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Guide to India - New Delhi & Mumbai

New Delhi

New Delhi is one of Northern India’s leading commercial and financial centres and a major conurbation, with over 300,000 people living within the city limits and 14 million in the greater New Delhi area.

Transport within the city is well-served by the new, modern Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System, which has 3 metro lines and more under construction. Bus, taxi and rickshaw are the other favoured modes of transport around the cities streets and boulevards.

Indira Gandhi International Airport is the second busiest in South Asia and links New Delhi with many international destinations worldwide. There are also five national highways linking the city to other parts of India – although within New Delhi public transport is a better option as it has some of the busiest streets in the world.

The city has been extremely successful in attracting multinational companies. This is no doubt due to its strong infrastructure and large, well-educated, English speaking workforce. Salary levels have historically been lower than in Western Europe and the USA.

Key industries in the city include information technology, telecommunications, hotels, banking, media and tourism. Customer service and back office operations are an important part of this.

There is a great deal to see and do in New Delhi. In keeping with its dramatic commercial expansion there has been a massive increase in nightlife, with many bars, restaurants, clubs, sports facilities, shopping centres and entertainment venues opening.

There is a strong cultural life as well. Through the city’s many museums, galleries and festivals you can explore millennia of Indian civilisation, including its complex interaction with British influences and the country’s phenomenal progress since independence.

New Delhi also has high quality international hotels and convention centres, driven by demand from India’s thriving domestic economy and incoming multinationals. Office space, especially in the commercial epicenter, Connaught Place, is at a premium - and interest in Avanta’s serviced offices there is bound to be high.

Mumbai

Mumbai is a major economic centre in India with a per capita income almost three times the national average. Approximately 13 million people live in the greater Mumbai region.

Indian conglomerates such as Tata Group, Godrej and Reliance are headquartered in the city, which has transformed its economy in the past 20 years to create thriving high tech, aerospace, financial service, healthcare and electronics industries.

Mumbai stock exchange is one of the world’s largest and is based in the Fort area of the city. Avanta has a business centre in Fort, a district occupied by many of the world’s leading financial institutions who wish to trade in South Asia’s most influential hub.

The media sector too is thriving in Mumbai. It’s the centre of the Hindi filmmaking industry (Bollywood) and most of the major national TV networks are based there. This forms part of the rich cultural, sorting and entertainment life of the city.

Mumbai is benefiting especially from the global explosion in IT and business process outsourcing. Many support centres, data centres, R&D facilities and factories have opened in the city to employ the well-educated, English-speaking workforce there.

This in turn has caused a dramatic increase in the Middle Class. Their increasing affluence is driving sustained economic growth, which can be seen in the large amount of development taking place, including Jupiter Mills.

Jupiter Mills itself is located in Mumbai’s fast developing Central Business Area, in the district of Parel. Elphinstone railway station is close by, as is the Parel BEST bus depot. A metro system is under construction and the first phase is due to open in 2009.

Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport lies to the North of Jupiter Mills, a short train or taxi journey away, and you can quickly reach other premier commercial districts, including Fort, Nariman Point and the Bandra-Kuria Complex.