Kanpur is one of the most populous cities in the north India and the most populous within the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Kanpur is located on the banks of the river Ganga and is an important industrial centre. It has an area of over 1600 km² and had a population of around 4.13 million in the 2001 census. Owing to its industrial importance one of the Reserve Bank of India was established in the city. Kanpur is home to several most prestigious educational institutions of the country, including one of the Indian Institutes of Technology, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), CSJM University, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chandrashekhar Azad Agricultural University, and GSVM Medical College.

Nestled on the banks of the eternal Ganga, Kanpur stands as one of North India’s major industrial centres with its own historical, religious and commercial importance. Believed to be founded by Hindu King Chandel of the erstwhile state of Sachendi, Kanpur, it is believed by some, derived its name from Kanhiyapur, the town of Kanhiya (Lord Krishna). In the course of time, Kanhiyapur probably was abbreviated as Kanhapur and subsequently as Kanpur (the Anglicized spelling of which was Cawnpore during the British rule).

Others believe that the name is derived from Karnapur and is associated with Karna, one of the heroes of Mahabharata. Duryodhana made Karna a king, seeing him as a fitting match to Arjuna, and gifted him this area; hence the name Karnapur, which later became Kanpur. Historically, Jajmau on the eastern outskirts of present day Kanpur is regarded as one of the most archaic townships of Kanpur district.

With the coordinates 26.4670° North and 80.3500° East, Kanpur is 83 km from Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur, along with Allahabad and Fatehpur are part of the Lower Doab, which in the antiquity was known as the Vats country. It is surrounded by two main rivers of India, Ganges in the north-east and Pandu river (Yamuna )in the south. The districts surrounding Kanpur are Hamirpur in the south, Unnao in the north-east.

Temperatures in Kanpur can drop to a minimum of -3°C in the winters. Kanpur experiences severe fog in December and January, resulting in massive traffic and travel delays. In summer (April-June), the maximum temperature can spiral up to 47`5 °C and are accompanied by dust storm-cum-heat-waves. The lowest since 1968: January 10, 2003 -1 °C,[3] -3 °C in 2004.

Inter - City
Kanpur Rail StationKanpur is well-connected with most other cities of India by Rail and Roads.

It lies as one of the most important railway stations on Delhi-Howrah Trunk Line of Indian Railways. The first Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express of India ran via this station. There are direct trains from this station to almost all important stations in India.

The city lies on important National Highways. NH No.2, the oldest road of India, Grand Trunk Road - between Amritsar (legend says - Kabul before partition) to Kolkata (legend again says - Dhaka before partition) - runs right through this city. NH No 25. connects the city to western Indian cities like Mumbai through Jhansi.

Air India (formerly Indian Airlines) is running a regular daily flight using a 48-seater ATR42 Turboprop between Kanpur and Delhi domestic terminal, 6 days a week, Monday to Saturday. IC7801 departs Delhi at 1030 hrs and reaches Kanpur at 1155. Kanpur to Delhi IC7802 departs at 1215 and reaching Delhi at 1340 hrs.