Bikaner is one of the desert districts situated in the north-west of Rajasthan. It is bound in the north by districts of Sri Ganganagar, on the west by Jaisalmer and Pakistan , Churu in the east and Nagaur and Jodhpur in the south-east.
Distance from Major Cities
Jaipur-320 kms.
Delhi-615 kms.
Ahmedabad-945 kms.
Mumbai-1,496 kms.
Climate and Rainfall
Maximum temperature in the district is 48 degrees celsius
Minimum temperature is minus one degree celsius
The annual rainfall is 24.30 cms
Administrative Setup
Bikaner (North), Bikaner (South) and Kolayat are the three sub-divisions in the district. The Bikaner North sub-division has only one tehsil while Bikaner South sub-division has two tehsils namely, Loonkaransar and Nokha.
Human Resources
Indicators of Human Resources
Unit
No.
Population
persons
16,73,562
Density of population
persons per sq.kms
61
Literacy
per cent
57.54
Total working population
per cent
35.84
Percentage distribution of work force
Unit
No.
Cultivators
per cent
44.81
Agricultural labourers
per cent
4.60
Servicing and repairs
per cent
1.55
Other workers
per cent
49.04
Major Crops and Their Production
Sr.
Production 2004-05
Tonnes
1
Kidney bean (moth)
205831
2
Gram
91045
3
Groundnuts
77203
4
Wheat
73466
5
Rapeseed & Mustard
40059
6
Guarseed
39844
7
Bajra
35189
8
Rapeseed
4086
9
Barley
3416
10
Fenugreek Seed
3301
11
Cumin Seed
2382
12
Psyllium Seeds
545
13
Green gram (Moong)
243
14
Jowar
226
Mineral Production
Sr.
Production 1999-00
Tonnes
1
Clay
3,55,603
2
Gypsum
6,37,100
3
Fire Clay
1,12,057
4
Ochre
1,257
Infrastructure
Electricity
The capacity of existing Grid sub-stations in Bikaner district is 62.0 MVA.
Water
Ground water occurs in the rocks of the trans-Aravalli, Vindhyan and territory formations at depth of 60 meters which increases towards the west and north. Around Kolyat, the depth ranges from 100 m to 135 m. The Indira Gandhi Nahar Project will benefit 188 villages of the district and 2.60 million acres of land.
Road Transport
The district is well connected with metallic roads with all nearby district namely Jodhpur, Nagaur, Churu and Sri Ganganagar. The National Highway No.11 connecting Bikaner with Agra also ends in Bikaner itself. The total length of different category of roads in the district is about 3,624 kms as on 31 March 2000.
Rail Transport
The total rail network found in the district has the rail length of 234.96 kms. The district is connected with Howrah by broad gauge and with Delhi, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Sri Ganganagar, Agra and Bhatinda by metre gauge railway line.
Air Transport
The nearest airport is at Jaipur (320 Kms)
Communication Facilities
Sr.
Facilities
No.
1
Post offices
221
2
Telegraph offices
97
3
Telephone exchanges
61
4
Public call offices
537
Banking
Offices, Deposits and Credit as on Sep 2005
Offices (No.)
Deposits (Rs.Lakh)
Credit (Rs.Lakh)
All Scheduled Commercial Banks
137
157000
88600
Public Sector Banks
100
137800
81400
SBI and its Associates
62
77400
49900
Nationalised Banks
38
60400
31500
Foreign Banks
-
-
-
Regional Rural Banks
26
5400
4600
Other Scheduled Commercial Banks
11
13800
2600
Educational Facilities/Institutions
Sr.
Facilities/Institutions
No.
1
Primary and Middle Schools
1,498
2
Higher Secondary and Secondary Schools
164
3
Colleges
8
4
Medical Colleges
1
5
Management Institutes
2
6
ITI
2
Industrial Scenario
No. of Large and Medium Scale Running: 6
No. of Small Scale Units: 5,310
No of Industrial Areas: 5
Bichchwa
Bikaner
Khajuwala
Loonkarnsar
Napassar
Main Existing Industries
Bathroom fittings, Bikaeri bhujia, carpet and shoddy yarn, cattle feed, cement, ceramic tiles, cotton (in bales) textiles, dairy products, groundnut oil, gypsum grinding, handicraft items, leather footwear, machine tools and parts, mosaic tiles, mustard oil, oil extraction and refinery, papad and mangori, plaster of Paris, polyethene film and bags, PVC cables, rasagollas, textiles, woollen blankets and shawls, woollen carpets, wood and wooden products.
Export Items
Bikaneri bhujia
Leather items
Woollen carpets
Investment Projects
Major Investment Projects as of Jul 2006 in Bikaner
Company / Ownership Project
Location
Industry /
Type of Project
Cost
(Rs.Crore)
Progress of Implementation
Central Govt. - Commercial Enterprises
Barsingsar
Thermal electricity
1368.00
Under Implementation
Barsingsar Lignite Based Power Project Thermal-Lignite Based
Bikaner
New Unit
Private (Indian)
Guda
Lignite
750.00
Announcement
Lignite Mining Project
Bikaner
New Unit
Central Govt. - Commercial Enterprises
Bikaner
Dairy products
254.07
Under Implementation
Barsingsar Lignite Mining Project
New Unit
State Govt. - Commercial Enterprises
Raneri
Thermal electricity
Announcement
Raneri Lignite Based Power Project Thermal-Lignite Based
