marginal workers. At the time of the 2011 census, Thoothukudi urban agglomeration had a population of 411,628. A total of 42,756 of the population was under 6 years of age. Tamil is the predominant language in the city and is spoken by almost 99% of the population. The dialect is the Thoothukudi Tamil which is related to Nellai Tamil. English is also widely spoken. In Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation 65% of the population are Hindus, 30% Christians and 5% Muslims. In the urban agglomeration overall, 71% are Hindus, 25% Christians and 4% Muslims. Economy Salt pans in and around the city contribute majorly to the economy of the city. The salt pans produce 1.2 million tonnes of salt every year, contributing to 90% of the salt produced in the state and 50% needed by the chemical industries of the state. The other major industries are shipping, fishing, agricultural, power and chemical industries. Fishing is one of the largest contributor to the local economy. Thoothukudi Fishing Harbor is one of the oldest and largest harbors in Tamil Nadu. The Thoothukudi Thermal Power Station has five 210 MW generators. The first generator was commissioned in July 1979 and the newly built thermal power plant of 1000 MW by NLC and TANGEDCO, the NTPL Thermal Power Station. In addition to this there are several private power plants like Ind-Barath Thermal Power Limited, Coastal Energen Private Limited, Sterlite Industries Captive power plant. Thoothukudi Spinning Mills Ltd, Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation, Thoothukudi Alkali Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, Heavy Water Board Plant, Venus Home Appliances, S.K.S.C. Nadarajan & Bror, P. S. S. Krishnamurthi Exports Private Limited, Madura Coats Private Limited, DCW Limited, Kilburn Chemicals Ltd, Nila Sea foods, Diamond Sea foods Maris Associates, VVD Coconut oil mill, AVM oil mill, Ramesh flowers, Agsar Paints and KSPS Salts are some of the small scale and large scale industries in the city. Thoothukudi is the headquarters city of leading private sector bank Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited located. It is one of the fastest growing banks in India during the period of 2007–2012. Its total business is worth 360 billion. The bank targets a Total Business of 500 Billion INR in 2014–15. The city also has a research institute set up by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and a Spices laboratory set up by Spices Board of India. Thoothukudi also has a State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Industrial