Indore (/ɪnˈdɔːr/ⓘ; ISO: Indaura, Hindi:[ɪn̪d̪ɔːr]) is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.[15] It is the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh. It is consistently ranked as the cleanest city in India.[16] It serves as the headquarters of both the Indore District and the Indore Division. It is also considered the state education hub and houses campuses of both the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management.[17] Located on the southern edge of Malwa Plateau, at an average altitude of 553 metres (1,814 ft) above sea level,[18] it has the highest elevation among major cities of Central India. The city is 190 km (120 mi) west of the state capital of Bhopal. It is 57 km (35 mi) from Ujjain and 35 km (20 mi) from Dewas. Indore had a census-estimated 2011 population of 1,994,397 (municipal corporation)[9] and 3,570,295 (urban agglomeration).[10] The city is distributed over a land area of just 530 square kilometres (200 sq mi), making Indore the most densely populated major city in the central province.[19]
Indore functions as the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh and was home to the Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange till its derecognition in 2015.
Indore has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission.[21] It also qualified in the first round of Smart Cities Mission and was selected as one of the first twenty cities to be developed as Smart Cities.[22] Indore has been part of the Swachh Survekshan since its inception and had ranked 25th in 2016.[23] It has been ranked as India's cleanest city seven years in a row as per the Swachh Survekshan for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.[24][25][26][27][28] Meanwhile, Indore has also been declared as India's first 'water plus' city under the Swachhta Survekshan 2021. Indore became the only Indian city to be selected for International Clean Air Catalyst Programme. The project, with cooperation of the Indore Municipal Corporation and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, will be operated for a period of five years to purify the air in the city. Indore will penalise anyone giving alms to beggars starting 1 January 2025, expanding a previous ban on giving to child beggars. This initiative aims to eradicate begging, with officials claiming it disrupts the begging cycle.[29]
^Records, Official. "Estimates of District Domestic Product Madhya Pradesh"(PDF). Department of Planning, Economics & Statistics, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Madhya Pradesh. Archived(PDF) from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.