Kharagpur is the 216th most populous city in India with a total population of 2,07,604. Kharagpur is a city in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal and the highest employment in the district is in Agriculture, Leather, Metal, Chemical and other household industries. The district has 67% of the workforce employed in the Agricultural Sector, 27% in the Industrial Sector and the remaining 6% are Household workers. Kharagpur is intersected by numerous waterways, the important rivers being Subarnarekha, Keleghai and Kangsabati. The major field crops produced are Rice, Oilseeds, Potato, Wheat. Apart from these, horticultural crops like Mango, Banana, Brinjal, Cucurbits, Cauliflower, Cabbage etc. are also produced. Kharagpur received its name from the twelfth king of Mallabhum, Kharga Malla, when he conquered it. Kharagpur was a part of the Hijli Kingdom and ruled by Hindu Oriya rulers as a feudatory under Gajapati Kings of Orissa. Historians claim that in the 16th century, Kharagpur was still a small village surrounded by dense forests. It is a multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city. The first Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), a group of Institutes of National Importance, was founded in Kharagpur as early as in May 1950.
