Coimbatore also known as Kovai, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India".
Coimbatore is believed to have been named after a 12th century Irula chieftain called Koyan. That the region around Coimbatore had been inhabited for over 2,000 years is evident from the discovery of Roman coins in the suburban village of Vellalur. Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, the later Pandyas, the Madurai Sultanate, the Vijayanagar Empire and the Madurai and Thanjavur Nayaks. In the 17th century, the city became a part of the Kingdom of Mysore and remained so until its cessation to the British East India Company in 1792. The history of modern Coimbatore, however, dates from the 1930s, when the city grew rapidly capitalizing on a textile boom. Since then, the city has witnessed steady growth fuelled by its favourable soil, climate and political and economic conditions.
It is a heavily industrialised city and a regional hub for textiles, manufacturing, software services, education and health care. The city has over 25,000 small, medium and large scale industries and 2 IT SEZs. Coimbatore is known as the "Manchester of South India" due to the presence of a flourishing textile industry. Known for its entrepreneurial spirit, Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the Coimbatore District.
Coimbatore ranked 4th among the Indian cities for the investment climate and ranked 1st in consumer confidence index according to studies done by CII and Economic Times (ET) respectively. The city also ranked at par with Chennai, Kolkata and Noida as a most favoured investment destination in a study by Frost and Sullivan.
Coimbatore has a well-developed educational infrastructure, with 7 Universities, 2 medical colleges and over 54 Engineering Colleges and 70 Arts and Science colleges. The city is also a major health care and an emerging medical tourism destination with many super specialty hospitals and as many as 750 hospitals and medical centres in total. The hill stations of Ooty, Coonoor and Valparai are close to the city making it a good tourist attraction throughout the year. The city is situated about 500 kilometres (311 mi) southwest of state capital Chennai, on the banks of the Noyyal River and is close to the Siruvani Waterfalls.
