Data Report

Here are some interesting facts and random puzzles for you to consider. Which are the top three Indian cities that contribute the most by way of corporate tax and income tax?

In a country where jobless growth is making headlines, guess the city that has created the maximum number of prime jobs over the last decade. Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru today are the top three aviation hubs. But guess which one has grown the fastest over the last decade. Which city has added more mall space in the last five years than Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata put together? Of course, you know which Indian city has the best weather and the worst traffic. But do you also know which one has the highest share of young people in its population, offers the best job market for freshers and also the highest salaries for blue-collar workers? No points for guessing which city leads in the number of unicorns, soonicorns, startups, techies and funding. But guess the city that hosts the highest number of workshops and meetups.

Which Indian city leads in Airbnb listings, electric scooters and per capita passport, and ranks among the top two for highest share of night movie shows (perhaps a proxy for safety)? Now guess the city that ranks consistently among the top three on virtually all important socio-economic-consumer indicators in India. And yet, it isn’t officially a metro or categorised as a tier-I city? It is data insights and nuggets like these that our annual data report on India’s top cities reveal. This report, in the making over the last 12 months, focuses on India’s top cities, with Bengaluru in sharp focus. The intent is to bring in a more informed, nuanced and data led understanding of India’s top cities. It is meant for policy makers, bureaucrats, experts and corporate executives, but it is also meant for lay
persons curious about Indian cities. Why do we need this report, you may ask.

Here’s a counter question. Which city do you want to live and work in? Isn’t that a question that we (both individuals and corporates) often confront in an increasingly peripatetic world? Cities are often the most common geographical frame that people use to make both personal and professional decisions. Even more so in a rapidly-urbanising fast-growing India, where cities have become the prime economic engine, holding out hope for better jobs, more wealth and a good life. This growth surge is altering the status quo and infusing new dynamism in the socio-economic-cultural landscape of Indian cities. However, these growth shifts are in sharp contrast to the sclerotic governance structure of our cities. This is made worse by our archaic data infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, you find yourself confronting dichotomous scenarios, where migrant workers and corporates are voting with their feet, moving cities, while government records show you a bygone era, out of sync with reality.

Well, how else can you explain a city like Bengaluru, which ranks among top three in virtually all economic indicators, not qualifying as a metro or even a tier-I Indian city. Tragically, policy making is often happening in a data vacuum. However, it isn’t just Bengaluru’s problems. In India’s federal set up, cities have been given the short shrift. Political, electoral and administrative near-orphans, they do not get the attention they deserve. From China to the US, London to New York, city mayors—equipped with financial and administrative powers—play a pivotal role in shaping their city’s destinies. India is a different story, where they neither have the authority nor the funds to steer their city’s future. This has serious implications, as urbanisation intensifies the wave of migration
underway in India. It was with this on our mind that we started work on this data report. Five broad pillars shaped its framework. One, we wanted to offer a rounded, 360-degree view of our cities, because our personal and professional decisions are often shaped by a complex set of factors. Think of how job opportunities, personal safety (especially for
women), weather, cost of real estate, long commute and even night life have shaped our
decisions. Two, we wanted the report to have a scholarly rigour, but we also wanted it to be visually appealing and accessible to the average user. It is for this reason we conceptualised the report in an easily accessible graphic-led format.

8 | Bengaluru Rising Bengaluru Rising | 9 Three, we were keenly aware of the challenges ahead of us, thanks to the lack of current, robust and credible government data on cities. Hence, we worked hard to circumvent those challenges and find innovative ways to capture current trends and patterns from alternative data sources like satellites and digital platforms. Four, given the mandate of UnboxingBLR Foundation—a not-for-profit platform focused on Bengaluru city—we wanted this report to have a special focus on Bengaluru city. Five, even as we intend this report to be an annual exercise, we would like to experiment with alternative data sources, try new formats of data narratives every year. In a data scarce country, the report has leaned on multiple data sources to draw out trends and insights on India’s top cities. It has analysed multiple sources of government data: from obvious, full datasets like the Census to sample surveys like the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), niche datasets like formal-sector employment from Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) to vehicle registrations from Vahan and air-travel data from Airports Authority of India (AAI), to name a few. We also reached out to various outfit and domain experts who are large repositories of credible data like Cushman & Wakefield for office space, Tracxn and Zinnov for tech and startups, and Quess for blue-collar employment. The full list of such partnerships can be seen at the end of the book.

In an era where digitisation wave is sweeping virtually every aspect of our lives, many internet businesses—especially those that are clear leaders in their respective spaces—capture a lot of data on various behavioural facets. Much of this never reaches the public domain. We struck partnerships to tap into such private city-level data to draw insights. For example, BookMyShow for entertainment and Spinny for second-hand car transactions. Goes without saying, all concerns around data privacy and confidentiality were maintained. Lastly, we tapped credible independent studies and sources—in India and overseas—that had done work at the city level. The report examines data on Bengaluru, and India’s top cities, through 4 principal prisms. Comparison with other cities How does Bengaluru compare with 6 other Indian cities—Delhi NCR, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune—on various dimensions that define a city and shape quality of life for its citizens? Comparison with itself How has Bengaluru changed on these various dimensions in the past decade or so? Shortcomings and challenges Where does Bengaluru trail other cities, in particular Delhi NCR and Greater Mumbai?
And what challenges does Bengaluru need to surmount to further its ascent? Bengaluru as a global tech hub How does Bengaluru compare with 12 other leading startup ecosystems in the world?

This report has been put together with the help of How India Lives—a data analytics and
business intelligence outfit founded by business journalists. Our idea was not just to present raw data, but also draw inferences from it and string it together into larger, credible narratives. The data-report is divided into 6 chapters: Consumer, Economic, Demographic, Livability, Tech and Global. Each captures different aspects of India’s top cities. Often, we found innovative ways to draw out meaningful insights and inferences. For example, we used tier-I office space added by each city as a proxy for the number of prime jobs created in these cities in the past decade.

Execution was easy. And yet it wasn’t. Having a partner like How India Lives ensured that
we had tight control over data rigour and objectivity. But we faced many setbacks that
we hadn’t anticipated. For example, initially, we were very upbeat on stitching up multiple data partnerships with startups, but unfortunately, many did not materialise for varied reasons, despite their initial promise. We lost precious time in this. In some cases, we faced more technical challenges. For example, we wanted to tap into satellite data to understand our cities and how they have evolved over decades. Late during the book, Professor PG Diwakar, ISRO Chair Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, generously devoted time to work with us on this. Some of that work we hope to build
on in subsequent versions of this data report.

Likewise, with internet businesses. Despite these challenges, the report has come together well. We are proud to present this to you. We hope it will enrich our perspectives on India’s top cities in important ways. We look forward to building on this further in 2025.