Until the end of the 19th century, Silvassa was only a small village. The growing importance of Silvassa started in 1885 when the Portuguese Administration decided to transfer the seat of Nagar Haveli to the city, which until then had been in Darará. By decree of 11February 1885, Silvassa was created as a town, with the name of Vila de Paço d'Arcos. However, the original name prevailed and the town continued to be mainly known as Silvassa and referred to as such in official documents.
Demographics
According to the 2011 India census, Silvassa had a population of 98,265.
Language
, Marathi and Hindi are the commonly spoken languages. Since the city lies in the northern part of Nagar Haveli, Gujarati language and its dialects are widely spoken as compared to the southern part of Nagar Haveli where Marathi, Konkani and its dialects hold prominence. Silvassa, being a cosmopolitan, is home to people from every part of India and hence every Indian language is spoken here such as Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Odia, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Marwadi etc. A former Portuguese colony, Silvassa has a significant Roman Catholic population. There are still a few people who speak Portuguese as their first language.
Industry
Far from being a tribal region, Silvassa has now developed into an industrial hub with major industrial companies setting up manufacturing bases in the region. Its initial tax-free status granted by the Indian government to boost industrial investment in the former Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has contributed to the region's industrial growth. The industrial landscape of Silvassa and surrounding region has been altered dramatically. It is one of the largest states in collection of excise duty from more than 3,500 small and medium industries. Silvassa is a big hub for plastic products and its products are found throughout India thanks to their good quality and low cost. Apart from all this, Silvassa is also known for various FMCG distributors like Gajra Distribution having reach throughout the country. Silvassa hosts more than 200,000 floating population, coming from all parts of the country, mostly the labourers hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisa. Other floating community being from the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Transport and connections
Silvassa is connected to Maharashtra and Gujarat via National Highway 848A. Silvassa has a well-maintained road network. The nearest railway stations are in away and, away. Daman is 30 km away via Bhilad on National Highway number 8. Mumbai is 160 km away from Silvassa, via Bhilad, on National Highway number 8 Surat is 130 km away from Silvassa, via Bhilad, on National Highway number 8. Auto-rickshaw services ply between Vapi and Silvassa at a regular interval and easily available from Vapi railway station. Gujarat Road Transport Buses ply between Silvassa and Vapi at a regular interval.
