From 1773 to 1912, the capital of India was Calcutta, then was moved to Delhi in 1912. Because the British wanted to build a brand-new capital city, they began to construct a new city adjacent to Delhi (now known as Old Delhi). When construction was completed on this new city in 1931, it became the capital of India and was known as New Delhi. The metropolitan area of Old and New Delhi is one of the world’s largest urban areas, containing a population of over 16 million people.