Jharkhand (in Devanagari) is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar state on 15 November 2000. Jharhkand is bordered by the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east.

The industrial city of Ranchi is its capital. The state is a rich storehouse of minerals like coal, iron, mica and bauxite. It has the biggest steel plant in the country at Bokaro and one of India's largest industrial houses, the Tata Iron and Steel Company at Jamshedpur. Not only this, Jharkhand has great forest wealth. Some of India's top educational institutions like the Birla Institute of Technology at Ranchi and the Xavier's Labour Relations Institute at Jamshedpur are located in Jharkhand.

Jharkhand is also popularly known as Vananchal. The word Vananchal is derived from combination of two Hindi words: Vana meaning "forests", and anchal meaning "area" – thus the word "Vananchal" denotes a land mass covered with forests.

Jharkhand is known for its mineral wealth and forestry products together with excellent human resources.

Jharkand Fact File:

Area: 79,714 sq km
Population: 2,69,09,428
Capital: Ranchi
Main Language: Hindi