Economy of Delhi

Historically, Delhi has always been the economic capital of northern India. In early 19th century, it started to gain importance in arts and craft, textile and handloom. Many small-scale industries expanded, including the handloom and copper utensils industry. By the end of the 19th century, Delhi was northern India’s manufacturing hub.

In recent years, Delhi’s service sector has expanded exponentially due in part to the large skilled English-speaking workforce which has attracted many multinational companies. Key service industries include information technology (IT), telecommunications, banking, media and life sciences.

Delhi and its suburbs account for over 30% of India’s IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports - the second largest in the country (Bangalore accounts for 35%). Delhi’s manufacturing industry has also grown considerably as many consumer goods industries have established manufacturing units and headquarters in and around Delhi ranging from Pepsico and Gap to zipper giant YKK.

Delhi is one of India’s most affluent urban centers and is at the heart of India’s largest consumer belt. As an indicator, Delhi has more cars on its roads than India’s other four ‘metros’, Bangalore, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay combined, and is widely considered to have the best transport and utilities infrastructure in the country.

Delhi is one of India’s largest markets because per capita income is much higher than in other Indian cities. Gurgaon and Noida, two of Delhi’s largest satellite cities, have attracted more than USD 5 billion worth investments in the past three years. The city’s booming economy is also the main reason so many people migrated to Delhi in recent years in search of better living conditions and employment.