On the fast track: The Metro has given Delhi's image a boost

Bridging the gap: Tech, hub Noida has proved a worthy neighbour

WIP but will get there: Work on the expressway connecting Delhi and Gurgaon is behind schedule

DELHI 3

For people who aren't particularly sporty, Delhi's residents sure are looking forward to the 2010 Commonwealth Games the city is scheduled to host. "The 1982 Asian Games provided tremendous fillip to the infrastructure of Delhi," says Rajan Bharti Mittal, Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel Ltd. "The 2010 Commonwealth Games represent an opportunity for another round of facelifts for the city." Mittal is merely echoing the sentiments of the capital's estimated 16 million residents when he says this; Delhi will become only the second Asian city after Kuala Lumpur to host the games, and several agencies are expected to spend over Rs 5,000 crore in upgrading the city's civic infrastructure in preparation. Problems related to power, water, even roads (although Delhi boasts the best in the country), will all be sorted out, is the hopeful refrain. For, despite the obvious advantages it enjoys from being India's capital and home to the Supreme Court (it was a court decision that prompted all public transport on the city's roads to move to CNG), Delhi has its share of problems. The most pressing of these is power: the summer of this year saw daily shortfalls reaching as high as 300-400 mw on some days. Then, there is water (or the lack of it), and zoning. The last continues to see the Delhi government, the central government, and the Supreme Court locked in a battle over unauthorised commercial use of land and buildings in residential areas. Despite all these, Delhi is #3 on Business Today's ranking of the best cities for business.

The Re-invention Of Delhi

In the mid-1990s, Delhi wasn't exactly a great city for business (even in 2001, the city ranked #9 in this magazine's survey). Both of its business districts, Nehru Place and Connaught Circus, were heaving masses of humanity, creaking at the seams, and ready to crumble; its roads, despite being the best in the country even then, couldn't cope with the volume of traffic (then, as now, Delhi had more vehicles on its roads than the other three metros and Bangalore together); and, perhaps most significantly, most of the old business houses based in the city were either decaying or going through a painful process of reinvention (and the new businesses, companies like Bharti, were yet to make an impact).

Over the last few years, however, Delhi has begun to benefit from events that were set in motion in the early- and mid-1990s (and not always by the local administration): the first was the emergence of Gurgaon and, to a lesser extent, Noida, as worthy satellites; the second was the birth and rapid growth of the Business Process Outsourcing industry (and the fact that BPO-pioneer GE picked Gurgaon as its base); the third was the Supreme Court's activism (especially in l'affaire CNG); the fourth was the arrival (or comeback, in some cases) of businesses such as Bharti, Ranbaxy, and BILT; and the last was the various infrastructure-related initiatives undertaken by the various governments and government agencies responsible for Delhi and the National Capital Region (as the greater Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, and Ghaziabad area is known), including the city's famed Metro.

"In the last three to four years, Delhi is probably the only city which has seen some serious augmentation in facilities," says Sanjay Verma, Joint MD, Cushman and Wakefield, a realty firm. The Delhi Metro (it started operations on one stretch in 2002) is currently a 60-km network that is used by half a million commuters every day. If all goes well, by 2010, it will extend to Noida and be used by a million commuters every day. Extensions to Gurgaon and Ghaziabad, which are also on the anvil, will reach out to even more people. Already, Connaught Circus, the terminal for all Metro lines, is witnessing significant renewal. "The Delhi Metro has become the lifeline for the city," gushes Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman and Senior MD, DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd. And the NCR boasts enough space, some 30,000 sq. km, to accommodate Delhi's grandiose expansion plans. "Delhi's location gives it the capacity to grow and still ensures the quality of its public spaces," says Dikshu C. Kukreja, a Harvard-trained urban planner and Director, Architects, C.P. Kukreja & Associates.

Well-connected: Delhi already has the best roads in the country

Rush hour: The Metro has eased traffic woes with half-a-million commuters using it every day

Indeed, Delhi, circa 2006, would appear to have a lot going for it: it is the centre of government in a country where the government still has a role in business; it is a cosmopolitan city; it has some of the best schools and hospitals in the country; and it has more than a fair share of reasonably well-maintained public places. By some estimates, the green cover in the city has increased from 151 sq. km in 2001 to 268 sq. km in 2003 and 325 sq. km today. "Although there is lesser requirement (for government interaction) post liberalisation, access to ministries is easier to co-ordinate from Delhi," says Mohit Burman, Director, Balsara Home Products. "The quality of life (in Delhi) is good," adds Dan Sandhu, Chairman, Vertex, a UK-headquartered BPO, who came down to Delhi with an idea of spending 18 months in the city (in 2002) and has since chosen to stay on.

Diversified, Not Risk-free

Most of India's best-known companies are headquartered in Mumbai. However, the overwhelming business-culture of India's commercial capital has to do with the world of finance. India's two premier stock exchanges and three commodity exchanges are based in the city. Bangalore is India's undisputed tech capital. Delhi and the NCR, in contrast, boast a fairly diversified industrial profile. Gurgaon is an auto-belt, BPO-belt, and MNC-belt, all at once; Faridabad is home to several engineering industries; Noida is North India's technology hub (but not exclusively that); and, by virtue of the purchasing power of their citizens, Delhi and Gurgaon are retail mini-Meccas. Add a dash of pharmaceuticals and telecom, and the picture is complete. This range of industries, explains Vertex's Sandhu, is a magnet for potential investors.

Interview with Sheila Dixit, Chief Minister/Delhi "Maybe We Could Have Achieved More"

In seven years, Delhi chief minister Shiela Dixit has seen it all: the highs of the Delhi Metro and the move to CNG; and the lows of the perennial power crisis and the recent controversy over demolitions. Dixit, who is quick to say that Delhi is a far cry from being a truly world-class city, speaks to Business Today about her plans for the city. Excerpts: What are the constraints you face while trying to make Delhi a world-class city? The multiplicity of organisations dealing with Delhi is a significant constraint. Power has been one of the key issues for businesses in Delhi. Do you think privatisation has been a success? Sure, things could be better, but for a system which has been vandalised for years, the situation is much better. Transmission losses are now down to less than 1 per cent. In 1999, the total demand for Delhi was 1,900 mw. It has now risen to 3,800 mw. Hopefully, in the next two-three years load-shedding should be a thing of the past. Law and order is also a concern for prospective investors... That is the perception. However, the police statistics show the situation is not as bad as it is perceived to be. The perception and the apprehensions of the citizens need to be addressed. The Supreme Court has taken objection to the Delhi Laws (special provisions) 2006 putting one-year moratorium against the removal of unauthorised construction? I would not like to comment on the issue as it is sub judice. However, one needs to remember that the city has grown tremendously. What is your vision for Delhi? Delhi should be a happy city. Why do people flock to cities like Paris and London? There is so much to do. Any disappointments/regrets in these last seven years? Although much was done, maybe we could have achieved more.

Just as it is a magnet, in this part of the country, for young educated migrants (and unskilled immigrants of indeterminate age too) in search of the proverbial pot of gold. "The quality of the workforce, the lifestyle offered by the city, and the ease of attracting talent is a big, big advantage, at least for the BPO industry," says Raman Roy, India's original BPO entrepreneur (he was the first CEO of GECIS, now Genpact, and later founded Spectramind which he sold to Wipro), who is now onto his fourth BPO venture Quattro. Delhi is well connected to the rest of the world and it is part of the famed Delhi-Agra-Jaipur golden triangle that attracts tourists (this is a big plus even for serious business travellers who invariably schedule a day trip to Agra in their business itinerary).

Outsourcing hub: Gurgaon and Noida are home to some of the big names in the BPO industry

Mall mania: The National Capital Region has become a retail Mecca, a sign of the region's growing prosperity

The city's present, then, looks fine. If there are fears over Delhi's future as a centre of business (and there are), they have to do with issues related to its satellites, the NCR, and the way in which the city itself is administered. Gurgaon and Noida may have relieved Delhi's burden some, but both seem to be emulating the capital in terms of city planning. Zoning laws in Gurgaon, if any, would appear to be on paper only, with malls, high-rise apartments, offices, low-rise villas, multiplexes, even schools and hospitals, nudging each other. Issues related to parking, power, water and mixed use of land, which Delhi ignored to its own detriment, are now being ignored by the satellites. The NCR Planning Board, established with the objective of ensuring that an agency plans for the region as a whole, has ways to go. The continuing trouble over water for Delhi's Sonia Vihar treatment plant-the commissioning of the project has been delayed more than once due to the uncertain water supplies from the up government-is an example. Then, Delhi itself is administered by several organisations, some of which do not even fall under the purview of the state government. "The Delhi Development Authority is not under the Delhi government and we do not have a representation in it," rues Chief Minister Shiela Dixit. The city's Master Plan dates back to 2001 and is based on planning estimates of the late 80s. "It lacks the three-dimensional planning for micro-character of each zone that is the characteristic of world-class cities," says Kukreja. Dixit is hoping that the two committees-Omesh Saigal Committee and Ashok Pradhan Committee-looking at reorientation of the Delhi administration, and which are expected to table their reports shortly, will come up with something concrete.

That would help. And if there is another catalyst, apart from the Commonwealth Games, required, the city has just got itself one. In cricket-mad India, it is set to host the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011.