Galloping at a frenetic pace for a while now, Bangalore — which has come a long way since its pensioner’s paradise days — will continue to do so in the next decade as well, says a new survey by Nielsen. The survey says that Bangalore will be one of the fastest growing cities in the world in the next decade.

And here is another striking development: In a survey of urban, rich and middle-class Indians, Bangalore has been ranked the second most affluent city in the country after New Delhi.

“The IT industry has transformed the city. The industry has given high purchasing power to individuals and today Bangalore is the third largest hub for high net-worth individuals,” says Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults.

The city is also home to about 60,000 super-rich people, who have an investable surplus of Rs4.5 crore. Not surprisingly, various sectors and industries are scampering to cater to the needs of the affluent class.

For instance, builders in the city are increasingly coming up with projects that cater to the super-rich.

According to A Harikesh, senior vice-president, marketing & sales, Tata Housing, Bangaloreans are exposed to international lifestyle and hence they expect nothing short of the best. “They are ready to pay for such a lifestyle. This is the basic reason why builders in the city are coming up with projects that target the affluent class,” he says. Tata Housing is coming up with Promont, a luxury gated community, at Banashankari.

Also, the high concentration of IT crowd translates into high purchasing power for people.

“The per-capita income of IT people in India is much higher when compared to other sectors. Hence, in Bangalore, the odds are in favour of one landing in jobs which give social security and recognition,” says Bino Paul, professor, chairperson at Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

But Bangalore’s crumbling infrastructure needs to be fixed, says Bijoor.
“Builders, who are coming up with high-end, luxury gated community, should take it upon themselves to improve areas within a two kilometre radius of their projects. This will solve half of Bangalore’s problems,” says Bijoor.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> Bangalore> Report / Place:Bangalore, Agency:DNA /  by DNA Correspondent / Wednesday – July 24th, 2013