What is the National Capital Region (NCR)?
By Kealan Finnegan
Spreading over 17,000 square miles and with a population of 45 million, the National Capital Region (NCR) is arguably one of the world's megacities.
NCR began as an effort to spread the benefits of economic activity generated in Delhi to other neighbouring cities such as Gurgaon,Noida, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad. The NCR which comprises of Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan areas includes Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and is an area that is thriving with commercial activity.
The NCR is increasingly becoming a popular option for UK companies and foreign investors looking to access India’s emerging middle class and aspirational consumers. For example, retailers such as Pavers England, The Body Shop, Mothercare, Burberry, and Marks and Spencer’s are just a few of the big UK brands with operations in the NCR.
Of course the NCR is not just a retailing destination, and at last count it has a staggering 54 Special Economic Zone (SEZs). This makes it the perfect location for UK companies to not only sell their products in India, but also looking to ‘Make in India’. Delhi is of course the nation’s capital and as a result is at the centre of all government and parliamentary activity, making it the right location for companies looking to access India’s policy makers.
With a large and well educated professional class the NCR also has a strong track record in Business Process Outsourcing. Major MNCs including Aviva Insurance, British Telecomet and UKIBC’s strategic partners, Dell and British Airways have set up their business outsourcing units in the NCR.
Moving outside of Delhi, Gurgaon has the third highest per capita income in India and is home to over 50 per cent of the world’s fortune 500 companies, giving justice to its moniker “the Millennium city”.
Being a popular destination for businesses, and given its proximity to Delhi, Gurgaon’s modern Cyber City was chosen as the location for the first of UKIBC’s UK India Business Centres.
Alongside Gurgaon, Noida is also a very popular destination for infrastructure and IT companies such as Adobe Systems and Xansa who are also setting up there. UKIBC member, Amity University has its hugely impressive campus in Noida. Faridabad is also a major industrial city in its own right. With major developments such as the proposed Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) impacting the infrastructure, real estate, retail, manufacturing and the skills sector, the NCR has a lot to offer UK companies. Close proximity to Delhi has made it a major business destination and with the opening of UKIBC’s Business Centre, many UK companies are now looking towards the NCR to expand their business.
