Ahmedabad among top emerging Indian cities:British trade body

The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) today in its report “Emerging Cities of India” said Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh among others are top four emerging cities more likely to produce economic miracles on the back of a growing middle-class followed by Vadodara, Goa, Indore, Kochi and Nagpur.

UKIBC took into consideration social and economic indicators like population and infrastructure in its study covering 200 surveys.

“While India’s urban giants may dominate the business agenda in the short-term due to the sheer size of their human capital clusters…We believe it is the country’s lesser known small towns and cities that are more likely to produce the economic miracles.The key areas of consumption include healthcare, education, transport communications, food and entertainment, consumer durables and travel. A common feature across emerging cities in our research is the active role of state and state agencies in promoting economic development. These include steps taken by state governments to allow privatisation of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to promote employment” the report said.

“India’s middle-class today numbers 50 million but is expected to reach 583 million by 2025 to account for 41 per cent of the (country’s total) population and 75 per cent of the urban population,” it added.

“Despite the global slowdown, the continued expansion of the Indian economy is well recognized and many UK companies are keenly aware of the need for an increasingly entrepreneurial approach to do business in India,” the report observed.

Benchmarking Ahmedabad as a premier business hub, UKIBC said Ahmedabad presented plum opportunities for UK companies to invest in media and creative sectors, Chandigarh showed potential for software, IT and BPO. In Kochi, opportunities exist for tie-ups in food production, especially technical know-how. Pune as a premier business hub could help create potential linkages with UK industry capacity in the financial services, ICT and creative and media sectors.