Bangalore - in
English pronunciation: /ˈbæŋɡəlɔər, bæŋɡəˈlɔər/, also known as
Bengaluru (in some regios)(
Kannada:
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು,
Bengaḷūru [ˈbeŋɡəɭuːru](
listen)) is the capital of the
Indian State of
Karnataka.
Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the
Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's
third most populous city and
fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.
As of 2009, Bangalore was inducted in the list of
Global cities and ranked as a "Beta World City" alongside cities such as
Dallas,
Miami,
Boston,
Kuwait City,
Lima,
Munich, in the studies performed by the Globali-zation and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008.
Though Historical references to the city predate at AD 900, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when
Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the imperial
Vijayanagara Empire built a mud-brick fort at the site and established it as a province of the empire. During the
British Raj, it became a centre of colonial rule in
South India.
The establishment of the
Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country.
Today as a large city and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to many of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Numerous public sector
heavy industries, software companies,
aerospace,
telecommunications, and
defence organisations are located in the city.
Bangalore is known as the
Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India.
Economy :
Economy of Bangalore---- Bangalore's
52,346 crore (US$11.62 billion) economy (2006–07 Net District Income) makes it one of the major economic centres in India, with the value of city's exports totalling
43,221 crore (US$9.6 billion) in 2004–05.
With an economic growth of 10.3%, Bangalore is the fastest growing major metropolis in India, and is also the country's fourth largest
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market. With a per capita income of
74,709 (US$1,658.54) in 2006–07, the city is the third largest hub for
high net worth individuals and is home to over 10,000 dollar millionaires and about 60,000 super-rich people who have an investable surplus of
4.5 crore (US$1 million) and
Rs. 50 lakh (US$ 111,000) respectively.
The headquarters of
Infosys, India's second largest IT company, is located in Bangalore
The headquarters of several
public sector undertakings such as
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL),
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL),
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL),
Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and
Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) are located in Bangalore. In June 1972 the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city.
As Number of information technology companies located in the city which contributed 33% of India's
Rs. 144,214 crore (US$ 32 billion) IT exports in 2006–07.
Bangalore's IT industry is divided into three main
clusters —
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI);
International Tech Park, Bangalore (ITPB); and
Electronics City. UB City, the headquarters of the
United Breweries Group, is a high-end commercial zone.
Infosys and
Wipro, India's second and third largest software companies are headquartered in Bangalore, as are many of the global
SEI-CMM Level 5 Companies.
The growth of IT has presented the city with unique challenges. Ideological clashes sometimes occur between the city's IT moguls, who demand an improvement in the city's infrastructure, and the state government, whose electoral base is primarily the people in rural Karnataka.
The encouragement of high-tech industry in Bangalore, for example, has not favoured local employment development, but has, instead, increased land values and forced out small enterprise. Bangalore is a hub for
biotechnology related industry in India and in the year 2005, around 47% of the 265 biotechnology companies in India were located here; including
Biocon, India's largest biotechnology company.
Infosys,
Wipro,
iGate,
Tata Consultancy Services,
Accenture and US based companies like
Google,
IBM,
Hewlett-Packard,
Yahoo,
Oracle Corporation,
Cisco,
Microsoft and
Intel have their offices in Bangalore.
Transport
Air Transport in Bangalore :
Bangalore is served by the newly built
Bengaluru International Airport (
IATA:
BLR,
ICAO:
VOBL) which started operations from 24 May 2008. The city was earlier served by the
HAL Airport which was India's fourth busiest airport.
Kingfisher Airlines has its registered office in Bangalore.
[68] It is now the fourth busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic and the number of air traffic movements (ATMs) with about 280 per day.
Rail Transport in Bangalore :
A
rapid transit system called the
Namma Metro is being built, and as of January 2011 was expected to be partly operational by April 2011. Once completed, this will encompass a 42.3 km (26.3 mi) elevated and underground rail network comprising 41 stations. It is expected to connect central locations in Bangalore to
Devanahalli and the
Chikballapur regions. Bangalore comes under the
South Western Railway zone of the
Indian Railways.
Bangalore City Railway station and Yesvantpur Junction connect it to the rest of the country through the
Indian Railways. The
Bangalore Rajdhani Express connects the city to
New Delhi, the capital of India. Bangalore is also connected by rail to most cities in Karnataka, as well as
Mumbai,
Chennai,
Kolkata,
Hyderabad,
Bhopal, and other major cities in India.
[73] The sprawling Rail Wheel Factory is Asia's second largest manufacturer of Wheel & Axle for Railways and headquartered in Yelahanka, Bangalore.
BMTC's
Volvo buses are a popular mode of commuting within Bangalore.
Road Transport in Bangalore :
Three-wheeled, green and yellow
auto-rickshaws, referred to as
autos, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can accommodate up to three passengers. Taxi services within Bangalore is provided by several operators.
Taxis, commonly called
City Taxis, are usually available only on call. Taxis are metered and are generally more expensive than auto-rickshaws.
Buses operated by
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are an important means of public transport available in the city, and are highly reliable. While commuters can buy tickets on boarding these buses, BMTC also provides an option of a bus pass to frequent users. BMTC runs air-conditioned luxury buses on major routes, and also operates shuttle services from various parts of the city to the Bengaluru International Airport. The
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation operates 6,918 buses on 6,352 schedules, connecting Bangalore with other parts of Karnataka as well as other states. The main bus depots that
BMTC maintains are the
Kempegowda Bus Station, Shantinagar Bus Depot, and
Shivajinagar Bus Depot.
