Pune best among emerging cities for investment: UK-India Business Council

The report specifically mentions the sizeable allocation of funds by the central government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM),for developing the city’s crumbling infrastructure. “The city’s growth momentum also benefits from the fact that it is the most eligible candidate for central government assistance under the JNNURM,” the study says.

Avnish Malhotra,senior trade and investment advisor at the British Trade Office,Pune,said that though he agreed with the findings of the report,the city still had a long way to go. “The development of infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth in business over the past few years. For,instance,the Nagar road is in a bad shape,in spite of being located in an industrial hub,” he said.

Malhotra contended that in spite of the slowdown across sectors,the city’s GDP still grew by over 10 per cent last year,driven by growth in services,especially ICT,

It-enabled,and design companies.

“And while manufacturing,especially the automotive sector,has not done so well,general engineering companies have done pretty well over the past year,” he said. This helped Pune to score high on the ‘business environment’ index in the report.

The report also says that Pune attracted 20 per cent of the total industrial investment in the country,and accounted for £ 1,411 million in IT exports,the highest for a single city.

The report says how the city’s famed cultural heritage is prompting young professionals to make the city their home. “Pune is being seen as a place to ‘migrate to’ rather than migrate from,after their education,” the report adds.

Anant Sardeshmukh,director general,Mahratta Chamber of Commerce,Industries and Agriculture,said there were a number of reasons why British companies were looking at Pune favourably.

“The quality and availability of top-class manpower,the level of SMEs already existing in the city,and the focus on infrastructure by the state government makes the city an ideal business destination,” he said.