South Asian Business news and information

Indicus Analytics, a Delhi based research firm, has published a report on the cities of India.  After reading the report, I have planned to write posts on each of the top ten cities. In these posts I shall focus on the business environment of each of the cities.

The first city I shall cover today is Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is situated in the state of Gujarat in North West India. It is the largest city of Gujarat and the seventh largest city of India. The city is situated on the banks of the Sabaramati River. The total population of the city is more than 5.2 million.

If you browse Google by the word “Ahmedabad”, you will find lots of tour websites talking about Ahmedabad. One of the major attractions of this city is the historical sites. The city is abound with mosques and temples. The historical background of this city can be traced back to 11^th century.

In Western India, Ahmedabad is the largest inland industrial center. The city is famous for its thriving cotton industry. The first textile industry was established in 1861. This is why; the city is referred as “The Manchester of the East”. Along with textile industry, the city is home to two of the largest pharmaceutical companies of India: Zydus Cadila and Torrent Pharmaceuticals. Among other companies, the headquarters of Nirma Group and Adani Group is situated here.

One of the major features of an ideal industrial center is the communication and transportation system. Ahmedabad has a very well planned communication system. As the British East India Company built a cantonment here, they developed the communication system. Railway to Mumbai was established in 1864.

IT industry is also another major industry of India. According to a survey, conducted by NASSCOM in 2002, titled “Super Nine Indian Destinations”, Ahmedabad was ranked fifth.