Panaji, also spelled Panjim, town, capital of Goa state, western India. It lies on the estuary of the Mandavi River at the river’s mouth on the Arabian Sea.Panaji was a tiny village until the mid-18th century, when repeated plagues forced the Portuguese to abandon their capital of Velha Goa (Old Goa, or Ela). Panaji became the capital in 1843. The town contains colonial houses and plazas, and by law all the houses must be whitewashed annually. Chiefly an administrative centre, Panaji in the 1970s grew in commercial importance, and an industrial estate was established nearby. Tourism became highly developed. Numerous Portuguese and Maratha ruins can be found in the environs.
The name was later changed to Panjim by the Portuguese and when Old Goa collapsed in the 19th century, Panjim was elevated to the status of a city on 22 March 1843 and was renamed “Nova Goa†. After Liberation in 1961 it was known as “Panaji†. At the beginning, Panaji developed in a most shy and candid way.