Bangalore is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration. Bangalore is well known as a hub for India's information technology sector. It is among the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations in the world.
A succession of South Indian dynasties ruled the region of Bangalore until in 1537 AD, Kempé Gowdā—a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire-established a mud fort considered to be the foundation of modern Bangalore. Following transitory occupation by the Marāthās and Mughals, the city remained under the Mysore kingdom, which is now a part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore continued to be a cantonment of the British and a major city of the Princely State of Mysore which existed as a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj. Following the independence of India in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore state, and remained capital when the new Indian state of Karnataka was formed in 1956.
As a large and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to many well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organisations are located in the city. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the second fastest growing major metropolis in India