Solapur is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch line to the cities of Kalaburagi and Vijayapura in the neighbouring state of Karnataka. Solapur International Airport is under construction.

 It is classified as A1 Tier and B-1 class city by House Rent Allowance (HRA) classification by the Government of India. It is the seventh biggest Metropolis Urban Agglomeration and 11th most populated city in Maharashtra as well as 43rd largest urban agglomeration and 49th most populous city in India.

Solapur leads Maharashtra in production of beedi. Solapuri Chadars and towels are famous not only in India but also at a global level, however there has been a significant decline in their exports due to quality issues.

 “Solapuri chadars” are the famous and first product in Maharashtra to get a Geographical Indication tag It has been a leading centre for cotton mills and power looms in Maharashtra. Solapur had the world’s second-largest and Asia’s largest spinning mill. The National Research Centre on Pomegranate (NRCP) of India is located in Solapur and pomegranate farming is done on a large scale in Solapur District.

 The Science Centre in Kegaon (Solapur) is the third largest and prominent scientific association in Maharashtra. The Raichur-Solapur Power Transmission line of 765 kV power capacity suffices the power grid accessing need of the southern states of Karanataka and Andhra Pradesh. The first waste-to-energy electricity plant in Maharashtra is situated in Solapur.

Solapur internal city transport is managed by SMT (Solapur Municipal Transport), but the buses operated by SMC are limited to less than 100 buses.

Solapur is well connected by road with major cities of Maharashtra as well as the adjoining State Capital of Hyderabad and important cities in Karnataka by four National Highways – NH 9 highway connecting Pune with Vijaywada via Hyderabad but the Solapur-Omerga stretch of NH65 is a bit uncomfortable as the quality of roads still remains below par/Under construction, Suryapet, NH-52 connecting Solapur to Kaithal, Mangalore, Karnataka and NH-211 connecting Solapur to Dhule. 

Ratnagiri-Nagpur National highway NH-204 passes through city, connecting Solapur to other important cities in Maharashtra like Nagpur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Nanded. Recently sanctioned National Highways- and Ratnagiri-Solapur-Nanded-Yavatmal-Nagpur. (Solapur-Bijapur) Road section in NH-13 is proposed to be improved by its four laning. The Solapur-Aurangabad national highway project is completed recently and the new four laning has reduced the time and cost in travelling from Solapur to Aurangabad.