5 Cool Places to do Business in India

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The most ideal place to do business is over coffee with your clients– the relaxed mood and atmosphere lets you ease into the necessary discussion and finalize the deal. It is also better if you do some background research regarding the culinary preference of your client and order according to that. Remember, it is always a great gesture to pay the bill yourself.

You can also try out a pub or a restaurant depending upon what your client likes or wants. If your client is a lady then it is advisable to have some soothing music play in the background so that you all can relax and have a great time. Even if the deal is not finalized due to some reason, your client will keep the lovely evening in mind, and considering the fact that most businesses are built over relationships, could provide a lot more opportunities in the future.

Internet is a great place to business – you just need to look at the success stories in the Indian e-commerce sector like Flipkart or at global social media giants like Twitter and Facebook to understand how potent this sector is. When you are discussing a business proposal with your prospective client, internet will allow you the space to do some research and determine the veracity of the client. This is a great advantage that is absent in all other good business locations.

They say that home is where heart is and it is also a great spot for any business. If you are thinking of starting out small then your home will be the best place because obviously the inventory cost will not be there and any profit you make on your venture will go towards expanding and improving your services. In all, it can be termed as a win-win situation.

If you are looking to pitch your product and looking to achieve some mileage at negligible costs, it is advisable you attend business events, and especially ones for start-ups on a regular basis. Here you can promote your product or service through presentations and discussion sessions. You can also provide free samples of your products if that fits into your business revenue model. Since, these meets are also attended by the bigwigs, there are good chances that these can be your ticket to the big league.

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Top 5 Business Locations in India

Why should you do business in Mumbai?
Mumbai is the first name that comes to mind when you think of doing business in India. It is regarded as the commercial and financial capital of India by virtue of its 6.16% contribution to the national GDP. It also generates 10 percent of the factory jobs, 60 percent of the customs duty collected, 25 percent of aggregate industrial production, 20 percent of central excise tax collected, 33 percent of the income tax collected, and 40 of the total foreign trade of India. The city also generates corporate taxes worth approximately INR 4000 crore on a yearly basis.

The estimated GDP of Mumbai is INR 919,600 crore and its approximate per-capita income is INR 486,400, which is almost 300% of the average for India. Five companies in the Fortune Global 500 List are headquartered in this capital city of Maharashtra. Some leading Indian conglomerates are also based in this city:

Larsen and Toubro
Tata Group
State Bank of India
Godrej
Life Insurance Corporation of India
Reliance

Several international banks and financial organizations such as the World Trade Centre have set up operations at the city. In 2008, it was rated as an Alpha World City by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group (GaWC). It has also been rated as one of the top cities for start-ups in terms for growth. At present, sectors like engineering, healthcare, diamond polishing, and information technology are among the best performers in this city.

The recycling industry of Dharavi in Central Mumbai has been growing of late and presently has almost 15 thousand single room factories. Most of the leading satellite networks, television channels, and publishing firms of India are based in this city as well. Mumbai has in 2008 been ranked at the 48th position in the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index and 7th in the Top Ten Cities for Billionaires by Forbes in 2008 itself.

What does this mean: All these factors make it a lucrative proposition for any entrepreneur or businessman. The levels of per capita income of this city suggest that any business can thrive because of the levels of dispensable earnings of the consumers. The fact that so many top companies of both India and the world are headquartered at this city suggests that the business environment is pretty commendable as well. The high rankings received by this city for its growth prospects also provide a similar indication.

Why should you do business in New Delhi?

The 2011 World Wealth Report has rated New Delhi at the 39th position globally in terms of economic activity. However, from a general perspective it has been accorded the 37th position globally and is in a much better position than cities such as Johannesburg and Jakarta.

The Economic Survey of Delhi states that the approximate net State Domestic Product of this metro city is INR 83,085 crores and its estimated per capita income is INR 53,976. The per capita income of New Delhi has been on a growth curve with the performance between 2008-09 and 2009-10 being especially commendable with a growth rate of 16.2 percent (from INR 116,886 to INR 135,814). This also makes one of the most economically affluent cities in the country.

In the gross SDP of this city, almost 78.4% of the contribution comes from the tertiary sector while the secondary sector accounts for 20.2 percent. New Delhi has plenty of commercial centers such as the well known Connaught Place, which is among the biggest of its kind in the country as well. Some others that may be mentioned in this regard are the ITO and the Barakhamba Road.

Of late, the service sector of New Delhi has seen a major expansion owing to the presence of the substantial workforce that is fluent in English and this has drawn the interest of several international organizations. At present, the following segments comprise the lion’s share of this city’s economy:

Information technology
Banking
Telecommunications
Media
Hotels
Tourism

What does this mean: From the above information, it is clear that the residents here have high levels of disposable income and the amount of economic activity, as evident from the ranking, makes it clear that there is no dearth of opportunities to grow and thrive. The large and proficient workforce means you can do well especially if you are in the services sector.

Why should you do business in Kolkata?

Kolkata is the financial and commercial center of not only Eastern India but also North-Eastern India and houses the Calcutta Stock Exchange. It is an important military and commercial port and the sole city in this part of the country that has an international airport.

The information technology sector has performed pretty well in Kolkata. In the late 1990s, when it really took off in the City of Joy, this sector experienced a yearly growth rate of 70 on an average and this was almost twice the average for the whole of India at that point in time.

In the previous decade the following sectors have really come to prominence:

Real estate
Retail
Infrastructure
Hospitality

The approximate GDP by PPP of Kolkata is $150 billion, which makes it one of the top South Asian cities in this regard along with fellow Indian cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai. At present the city houses several industrial units that are run by big corporations belonging to both private and public sector.

The most important sectors of this city’s economy can be mentioned as below:

heavy engineering
food processing
mining
agriculture
minerals
electronics
cement
textiles
pharmaceuticals
jute

Three of the prominent public sector banks of India, Allahabad Bank, United Bank of India, and UCO Bank have their head offices at Kolkata. Famous companies such as ITC Limited, Britannia Industries, and Coal India Limited are also based out of this city.

What does this mean: Kolkata is the gateway to Eastern and North Eastern India and offers immense possibility by virtue of being the entry point to these locations that are blessed with plenty of natural resources. The fact that several good companies are headquartered in this city implies that the business environment is good enough. It is also well connected, which can help a company prosper.

Why should you do business in Bangalore?

The economy of Bangalore has been valued at approximately INR 52,346 crores – a figure that places it among the premier centers of the national economy. The estimated aggregate worth of its exports is INR 43,221 crores.

The city’s economy has a growth rate of almost 10.3 percent which makes it one of the top two cities in India in terms of economic growth. It also houses one of the top 4 markets for FMCG products in the country.

The Forbes Magazine has stated that Bangalore will be among quickest growing cities in the coming 10 years. Its estimated per capita income is INR 74,709. It is also among the top three areas for HNWI (high net worth individuals).

Bangalore also has several millionaires and approximately 60 thousand residents who can be classified as super rich. Together the investable surplus of this city’s millionaires is approximately INR 4.5 crores – for its super rich residents the aggregate figure stands at INR 50 lakh. It is also the headquarters of some important public sector undertakings:

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML)
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)
HMT
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

Bangalore is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India as it has lots of IT companies and also accounts for almost 33 percent of the IT exports of India. The IT industry in this city can be categorized into Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Electronics City, and International Tech Park. It also has highly equipped commercial areas such as the UB City that serves as the head offices of the United Breweries Group.

Wipro and Infosys, two of the leading IT companies of India, and several international SEI-CMM Level 5 organizations are based out of this city. The following IT giants also operate corporate offices and R&D centers in the Garden City:

Cognizant
Hewlett-Packard
Wipro
Honeywell
iGate
Yahoo
Tata Consultancy Services
Oracle Corporation
Accenture
Cisco
Nokia Siemens Network
Microsoft
Texas Instruments
Intuit
Google
Intel
IBM

What does this mean: Bangalore is the IT hub of India and its per capita income level is comfortably greater than most other top tier Indian cities. These factors imply that there is good prospect for both service and product based companies in the country. The fact that so many top notch companies are headquartered at the city also signals that it has a great workforce.

Why should you do business in Hyderabad?

Hyderabad accounts for the majority of the GDP and state revenues such as taxes of Andhra Pradesh. Its revenues amount to approximately INR 70,000 crores as well as almost 33.33% of the revenue generated through taxes.

In 2011 the per capita income of the city was INR 44,300 and, presently, its estimated nominal GDP is 60 billion US dollars. It also has the maximum SEZs in India. Conventional manufacturing, tourism, and knowledge sector are the biggest contributors to the city’s economy.

During March 2012, Hyderabad was pronounced to be the original “Best Heritage City of India” by the Union Tourism Ministry. The New York Times has placed it in the 11th position in its “The List of 41 Places to go in 2011”.

It is also referred to as the Genome Valley of India and the Pharmaceutical Capital of India thanks to its strong biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Its biopharmaceuticals exports amount to almost 3.1 billion dollars.

The biotechnology infrastructure of Hyderabad has drawn several multinationals and regional organizations to start their operations over here through offices, R&D centers, and warehouses. The retail sector has also done pretty well of late and the city is blessed with several CBDs (central business districts) as well.

In 2009 the World Bank gave the city the 2nd position among the best business destinations in India. GaWC has also included it in the list of Gamma+ World Cities. DTZ, in 2011, has rated it as the third best in terms of office affordability. The real estate business has also flourished in this city in recent times.

It is among the global centers when it comes to IT and is also referred to as Cyberabad or Cyber City. Its IT sector comprises:

IT enabled services
Entertainment industry
BPO sector

Its IT exports are worth approximately $4.7 billion and it also contributes almost 22% of NASSCOM’s total membership. There are at least 1300 IT companies in the city, which also houses the Indian head offices of the following organizations:

Microsoft
Amazon
Google
Facebook
CA Technologies

In fact the biggest non-US R&D facility of Microsoft is in Hyderabad itself. CA Technologies also has its biggest R&D center over here.

What does this mean: Hyderabad is exceptional when it comes to the IT industry. Its high rankings also indicate that it enjoys a really favorable business environment – a fact that is also proved by the several international giants like Facebook and Google who have chosen this city as the base of their Indian operations.

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Last Updated on 4/17/2012