Economy

Hyderabad is decidedly one of India’s most important economic hubs, with marked growth in the automobile and auto parts industry, poultry farming, textiles and apparel industry, and bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals. More than these, however, Hyderabad is also fast becoming a major IT city in India. Due to its wide economic growth, Hyderabad is the economic and financial capital of the state of Telangana, and it is the state’s largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) as well as state tax and excise revenues. Over the last decade, Hyderabad has posted dramatic growths and it is expected that it will continue to grow in the following years. Since the 90s, its economic pattern has changed from being primarily service-oriented to one with a broader and more diversified spectrum, including transport, commerce, and communications.

In the crafts industry, Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls. It produces bangles, silverware, saris, paintings and artifacts, unique handcrafted items such as Bidri wares, silkware, cottonware, and clothing materials that have been traded through the city for centuries now. The retail industry has also seen a marked raise due to the growing international and national brands that have set up retail stores in the city. Multiple central business districts have been constructed with the major business and commercial districts being set up in the Abids-Kothi-Nampally areas, the Kukatpally-Chandanagar-BHEL areas, and the Banjara Hills-Jubilee Hills-Kothaguda areas, among others. In fact, for the advancement of city infrastructure, a skyscraper business district at Manchirevula is being built by the government. Upon its completion, the APIIC Tower building at its center may become the tallest building in India.

Perhaps of more importance, however, is Hyderabad’s emerging future as one of India’s central Information Technology and IT enabled service hubs. To date, many software, business process outsourcing (BPO), as well as call center firms have taken up office in Hyderabad. The city has become home to American IT giants such as IBM, Dell, Oracle, and General Electric. Hyderabad has also become the foremost destination for Microsoft Development Center in India. The development of HITEC City, a township prepped with state of the art technologies and facilities, also helped prompt several IT and ITES companies to set up operations in the city. More than that, these companies have come to Hyderabad for two simple reasons: one, India has a huge intellectual talent and these are being utlized by these companies in order to maintain their global competitiveness. The second reason is more long term: the local market. India also provides cheap labour costs, a relaxed working environment, and favorable labour standards. All these combine to fuel Hyderabad’s place as India’s premiere IT city. In fact, such developments have prompted civic boosters to call Hyderabad as Cyberabad.

It is expected that in the future, Hyderabad will become a major transit hub between the US, Europe, and Asia, with the city having one of the fastest growing economies in India with a fast increasing tax base. With the atmosphere in Hyderabad becoming very friendly to investors, it has become one of the most attractive choices for investment in India.