Why Pune is the place to set up your headquarters ?

Pune , ( ???? ) is located in the middle of the Sahyadri Hills, where one can enjoy a cool breeze, scenic views, over a cup of hot 'chai' on the weekends. But the fast paced life, business opportunities and development are what attracts us towards a city. This is where Pune stands apart.

Pune is a growing industrial and urban hub in the heart of the Maharashtra state. The city has emerged drastically over the last decade and it is known that Pune is the best city to live in in India.

Pune is located just three hours away from Mumbai, and has the advantages of having the proximity to the financial capital without its disadvantages (heavy traffic, expensive real estate...). However with a growing cosmopolitan culture and well organized public and private infrastructure, Pune is attracting more and more companies and has become a destination of choice for Indians living in major urban centers. With a great weather, even greater than Bangalore's ;), plenty of restaurants, pubs and night life, unbelievable get-aways in nearby proximity - Pune has everything one would want in a satisfactory lifespan. Even after being famous for being the fashion capital of India with a modern lifestyle, the people of pune (Punekars) remain down to earth and maintain the ground of their cultural values. The Ease of Living Index 2018 Report released by the Indian Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs ranked Pune as the top Indian city among a total of 111 urban clusters in terms of 'livibility'. The city is also ranking higher than any other major urban centers like Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai, on nearly all parameters.

Eventhough Pune's pleasant weather conditions is an obvious positive, Pune has also taken plenty of human-driven initiatives to get it right. The most prominent of these is the city's great public infrastructures, such as roads and railways, well functioning utilities such as water supply and drainage. Complementing this is the huge uptick of private investments in the form of large malls and multiplexes, along with a robust sporting infrastructure such as the state-of-the-art MCA stadium.

Although Pune is an industrial hub, it is very much surrounded by nature. Its hills and green cover give the city an edge over India's pollution crisis. Its wealth of open public spaces like parks, gardens, and playgrounds have all increased the living standards. Pune also boasts India's most reputed educational institutes, such as NIBM, Fergusson College, Symbiosis and FTII which attracts a large youth demographic giving further rise to the culture.

If these aren't enough reasons to choose Pune, listed below are the top 10 reasons why Pune is the place to be in India;

1/ Flourishing economy and Booming IT sector

India produces the largest number of software experts in the world and the IT industry has become the backbone of the economy. with over 110 MNCs, Pune is home to some of the biggest and stunning IT parks of India. There are more than 5 official IT zones in Pune with Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi being the biggest of all. This IT Park is spread over an area of 13 kms with the presence of all major companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Persistent, Cognizant, Accenture, etc.

The Kirloskar Group came to Pune in 1945 by setting up Kirloskar Oil Engines, India's largest diesel engine company, at Khadki.The group has several subsidiaries in Pune including Kirloskar Pneumatics and Kirloskar Brothers Limited, one of India's largest manufacturers and exporters of pumps and the largest infrastructure pumping project contractor in Asia. Automotive companies such as Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mercedes Benz, Force Motors, Kinetic Motors, General Motors, Land Rover, Jaguar, Renault, Volkswagen, and Fiat have set up greenfield facilities near Pune, leading The Independent to describe Pune as India's "Motor City". According to the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Pune has been the single largest hub for German companies for the last 60 years. Over 225 German companies have set up their businesses in Pune. Serum Institute of India, the world's fifth largest vaccine producer by volume, has a manufacturing plant located in Pune. In 2014-15, the manufacturing sector provided employment to over 500,000 people.

The Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjawadi is a ?600-billion (US$8.9 billion) project by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) The IT Park encompasses an area of about 2,800 acres (11 km2) and is home to over 800 IT companies of all sizes. Besides Hinjawadi, IT companies are also located at Magarpatta, Kharadi and several other parts of the city. As of 2017, the IT sector employs more than 300,000 people.

Pune has also emerged as a new hub for tech startups in India. NASSCOM, in association with MIDC, has started a co-working space for city based startups under its 10,000 startups initiative at Kharadi MIDC. Pune Food Cluster development project is an initiative funded by the World Bank. It is being implemented with the help of Small Industries Development Bank of India, Cluster Craft to facilitate the development of the fruit and vegetable processing industries in and around Pune

The Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions trade is expected to be boosted since the Pune International Exhibition and Convention Centre (PIECC) opened in 2017. The 97-hectare PIECC boasts a seating capacity of 20,000 with a floor area of 13,000 m2 (139,931 sq ft). It has seven exhibition centres, a convention centre, a golf course, a five-star hotel, a business complex, shopping malls, and residences. The US$115 million project was developed by the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority.

2/ Educational Hub

Pune has world famous universities and colleges for each academic branch. From the best IT universities to the top law colleges, Pune pulls students from all over the world.

3/ Wider roads and less traffic

The city has very wide and well-maintained roadways, in comparison to other mega-cities in India. Roads have footpaths most of the time, and sometimes even cycle tracks. The Pune metro is also underway to make commute within the city even smoother. It will be operational by 2021. The Hyperloop is also underway from Pune to Mumbai which will cover the distance within just 30 minutes.

4/ Cultural values

Pune holds the status of being the cultural capital of Maharashtra. The city hosts amazing festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Janamashtmi. All the major Indian festivals like Diwali, Holi, Dusshera, Durga Pooja, Bhai Dooj, etc are all celebrated with energy and enthusiasm.

5/ Restaurants and shopping

There is a lot of variety for foodies and shoppers in Pune. There are plenty of brand new shopping malls like Phoenix Market City, Amanora Town, Seasons Mall, Inorbit, and Pune Central, while there are also plenty of street shopping places on MG Road, Laxmi Road, FC Road, etc.

And when it comes to eating, one can find traditional street food to a full 7 course meal at a 5 star hotel. There are over 5000 restaurants in the city and one can even find food at 3am !

6/ City of opportunities

Pune has become one of the country's top commercial hub, with the presence of most industrial giants, as well as several startups. The city provides opportunity for everyone, with its diversified jobs and high growth rate.

7/ Comfortable lifestyle

Even though Pune is the 2nd biggest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai, Pune is very much affordable when it comes to lifestyle. Property rates are much lower than in Mumbai, and this really helps the budget of a salarised person. The city is also much safer, even at night. The locals are easy going and get along well with outsiders. Food and transportation is fairly cheap. Traffic is far less compared to the other major cities. Pune has many army cantonments which keep the city safer. Altogether, one can live in Pune with its family and enjoy a great and comfortable lifestyle.

8/ Heavenly climate

Pune is where the Mumbaikars come to experience chilly weather. The city has good weather throughout the year. Summers are not too hot while the monsoon and winters are extremely pleasant.

9/ Proximity to holiday destinations

From hill-stations to beaches, everything is in proximity to this city. There are plenty of trekking destinations in and around the city. Hill-stations like Mahableshwar, Matheran, Lavasa, Lonavala, Khandala, etc are within 150kms territory. Forts like Sinhagarh, Lohagad, and lakes like Mulshi, Panshet, khadakwasla are just around the city. The famous beaches of Konkan and Ratnagiri can be a great weekend getaway. The city itself is in the foothill of Sahyadri mountains. The city offers the best of both worlds, a hill station and a metro city with its pleasant climate throughout the year.

10/ Last but not the least : Astonishing Nightlife

With hundreds of educational institutes and IT companies, Pune holds a comparatively younger crowd than other major Indian cities. The city has world class pubs, breweries and restaurants. From students to professionals, couples to a group of friends, everyone can find a suitable place for the required ambience, and particularly in an affordable budget.

All in all, to conclude, why choose Pune ?

One can easily assess that the city is more than perfect to start a new life with its growing economy, beautiful holiday destinations, amazing nightlife, affordable lifestyle, cozy climate, education, food, and growing infrastructure.

It takes only one visit to Pune to make up your mind.