Purba Medinipur or East Medinipur is located in the southern most part of the Burdwan Division of West Bengal with its headquarters at Tamluk. It is one of the 18 administrative districts of West Bengal and it was carved out of the original Medinipur district on 1^stJanuary, 2002. Historians believe that in the ancient India there was a port named Tamralipta, around the present day’s Tamluk. Moreover, the name of the place is mentioned in the writings of Ptolemy (150 AD), the Greco-Egyptian writer, Faxian (earlier referred to as Fa Hien) (405-11 AD), the Chinese Buddhist monk, who travelled to India on foot, and Xuanzang (earlier referred to as Hiuen Tsiang) (seventh century AD), the Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller and translator. It was the chief port used by Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor.During the British rule Purba Medinipur witnessed many political movements. In the time of Quit India Movement in Tamluk, a parallel government known as the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar was formed. In 2007, Purba Medinipur saw the Nandigram violence, an incident of police firing that killed 14 farmers.

Mani Lal Bhaumik, an eminent Indian born American physicist and an eminent author was born in 1931 in the Medinipur district. He was honoured by many great awards, among which Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award in 2005 and Padma Shree Award in 2011 are the foremost.

Geographically, the district lies at 21°94'N latitude and 87°78'E longitude.In the year 2021, there was a total 17.40% forest area of total geographical area. The district occupies an area of 4,713 sq. km. and it is bounded by Odisha on the south-west, theBay of Bengal on the south; theHooghly river andSouth 24 Parganas district on the eastandHowrah district on the north-east. The chief river of the district is Hooghly River. The climate of the district is tropical. Its climate is characterized by hot summer with high humidity,abundant rainfall in the monsoon and moderate winter.The actual rainfall in the district was 2607.8 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administrative wise, the district is divided into 4 sub-divisions namely Tamluk, Haldia, Egra and Contai. There are 3 Lok Sabha constituencies and 16 Assembly seats in the district. Moreover, the district comprises 25 towns and 2,994 villages. The administrative language in the district is Bangali.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 50,95,875 including 26,29,834 are males and 24,66,041 are females. The rank of the district is 8^th in state and 21^st in India in terms of population. The district has a sex ratio of 938 females for every 1000 males. In the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 24.34% out of which 25.14% were males and 23.51% were females. The population density in the district is 1,081 (persons per sq. km.).According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Bengali with 98.28%. According to 2011 census the major religions in the district are Hindu and Muslim with 85.24% and 14.59% of the total population. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 80,878 out of which 41,712 were males and 39,166 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 30,651 out of which 17,887 were males and 12,764 were females.

It was in the year 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj announced the district as one of the country's 250most backward districts. It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal currently which is receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).Mainly the economy of the district is based on the agriculture. The core agricultural crops of the district are rice, wheat, barley, maize, pulses, oil seed, rapeseed, mustard, jute, potato and ginger. Engineering, chemicals and handloom weaving are the fore most industries of the district which are also contributing in its economy. In the year 2013-14 the gross domestic product of the district was Rs. 51,19,879 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 26,97,896 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005. The Net Domestic Product in the district during the period 2013-14 was Rs. 45,79,728 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 23,48,430 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2013-14 Rs. 87,082 at Current Price and Rs. 44,655 at Constant Prices in the year 2004-2005.

The district has provided a great platform for the higher education.The district has numerous government and private colleges. Some of the reputed colleges in the district are Bajkul Milani Mahavidyalaya, College of Engineering and Management, Egra Sarada Shashi Bhusan College, Haldia Government College, Haldia Institute of Technology, Haldia Law College, Khejuri College, Maharaja Nandakumar Mahavidyalaya, Mahishadal Girls College, Mahishadal Raj College, etc. As per 2011 census the literacy rate of the district is 87.02% out of which 92.32% are males and 81.37% are females. The total number of literates in the district is 39,23,194 including 21,49,073 are males and 17,74,121 are females.

Kiranmoy Nanda, an illustrious Indian politician and the member of theSamajwadi Party was born at Mugberia in the district. In the year 1982-2011 he was the Fisheries Minister in theLeft Front cabinet in the West Bengal. He was also the general secretary of theWest Bengal Socialist Party for many years. Lakshman Chandra Seth, a distinguished Indian politician and the member of the Communist Party of India was born on 11^th April, 1946 in Purba Medinipur. He is a former Member of Parliament from the Tamluk constituency.

The sets of tourist places in the district allure numerous travellers from different parts of the world. Tamluk, a beautiful picnic place in the district is located on the bank of Rupnarayan River. Devi Barghobhima, a temple of Goddess Kali is an ancient temple situated in Tamluk and is considered as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. The Archeological Museum of Tamluk is marvellous which contains the antique pieces of tamra (copper) and has preserved a tamralipta of Greek inscriptions. Some other famous age old temples of Tamluk are Jagannath Temple, Hari Temple, Mahaprabhu Temple, Ram Jiu Temple, Rajbari Temple etc. Panskura, a place in the district is known as "Flower land" since many of its farmers are engaged in the flower cultivation and its flowers are exported not only all across the country but also to the various foreign countries. People from far distance place come to Panskura to see the variety of flowers. Mahishadal, Digha, Mandarmani and Haldia are some sea side places in the district which are also serve as the prefect tourist destinations.