Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A technocrat turned diplomat working in the United Nations, NRI Siddharth Rajhans believes that Indore is ready to take off on the path of development, and the sky is the limit.
“Indore will zoom ahead in the days to come, and I plan to write a script to capture the city’s transformation and how it has brought plethora of opportunities,” Rajhans said.
And this NRI, who now lives in New York, should know as his expertise is in backing programmes with social agenda that contribute towards sustainability and innovation.
Strong vs weak Points of Indore
He said Indore is strategically placed and has the right balance between heritage and modernisation. As the commercial capital of MP, it has the most cosmopolitan vibe in the state. Apart from this, the food is excpetional and the weather pleasant. It also has a footprint in the IT space and a robust start-up culture.
There are also drawbacks. “Indore needs to work more on marketing and branding itself well. Even now, people in major Tier 1 cities of India don’t know much about Indore because it is not represented at the global level. But, with the Green Bond that Indore Municipal Corporation is coming up with, it will become the first civic body to go public on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and things will change thereafter,” Rajhans said.
Indore has potential to compete with developed cities
Rajhans points out why the city has immense potential. “Today, Indore has all the major IT firms that Pune and Bangalore boast of; TCS, Infosys and Accenture. The Crystal IT Park has some great start-ups, from InfoBeans to Impetus and even a start-up I co-founded, called Specify,” he said.
He say that Indore’s culture is changing and becoming similar to the tech cities. Most importantly, the people love and are involved with the city, and that's why it won the cleanest city tag six times in a row.
Opportunities in Indore
He said that Indore is booming as the start-up capital of India. In terms of funding, Indore start-ups have collectively raised over 100 million USD in the last many years.
He is the founder-member of the Indore start-up community, having co-founded, invested in, and mentored many start-ups in Indore.
He points out that the coaching industry is booming. The top coaching institutes of the country are there in the city, and are attracting medical, and engineering aspirants by droves. The city will become a national hub in this field.
Indore Commercial capital of MP
When it comes to trade, commerce and industry, Indore tops in the state and it has been the innovation centre for years. Bhopal might be the political centre, but when it comes to attracting talent, be it in the field of IT, start-ups or NRIs, Indore is miles ahead. Not surprisingly, we are the only city with an IIM & IIT. We also have a brilliant infrastructure and the biggest mall in Asia - Phoenix Citadel now in MP, and this alone explains how Indore is the hotspot of commercial activity, Rajhans said.
