Nagpur gains its political importance from the fact that the entire political community of Maharashtra descends on the city for the two week duration of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra States Legislative Assembly during the month of December. In addition, a bench of the Bombay High Court is located in the city. Furthermore, Nagpur is known throughout India as the birthplace and headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization.
Nagpur is an important city for the scientific community as it is home to the headquarters of a number of national level scientific and governmental establishments like the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI), Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), National Research Centre for Citrus, National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Aluminium Research and Development Centre, the Indian Bureau of Mines, India's Intellectual Property Training Institute, the National Academy of Direct Taxes, the Chief Controller of Explosives of the Petroleum and
Explosives Safety Organisation, and the South Central Zone Csultural Centre in addition to a regional office of the Indian Meteorological Department.
Nagpur is also an important city for the Indian armed forces as the headquarters of Maintenance Command of the Indian Air Force and an Ordinance factory and Staff College for the Indian Armed Forces are located in the city. In addition, the Nagpur suburb named Kamptee is home a neatly laid out cantonment of the Regimental Centre of Indian Army's Brigade that is made up of the National Cadet Corps' Officers' Training School, Institute of Military Law, and other establishments of Indian Army. Furthermore, Nagpur's National Civil Defence College provides civil defence and disaster management training to pupils from all over India and abroad. The city is also the home for Indian Air Force's giant IL-76 transport planes nicknamed "Gajraj.
