has got prestigious State Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar. The main agriculture is of Bajra crops. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Banaskantha one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the six districts in Gujarat currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Demographics According to the 2011 census Banaskantha district has a population of 3,120,506, roughly equal to the nation of Mongolia or the US state of Iowa. This gives it a ranking of 111th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.43%. Banaskantha has a sex ratio of 936 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 66.39%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 10.49% and 9.11% of the population respectively. Language According to the 2011 Census of India, 96.35% of the population in the district spoke Gujarati and 0.91% Hindi as their first language. Politics |} Notable people Chandrakant Bakshi, author born in Palanpur. Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, Minister of State of Home Affairs and MP for Banaskantha Shankar Chaudhary, Minister of State in Gujarat, chairman of Banas Dairy and Banas Bank Harisinh Chavda, former MP for Banaskantha B. K. Gadhvi, former MP and Minister of State, Banaskantha Mukesh Gadhvi, former MP for Banaskantha Jayasimha Siddharaja, ruler of Gujarat from the Chaulukya dynasty Pranav Mistry, inventor of Sixthsense and vice president of Samsung, USA Ranchordas Pagi, scout for the Indian Army during the 1965 and 1971 war References External links Official website Banaskantha District profile DISTRICT PROFILE - Rural.nic.in Banskantha District Panchayat - English Collectorate - District Banaskantha Districts of Gujarat