Latur, India

Capital City

Latur is a drought-prone city with an acute water shortage, where the temperature can soar above 45°C. While the local economy is agriculture-intensive, industrial development remains minimal. The Latur earthquake of 1993 claimed around 10,000 lives and left 30,000 injured, prompting revisions to building codes across India. With a literacy rate of 84.22%, the city is known as an educational hub, but its heavy bureaucracy is a persistent headache. Unless you're a student drawn to Latur's "intensive coaching" model, this industrial backwater in Maharashtra may not be the wisest choice.