Barkakana is a small township situated on the outskirts of the district town of Ramgarh Cantonment in Jharkhand.

Four of the six CD blocks in the district have coal mines – Patratu, Ramgarh, Mandu and Chitarpur.

Ramgarh district lies in the central part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau.

The far-off hills in the background in exquisite tints of blue or purple as the light falls, the nearer hills picturesquely shaped and luxuriant in every shade of green with their bold escarpments in black or grey, and the brown plains below furnishing their quota of colours.

"[3] Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district.

[4] Ramgarh Urban Agglomeration had a population of 132,441 in the 2011 Census, of which males were 70,871 and females 61,562.

[8] According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Ramgarh, Barkakana covered an area of 1.117 km2.

Among the civic amenities, it had 18 km roads with both open and closed drains, the protected water supply involved tap water from treated sources, hand pump, overhead tank.

[9] Barkakana serves as a marketplace and transit point for the people of nearby towns like Ramgarh, Kuju, and Bhurkunda, and villages including Teliyatu, Masmohna, Chotkakana and Piri.

Several small-scale and medium-scale industries have come up in and around Barkakana, due to its proximity to the Damodar River, with easy and cheap availability of land and presence of good transportation facilities.

Central Coalfields Limited has the CWS Hospital at Barkakana (independent unit) with 11 beds and 3 general duty medical officers.