Kochi, India

Kochi ), formerly known as Cochin (the colonial-era name), is a major port city located on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the western part of the mainland Kochi. The civic body that governs the city is the Corporation of Cochin, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the Goshree Islands Development Authority.The city of Kochi (pop. 601,574) is Kerala's second largest city and is part of an extended metropolitan region (pop. 1.35 million), which is the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. It is the most densely populated city in the state. Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin region and is classified as a B-1 grade city by the Government of India, making it the highest graded city in the state.The city lies about 220 km north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram and about 180 km south of Kozhikode, the third largest city in Kerala.In 1102 AD, Kochi became the seat of the Kingdom of Cochin, which traced its lineage to the Kulasekhara Empire. Heralded as the Queen of Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast from the 14th century. Occupied by the Portuguese Empire in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in India. It remained the capital of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.Kochi is home for the Southern Naval Command, of the Indian Navy, state headquarters (DHQ4) and Air Squadron 747 of the Indian Coast Guard, maritime-related facilities including the Port of Kochi, an International Container Transshipment Terminal, the Cochin Shipyard, offshore SPM of the Kochi Refineries, and the Kochi Marina. Kochi is also home for several major chemical industries like the FACT, TCC, IREL, HOCL and Kochi Refineries, industrial parks like the Cochin Special Economic Zone and Infopark. Kochi is home for the High Court of Kerala & Lakshadweep, and the Cochin University of Science and Technology.