Bangalore - India
Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley. A centre of innovation and research, but also a cultural centre.
In addition to the skyscrapers, an already unusual sight compared to the more classical skylines of the Subcontinent, the modern capital of Karnataka offers several tourist attractions and curiosities.
Today Bangalore is better and preferably known as the ‘city of gardens’ thanks to the large number of parks and green areas that resist concrete despite its constant urban sprawl. Locals say (and it is incredibly true!) that the municipality has historically refrained from building the city’s metro system precisely to avoid uprooting too many trees from the ground. It is no accident or oversight, therefore, that in the very centre of Bangalore one can breathe better than in Delhi or Mumbai, one can walk in the shade and there is an immense green lung.
The growth of IT has presented the city with unique challenges. Ideological clashes sometimes occur between the city’s IT moguls, who demand an improvement in the city’s infrastructure; and the state government, whose electorate is primarily from rural Karnataka. The encouragement of the high-tech industry in Bangalore, for example, has not favoured local employment development, but instead increased land values and forced out a small enterprise. The state has also resisted the massive investments required to reverse the rapid decline in city transport, driving new and expanding businesses elsewhere in India. Bangalore is a hub for the Indian biotechnology-related industry and in 2005 was home to around 47% of the 265 biotechnology companies in India, including Biocon, India’s largest biotechnology company, giving Bangalore the nickname of the “Biotech Capital of India”. Bangalore is also the country’s fourth largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. Forbes considers Bangalore one of “The Next Decade’s Fastest-Growing Cities”. The city is the third largest hub for high-net-worth individuals. As of 2007, it is home to over 10,000 millionaires who have an investment surplus of ₹45 million (US$563,551). As of 2017, Bangalore was home to 7,700 millionaires and 8 billionaires, with a total wealth of $320 billion.