2008-10-29 21:04:04 -

www.researchandmarkets.com - Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4969f9/best_cities_for_bu) has announced the addition of the "Best Cities for Business-2008" report to their offering.

Infrastructure creation is doubtlessly being touted as the balm of salvation for our metropolises, but what if it becomes unviable to use those fancy expressways, viaducts, flyovers and suspension bridges?

Mumbai tops again in this year's list of

Best cities for Business.

BY 2020, Mumbai and its extended suburbs are a dizzying maze of flyovers and expressways that go on and on. Entwined around skyscrapers whose terraces hang hidden in the clouds, the concrete jungle may not be pretty, but it never fails to elicit gasps dripping with awe from the thousands of immigrants who (still) troop into the country's financial capital every day.

And thank heavens somebody had the good sense to build those elevated sky walks, which ensure that walking in the midst of steel and cement is still a pleasure...

Key Topics Covered:

1. Lucknow & Kanpur: Despite negative perceptions about law and order and poor infrastructure, two cities from Uttar Pradesh--Kanpur and Lucknow--rise buoyed by positive consumer and investor sentiment. Do they denote a glimmer of hope for the rest of UP?

-For Kanpur, originally known as Manchester of the East, the improvement over last year is significant with most votes coming from CEOs and industrialists, the spouses of executives and B-school students.

-The region between Kanpur and Lucknow with its base of small and medium enterprises in the leather, chemicals, plastics and electronics segments, offers unique business opportunities.

-Tata Consultancy Services' global delivery centre in Lucknow is 500-people-strong and an upcoming facility will increase head count to 3,000 over the next year.

-Even now nearly 400-500 people every month are hired for IT/ITeS sector from Lucknow alone. A formidable higher and technical education infrastructure is one reason for the plentiful talent.

2. Bangalore: Its infrastructure may be creaking at the seams, but a slew of recent improvements have ensured that India's 'Silicon Valley' is back among the top cities.

-A Metro Rail project is already underway and will be in place by the end of 2011. The state government, has provided Rs 700 crore for the project this year, and allocated another Rs 1,800 crore for infrastructure development. Industry leaders are, for a change, happy with the government.

-Apart from the road to the new airport, the government is working towards putting in place a high-speed rail link from the city to the airport. Besides, 10 flyovers and underpasses have been planned on the Outer Ring Road at a cost of Rs 350 crore. Multi-storey car parking facilities are also planned at 40 places in Bangalore under the public private partnership model.

3. Delhi: The hospitality industry in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), too, is slated to undergo a major revamp as the city gears up to host business tourists from across the globe in the face of large-scale investments.

-The NCR is expected to see an estimated 27 new hotels, serviced apartments and mixed-use developments with approximately 4,900 rooms in various categories over the next 3-4 years...

4. Chennai: A strong educational system has been one of Tamil Nadu's traditional strengths. There are, according to Velmurugan, 333 engineering colleges, 230 polytechnics and over 1,200 industrial training institutes churning out close to 300,000 technically qualified students every year. "Tamil Nadu produces 25 per cent of the country's engineering graduates.

-Ford, which recently announced a $500-million (Rs 2,150 crore) programme to double its capacity and set up an engine manufacturing facility, was one of the first global automobile majors to zero in on Chennai...

5. Bhubaneshwar: Bhubaneshwar is increasingly seen as an attractive city to a wide variety of potential investors. Over the last three years, nearly Rs. 6,00,000 crore of investments have already been committed in Orissa.

-South Korean steel major POSCO and the world's largest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, have each announced Rs 50,000-crore plans to set up 12-million-tonne steel plants in the state. Then, Tata Steel has committed investments of Rs 25,000 crore; it is setting up a 6 million-tonne steel plant at Kalinga Nagar, a port in Damra and plans a SEZ in Gopalpur. Naturally, a lot of their offices and other infrastructure will come up in Bhubaneswar.

6. Mumbai: Mumbai might be the maximum city with most people surveyed voting for it as the best city to do business in, but it's among the toughest cities to live in.

Projects were announced by the government as part of the state Budget 2008-09, but that's just a drop in the ocean.

7. Surat: Booming industries, a unique demographic make-up, the entrepreneurial skills of its populace, and a pot-pourri of cultures all contribute to make Surat the city with the highest average household income in the country.

-A recent study by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Roopa Purushothaman of Future Capital Research declares Surat as the city with the highest average household income (pegged at Rs 4.57 lakh) in the country.

-The two key industries in Surat--diamond cutting and polishing and textiles--form the backbone of the city's economy. Close to Rs 45,000 crore worth of diamonds are cut, shaped, polished and exported from Surat. The diamond industry employs about 5 lakh people in Surat. The Rs 45,000-crore textile industry, on the other hand, employs about 8 lakh people and accounts for 20 per cent of India's total textile output. In all, more than 1 lakh looms, and 475 dyeing and printing mills churn out 25 million metres of fabric a day. The city has over 60,000 wholesale fabric trading shops.

8. Bhopal: For a city that has suffered the world's worst industrial disaster, industry is again holding the promise of jobs and economic development.

A series of investors' meets organised by the state government, the latest of which was held in Gwalior in July 2008, has resulted in MoUs that promise investments worth Rs 3,64,000 crore across MP.

-With a population of about 2.8 million, an average annual household income of Rs 1,65,210, and average annual household expenditure of Rs 1,28,836, Bhopal has recently been designated a "boomtown" by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

9. Methodology

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