Asia’s cities to watch report skips Hyderabad
■ City still prefers the traditional system of retail
Though Hyderabad is often described as an ‘emerging city’ in the context of tech growth, it has not made it to the list of ‘Asia's cities to watch’ in 2018, a review done by the global researcher JLL.
Close neighbour, Bengaluru, is on the list in the Enterprise category (see box for list of categories). Delhi and the financial hub of Mumbai have also made it to the list in the Megahubs category. All three are seen as Asian cities that are developing quickly due to growing innovation, but Hyderabad still seems to have some way to go.
Professor Ramesh Loganathan, former president, Hyderabd Software Enterprise Association, says, “While we are surely not a manufacturing hub like Mumbai, nor a large SME manufacturing cluster like Delhi is, we do have a very large defence and aerospace manufacturing presence. Very few know that just the missile programme in the city is nearly as big as the IT industry. We have a very strong life sciences hub too.”
He further adds, “We have three major growth engines — IT, defence and life sciences. However, very little is known about these sectors. Many organisations don’t have a strong presence in Hyderabad to have their own first person insights. They largely rely on secondary information, which is often not accurate or complete.”
The emerging economies of Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai are becoming key hubs in the global network of innovation, says the JLL report. Apart from being a major outsourcing location for multinational corporations, Bengaluru is home to research and development facilities for a growing number of global companies. It has its flaws though: degrading environment and unplanned urbanisation as its population soars.
One of the reasons Hyderabad has not featured in the ranking is because of the traditional nature of its retail sector.
Dr Chandan Chowdhury, Associate Dean and professor (infrastructure ) at ISB says that “even though the development of Cyberabad and its surrounding areas has led to many new retail spaces such as shopping centres, Hyderabad as a city still has a traditional based system of retail. “The shopping mall culture is yet to pick up compared to cities like Delhi and Mumbai. A majority of people still prefer to go to traditional shops or local markets.”
However, he said, “when the city was compared in the ‘Smart Cities Index ranking,’ out of the 53 million plus cities, Hyderabad was ranked eighth, one place above Bangalore and way ahead of Delhi, which was placed 16th. The Smart Cities Index which has been developed by us takes a holistic approach and has looked at various parameters on which cities have been ranked.”
On the three Indian cities named as emerging cities, K. Padmanabhaiah, chairman, Administrative Staff College of India, said, “Mumbai and Delhi are known for their emerging economies and are Megahubs for investment and a junction for internationalisation. Delhi and Mumbai have been the epicentre of business and retail, while Bengaluru is home to some of the world’s most dynamic real estate markets, IT companies and even start- ups.”
EVEN THOUGH THE DEVELOPMENT of Cyberabad and surrounding areas has led to many new retail spaces such as shopping centres, Hyderabad as a city, still has a traditional based system of retail. The shopping mall culture is yet to pick up compared to cities like Delhi and Mumbai. A majority of people still prefer to go to traditional shops or local markets. — DR CHANDAN CHOWDHURY, Associate Dean and Professor (Infrastructure ) at ISB