigoriFico Allana, Nath Seeds. The Aurangabad - Jalna belt is also considered as the seed capital of India with presence of some of the largest seed companies in the country. Mahyco (R&D + Production), Nath Seeds (R&D + Production) Seminis seeds (R&D + Production) and Monsanto (R&D currently) are some of the big names in the industry.
Many firms have their manufacturing bases in Aurangabad, in the sectors of automotive and auto components, pharmaceuticals and breweries, consumer durables, plastic processing, aluminium processing, agriculture and biotech. Among Pharmaceutical there is Recombinant Insulin Manufacturing plant of Wockhardt (Wockhardt Biotech Park) in Aurangabad, which is Largest Biopharmaceutical plant in India. Aurangabad also has 5 star hotels like ITC Welcomgroup's The Rama International, The Ajanta Ambassador, The Taj Residency, The Lemontree (formerly The President Park) and the Aurangabad Gymkhana.
The Shendra, Chikalthana and Waluj MIDC Industrial Areas are prominent industrial zones on the outskirts of the city, with various major multinational groups having set up manufacturing or processing plants in and around the city. There are five Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which have been approved by central governemnt for this city and these are, in automotive (Bajaj Auto), in pharmaceuticals (Inspira Pharma SEZ and Wockhardt), one in aluminium (Hindalco Aluminium) and yet another is Inspira Renewable Energy SEZ. Recently Aurangabad became the third city in Maharashtra (after Pune & Nashik ) to host an auto cluster namely Marathwada Auto Cluster(MAC). Electrical goods major Siemens has setup a plant for manufacturing of train coaches including superior quality bogies for locomotives, electric multiple units and metro coaches at Shendra MIDC Aurangabad.
Modern banking in the district may be said to have begun when the Central Bank of India was established in Hyderabad State on 19 February 1932, at Jalna, and in next year i.e., on 20 December 1933, at Aurangabad.
Later on in 1945 the Bank of Hyderabad was established under the Hyderabad State Bank Act of 1350 Fasli. The State Bank of Hyderabad mainly transacted Government business such as accepting and holding of money belonging to the Government and making payments on its behalf and other routine business such as exchange, remittance, etc. The bank also worked as an agent of the Government in its function of issuing paper.
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, Aurangabad has seen a spurt in financial activities, with almost all public sector and private banks have opened up branches including the State Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad, Bank of Maharashtra, Citibank India, Deutsche Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of India, HDFC Bank, etc. Also Regional Rural Bank viz. Aurangabad Jalna Gramin Bank was established in 1982. During 2008 as per Govt. of India directives, Aurangabad Jalna Gramin Bank and Thane Gramin Bank (both sponsored by Bank of Maharashtra) was amalgamated, and new RRB came into existence namely Maharashtra Godavari Gramin Bank. The head office of which is in Aurangabad city. The area of operation is of nine districts viz. Aurangabad, Jalna, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Nasik, Ahmednagar, Thane and Raigad.
Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is the local civil body. It is divided into six zones. The Municipal Council was established in 1936, the Municipal Council area was about 54.5 km2. It was elevated to the status of Municipal Corporation from 8 December 1982, and simultaneously including eighteen peripheral villages, making total area under its jurisdiction to 138.5 km2 extended its limits.
The city is divided in 99 electoral wards called as Prabhag, and each ward is represented by a Corporator elected by the people from each ward. There are two Committees, General Body and Standing Committee headed by the Mayor and the Chairman respectively. AMC is responsible for providing basic amenities like drinking water, drainage facility, road,street lights, healthcare facilities, primary schools, etc. AMC collects its revenue from the urban taxes which are imposed on citizens. The administration is headed by the Municipal Commissioner; an I.A.S. Officer, assisted by the other officers of different departments.
Air
New Integrated Terminal Building, Aurangabad Airport Aurangabad Airport is a domestic airport serving the city and has connecting flights to Delhi, Udaipur, Mumbai, Jaipur as well as Hyderabad. Recently flights were made available to the people traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage.
Rail
Aurangabad (station code:AWB) is a station located on the Kachiguda-Manmad section of the Nanded division of South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Aurangabad has rail connectivity with Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad. It is also connected to Nanded, Parli, Nagpur, Nizamabad, Nasik, Pune, Kurnool, Renigunta, Erode, Madurai, Bhopal, Gwalior. But there are still demands of the people for direct rail connectivity to Indore, Lucknow, Jaipur and other major Indian cities. The Aurangabad Jan Shatabdi Express is a fast train connecting it with Mumbai.
Road
Aurangabad is well connected by roads with various major cities of Maharashtra and other states. National Highway 211 from Dhule to Solapur passes through the city. Aurangabad has road connectivity to Jalna, Pune, Ahmednagar, Nagpur, Beed, Mumbai and the route is currently being upgraded into four lane road of National Highway standard. A new Nagpur–Aurangabad–Mumbai express highway is also being developed.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and numerous other private bus operators provide bus service connecting the city to all parts of the state. Aurangabad Municipal Transport (AMT) is an intra-city bus service for the city, and distant located industrial suburbs.
