From a sleepy town in the outskirts of Delhi just a few years back to the hottest destination in North India in terms of employment, investments and consumer experience – Gurgaon has come a long way. Clearly, this city of skyscrapers has emerged as an ideal location to work in or set up businesses — despite poorly planned infrastructure facilities. It comes as no surprise then that an exhaustive comparative analysis by research firm Indicus Analytics places Gurgaon at the top of its list of best cities in northern India.
The last few years have seen some of the country’s biggest multinational and local companies setting up offices in Gurgaon. The large number of BPOs operating in the city has given Gurgaon the status of an outsourcing hub. In addition to proximity to the airport, what also works for this city is facilities such as hotels, schools, hospitals, malls, restaurants, pubs and gyms, that make it the ideal location for the expat population associated with the IT and BPO industries. The metro construction in full swing and the multi-lane expressway between Delhi and Gurgaon is an added advantage.
Microsoft, GE, Genpact, Dell, American Express, Google, Bharti Airtel, British Airways, ESPN Star Sports, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Glaxo SmithKline, Brown-Forman, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser, JWT, GroupM, Rediffusion DY&R — the crème de la crème of India Inc has offices in Gurgaon. In addition, it is well-documented that how real estate developers such as DLF, Ansals and Unitech have built their empires from residential, office and shopping complexes in Gurgaon.
“New economy clients offer great employment opportunities. Malls, entertainment and residential options offer great standard of living. All of this makes Gurgaon the best place to be in right now,” says Rohit Ohri, managing partner of ad agency JWT.
Apart from officials associated with corporates, independent professionals too vouch for the city. “Gurgaon was a really small town some years back, and it has seen lot of development. Of course, infrastructure-wise, there is a lot of scope for improvement but I like working in this city and will continue to be based here in future as well,” says Dr Deepak Ahuja, a leading Gurgaon-based paediatrician.
But the Millennium city comes with its share of downsides. The infrastructure such as roads still leaves a lot of room for improvement and some plush residence and office complexes are still surrounded by villages which raises security concerns. Power and water are in short supply in some areas, and public transport is completely lacking. Besides, there is some amount of unauthorised construction as well. There is a point of view that cost of living is on the higher side in Gurgaon, but since the quality of services is better, it is considered a minor trade-off compared to living in Delhi.
“I have my factory in Gurgaon and live in South Delhi. But my traveling woes have not eased despite the toll expressway. Even within Gurgaon, congested roads delay travel time significantly. My travel time has not reduced at all and I plan to shift my factory back to Delhi within the next six months,” says architect Payal Jain.
Despite all such problems, Gurgaon has developed into a fairly self-sufficient suburb of Delhi in terms of work, commercial and entertainment options and residential accommodation.
“Though the condition of roads has been improving over the past three months, assistance from the government to improve infrastructure could take the city to another level. Apart from like-minded people working in the city, there are good shopping centres, eating places and clubs — both premium ones such as the DLF golf and country club, and smaller clubs. So the city offers professional and entertainment options for everyone,” says Amrit Kiran, area director of liquor major Brown-Forman.
In terms of vibrancy, the city fares far worse than cultural hubs like Chandigarh and Delhi. “The Aravalli centre for culture and arts and the Epicentre, for example, now regularly organise theatre shows and dance recitals. The way it is going, Gurgaon will start competing with Delhi in terms of cultural options,” says Brown-Forman’s Singh.
The analysis, which captures the performance of cities, details the rankings of northern India’s leading 38 cities. It closely examines economic and psychographic data of cities in the northern India and throws up distinct differentiation between these cities.
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