Jamshedpur is the headquarters of the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. It is also the first planned industrial city of India. Jamshedpur is home to the first private iron and steel company of India. The areas surrounding Jamshedpur are rich in minerals, including iron ore, coal, manganese bauxite and lime. It is a modern, industrial city; the main industries being iron and steel, truck manufacturing, tinplate production, cement and other small and medium scale industries revolving around these products. The largest factory is that of Tata Steel (the erstwhile Tata Iron and Steel Company or TISCO), situated almost at the centre of the city. Tata Steel is the largest iron and steel producing plant in India, as well as the oldest.

In 1919 Lord Chelmsford named the city, which was earlier a village called Sakchi, to Jamshedpur in honour of its founder, Jamsetji Tata. The city has several nicknames, including "Industrial capital of Jharkhand" (spontaneous among native youngsters); "Steel City" (which was referenced during Tata Steel's "Green City—Clean City—Steel City" campaign); "Tatanagar" after the name of its railway station or simply "Tata" in deference to the presence of Tata companies.