Insta - rishabh_purii
Chennai is a major centre for medical tourism and is termed "India's health capital". Chennai houses a major portion of India's automobile industry and hence the name "Detroit of India". It was the only South Asian city to be ranked among National Geographic's "Top 10 food cities" in 2015 and ranked ninth on Lonely Planet's best cosmopolitan cities of the world. In October 2017, Chennai was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) list. It is a major film production centre and home to the Tamil-language film industry.
Etymology
See also: Names of Chennai in different languages
The name Chennai was derived from the name of Chennappa Nayaka, a Nayak ruler who served as a general under Venkata Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire from whom the British East India Company acquired the town in 1639.[11][12] The first official use of the name was in August 1639 in a sale deed to Francis Day of the East India Company.[13] A land grant was given to the Chennakesava Perumal Temple in Chennapatanam later in 1646, which some scholars argue to be the first use of the name.[14][11]
The name Madras is of native origin, and has been shown to have been in use before the British established a presence in India.[15] A Vijayanagara-era inscription found in 2015 was dated to the year 1367 and mentions the port of Mādarasanpattanam, along with other small ports on the east coast, and it was theorized that the aforementioned port is the fishing port of Royapuram.[16] Madras might have been derived from Madraspattinam, a fishing village north of Fort St. George but it is uncertain whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans.[17]
In August 1996, the Government of Tamil Nadu officially changed the name from Madras to Chennai.[18] The name Madras continues in occasional use for the city as well as for places or things named after the city earlier.[19]