Officially Bengaluru (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ['beŋgəɭuːɾu] (help·info)), is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city[2] and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.
It is home to numerous public sectors such as heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, machine tools, heavy equipment, and defence establishments. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India owing to its pre-eminent position as the leading contributor to India's IT industry.[3] Bangalore has developed into one of India's major economic hubs and was mentioned by CNN as one of the "best places to do business in the wired world".[4]
Though historically attested at least since 900 CE, Kempe Gowda I, is widely regarded as the founder of modern Bangalore, he built a mud fort and established it as a province of the Vijayanagara Empire. During the British Raj, it became a centre for colonial rule in South India. The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country. Since independence in 1947, Bangalore grew to become the capital of Karnataka state. Today, as a large and growing metropolitan in the developing world, Bangalore is home to some of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India, and has the second-highest literacy rate in the nation.
Economy
The Public Utilities Building is located on MG Road, a major commerical center in Bangalore.
Main article: Economy of Bangalore
Bangalore's Rs. 260,260 crore (USD 60.5 billion) economy (2002–03 Net District Income) makes it a major economic centre in India.[38] With an economic growth of 10.3%, Bangalore is the fastest growing major metropolis in India [39]. Additionally, Bangalore is India's fourth largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. [40] 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 Rs. 4.5 crore (US$ 1.15 million) and Rs. 50 lakh (US$ 127,360) respectively.[41] As of 2001, Bangalore's share of Rs. 1660 crore (US$ 3.7 billion) in Foreign Direct Investment was the fourth highest for an Indian city.[42]
In the 1940, industrial visionaries such as Sir Mirza Ismail and Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya played an important role in the development of Bangalore's strong manufacturing and industrial base.
The headquarters of Infosys, India's second largest IT company, is located in Bangalore
The headquarters of several public sector undertakings such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Electronics Limited, 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.
Bangalore is called the Silicon Valley of India because of the large 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.[43] Bangalore's IT industry is divided into three main "clusters" — Software Technology Parks of India, Bangalore (STPI); International Technology Park Bangalore (ITPB), formerly International Technology Park Ltd. (ITPL); and Electronics City. UB City, the headquarters of the United Breweries Group, is a high-end commercial zone.[44] 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 Information Technology 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.[45] 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.[46][47]
