The race to go digital has begun and guess which city won the confidence of businesses in performing digital transactions? It’s none other than India’s Silicon Valley– Bengaluru!
The Economist Intelligence Unit recently conducted a survey in 45 cities across the globe to understand the overall environment in these cities to foster and drive digital transformation. The report states that the business leaders in Bengaluru expressed the highest confidence in their digital environment based on various factors like financial environment, innovation and entrepreneurship, new technology development, people and skills, and Internet Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. The report authored by Denis McCauley states,
Indian cities may suffer more from infrastructure deficits, pollution, poverty and other ills, but when it comes to the environment for digital transformation, their executives are remarkably optimistic. This is particularly true of Bengaluru, where business leaders express the highest levels of confidence in their digital environment than in any other city in the study
According to the report, three Indian cities managed to win the confidence of entrepreneurs. While Mumbai and Delhi stood at the third and fourth position, the second spot was grabbed by San Francisco.
Here are the key findings of the report:
- Confidence in the digital environment is higher in Asia’s emerging markets like Bengaluru and Mumbai than those in developed cities like Berlin and Tokyo.
- Bengaluru got the highest score (8.25 out of 10) on the scale for measuring confidence in the overall digital environment.
- The city scored 8.2 out of 10 in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship and was followed by Mumbai and Beijing at 7.85 and 7.75 respectively.
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- Bengaluru also had the most business-friendly financial environment and was followed by New Delhi and San Francisco on the second and third spot respectively.
- The city ranked number one in terms of people and skills and development of new technologies and was followed by San Francisco in both the parameters.
Bengaluru in a civic mess:
On one hand Bengaluru is being hailed as ‘Silicon City 2.0’ in making, but on the other hand, the city is battling a civic crisis that is too hard to ignore. From endless potholes that lead to endless accidents each year to the city earning the nickname of Garbage City, Bengaluru has become a black hole where the city’s municipal corporation is pumping in money but to no avail.
Crores of rupees have been invested and hundreds of deadlines have been set (and sadly never met), yet the state of the city has witnessed no change.
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According to a report by the Bangalore Mirror, the state government spent a whopping Rs 3,750 crore towards road development in the city between 2013 and 2017, yet the state of the roads in the city hasn’t improved.
The damaged roads not only a cause of accidents but also lead to never-ending traffic jams in the city. The civic situation in the city has been further aggravated by polluted water bodies, water shortage and poor garbage management facilities.
Bengaluru might have beaten San Francisco to be the next digital hub of the world, but the city sure has a long way to go!
