Rajasthan is in the North West of India on the border of Pakistan. It has arid and semi-arid topography and climate, with the Thar Desert and the old Aravalli mountain range at Mount Abu. The capital is Jaipur and mainly Hindi and local Rajasthani dialects are spoken.

Tourism, both local and international is one of the main industries. The state is full of palaces and national heritage buildings that belong to the former royal families of the region. There are tiger and game reserves and a bird sanctuary at Bharatpur. It is well known for the winter Pushkar festival at Jaisalmer and Jaipur. Other important cities are Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Bhilwara and Alwar, which were formerly princely states.

Jaipur is known also for precious and semi-precious stones and jewellery. It also exports art and crafts, brass and clothing.