It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest.
Madhya Pradesh's economy is the 10th-largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹9.17 trillion (US$110 billion) and has the country's 26th highest per-capita income of ₹ 109,372.
The state leads the country in production of pulses, oilseeds, soya bean, gram, pea, garlic, guava, and medicinal and aromatic herbs.
Isolated remains of Homo erectus found in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley indicates that Madhya Pradesh might have been inhabited in the Middle Pleistocene era.
Chandragupta Maurya conquered northern India around 320 BCE, establishing the Mauryan Empire, which included all of modern-day Madhya Pradesh.
The Satavahana King Gautamiputra Satakarni inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Saka rulers and conquered parts of Malwa and Gujarat in the 2nd century CE.
The rock-cut temples at Bagh Caves in the Kukshi tehsil of the Dhar District show the presence of the Gupta dynasty in the region, supported by the testimony of a Badwani inscription dated to the year of 487 CE.
[22] When the south Indian Emperor Govinda III of the Rashtrakuta dynasty annexed Malwa, he set up the family of one of his subordinates there, who took the name of Paramara.
The Bhopal state, which paid tribute to both the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad, was founded by Dost Mohammed Khan, a former General in the Mughal army.
[25] Several notable leaders such as Chandra Shekhar Azad, B. R. Ambedkar, Shankar Dayal Sharma, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Arjun Singh were born in what is now Madhya Pradesh.
The National Chambal Sanctuary is managed for conservation of gharial and mugger, river dolphin, smooth-coated otter and a number of turtle species.
All the rivers, which drain into the Ganges, flow from south to north, with the Chambal, Shipra, Kali Sindh, Parbati, Kuno, Sind, Betwa, Dhasan, Ken and Sunarrivers being the main tributaries of the Yamuna.
These districts are arranged in 10 divisions, listed below:[38] The population of Madhya Pradesh consists of a number of ethnic groups and tribes, castes and communities.
The main tribal groups in Madhya Pradesh are Gond, Bhil, Baiga, Korku, Bhadia (or Bhariya), Halba, Kaul, Mariya, Malto and Sahariya.
In Khargone, Khandwa, Burhanpur, Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni, Anuppur, Umaria, Shahdol and Singrauli districts 30–50% of the population is tribal.
According to the SDG India Index 2020–21 compiled by the NITI Aayog, Madhya Pradesh ranks 21st on sustainable development goals, 9th on gender equality, and 10th on clean water and sanitation.
In Bundelkhand in the north and Baghelkhand in the east are spoken Bundeli and Bagheli which are eastern varieties of the Hindi languages, similar to Awadhi or Chhattisgarhi.
Although large numbers of Marathis can be found in urban centres like Indore, the highest concentrations are in the southern areas of the state adjoining Maharashtra.
Other architecturally significant or scenic sites include Ajaigarh, Amarkantak, Asirgarh, Bandhavgarh, Bawangaja, Bhopal, Vidisha, Chanderi, Chitrakuta, Dewas, Dhar, Gwalior, Indore, Nemavar, Jabalpur, Burhanpur, Maheshwar, Mandleshwar, Mandu, Omkareshwar, Orchha, Pachmarhi, Shivpuri, Sonagiri, Mandla and Ujjain.
The local styles of folk singing are Faga, Bhartahari, Sanja geet, Bhopa, Kalbelia, Bhat, Bhand, Vasdeva, Videsia, Kalgi Turra, Nirgunia, Alha, Pandwani Gayan and Garba Garbi Govalan.
[48] The major folk dances of MP are Rai, Karma, Saila, Matki, Gangaur, Badhai, Baredi, Naurata, Ahiri and Bhagoria.
[52] The major crops of Madhya Pradesh are wheat, soybean, gram, sugarcane, rice, maize, cotton, rapeseed, mustard and arhar.
It is an industrial unit of SPMCIL, established in the year 1974 is wholly owned by Government of India, Ministry of Finance and Department of Economic Affairs.
Most of the sea trade happens through the Kandla and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) in the neighbouring states, which are well-connected to MP by road and rail networks.
22 projects costing above $500 million have been sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for the development of Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Ujjain.
The political scenario of Madhya pradesh can be defines as below: Post-Independence (1950s–1970s): The Indian National Congress (INC) held power for a significant period, with leaders like Ravishankar Shukla and Kailash Nath Katju as Chief Ministers.
[75] Cricket, kabaddi, hockey, football, basketball, volleyball, cycling, swimming, badminton, and table tennis are the popular sports in the state.
Snooker, a cue sport, generally regarded as having been invented in Jabalpur by British Army officers, is popular in many of the English-speaking and Commonwealth countries, with top professional players attaining multimillion-pound career earnings from the game.
On 6 December 2017, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that players from the state would be given government jobs on winning medals in international events.
Madhu Yadav, the former Captain of the India women's national field hockey team, a 1982 Asian Games gold medallist and an Arjuna Award recipient, is from Jabalpur.