Every city has a
story. And ours is a fairy tale!
No other city in
India compares to the Pride, Power and Privilege of being Pune. As a real
estate developer and a proud Punekar I have followed very closely the happy
evolution of our city. And it gladdens my heart to see the stupendous speed at
which Pune is growing. It is like someone pressed a button and we went from
dial-up Internet to high speed Wi-Fi!
Clearly, a button
wasn’t pressed. So what happened? How did good old Pensioners’ Paradise Pune
metamorphose into PowerMax Pune?
A lot of things.
And it wasn’t
just IT and manufacturing. The Pune Story goes beyond the obvious. Of course it
is about the explosion of job opportunities and avenues for education. But
there is so much more.
Not too many
people know that Pune is the 7th largest metro city of India with
the 6th highest per capita income in the country. Pune is the 5th
safest city in India. Pune ranks 2nd GLOBALLY in attracting Tech Talent. It is also the 2nd
most advanced city in India. Pune is the 4th best city in
India for doing business; the 5th most attractive city in India; and
ranks 2nd in India on the Overall Quality of Life. Pune, no
surprises here, is home to the happiest Indians in the world!
And these happy
Indians are scaling up in their capacity to buy. In 2015, Delhi ranked first in
spending most on luxury brands, followed by Mumbai (2nd), Ahmedabad (3rd), Pune
(4th) and Bangalore (5th).
Pune is an unbeatable combination of Defence,
IT/ITeS, a robust Manufacturing sector, a forward-looking Automotive sector,
Education, Pharma, and the huge employment opportunities that each one of these
sectors brings.
And the people are loving it – a fact that is
borne out by a simple statistic: while the national average for in-migration is
17%, Pune has a significantly higher in-migration at 35%! Pune’s population is
all set to grow 40% year on year!
So where are all these new people going to
live, work, play, grow? The answer is PMRDA – the Pune Metropolitan Regional
Development Authority, which includes PMC, PCMC, Maval and parts of Haveli,
Bhor, Daund, Shirur, Mulshi and Khed talukas of Pune district. Under PMRDA,
Pune will extend over a whopping 7800 sq km. Significantly, MMRDA extends over
only 4354 sq km – Pune, hold your breath, is set to be almost 2 times as large
as Mumbai! When people migrated to Mumbai, Mumbai was caught unawares; which
reflects clearly in the sad statistic that 70% of the people live in
dilapidated and slum housing in Mumbai. Pune, on the other hand, will be well
prepared, well planned, well structured. As the PM has said, the urbanisation
of Pune is being looked at as an opportunity; we are all set to be a Smart
City, which is going to invite more and more people to settle and prosper in
pre-planned development!
This is a time of unprecedented growth and
opportunities for all of us in Pune. The figures speak for themselves. The
logic is just astoundingly simple – more and more people are coming to Pune; no
one can stop this process of in-migration; the city is gearing up with PMRDA to
accommodate the growing needs of this beautiful city. The time to believe in
the Pune story is always now. I have yet to meet a person who looks back in
satisfaction at a real estate purchase that s/he has NOT made. But I have met
thousands of people who have said, “Kaash...
maine uss samay khareed liya hota!”... “What a missed opportunity, I wish I
had purchased it then!!!”
The Pune story is reaching its most exciting
chapter.
It is our city. And it is in our hands to
script for our beloved city a story of Pride, Power and Privilege.
- Atul Goel, MD - Goel Ganga Group
