Metro Cities

Surat rings loud in ultra-premium smartphone surge beyond metros

This Gujarat city accounted for 2.4 per cent share of the ultra-premium smartphones market in Octo­ber 2024

High-end, premium brands pivoting from metros to smaller towns: Tata CLiQ

High-end and premium brands are making a big geographical pivot from metros to smaller towns in India, according to a Tata CLiQ Luxury compilation that reviews India's evolving luxury landscape. It also found that luxury buyers - led by a woke Gen Z - are increasingly conscious of responsible consumption with an eye on sustainability quotient. Fuelled by the purchasing power of mature millennials and the rising Gen-Z demographic, the digital economy is reshaping consumption patterns and values, thus transforming how, when, and why consumers connect with brands and businesses, said Tata CLiQ Luxury's latest compilation - Thinking Beyond the Cart: Elevating Luxury E-commerce,' that deep dives into the luxury trends in 2025 and beyond. Listing out the broad trends, it noted that high-end and premium brands are making a big geographical pivot from metros to smaller-town India and that the new luxury consumer is educated, and well-wired. A growing quest for behind-the-scenes intel has m

More than 85% Amazon sale customers from non-metros: Saurabh Srivastava

Srivastava revealed that Amazon delivered over 30 million products the same day or next day (to Prime members), and customers had access to over 25,000 new product launches from top brands

Office space absorption rises 14% in second quarter over top 7 cities: JLL

Net absorption of office space rose 14 per cent annually during July-September period across seven major cities on better demand, according to JLL. Real estate consultant JLL's latest data showed that the net absorption of office space stood at 12.16 million square feet in the third quarter of this fiscal year as against 10.69 million square feet in the year-ago period. Net absorption is calculated as the new floor space occupied less floor space vacated. According to the data, the net absorption of office space in Bengaluru increased to 4.14 million square feet during July-September from 2.38 million square feet in the corresponding period of the previous year. The net demand in Chennai grew to 1.05 million square feet from 0.90 million square feet. Delhi saw net absorption of 1.92 million square feet as against 1.7 million square feet. Net absorption of office space rose to 1.85 million square feet from 1.53 million square feet. In Pune, the net office demand increased to 1.8

Services delayed on Red Line after 'attempted cable theft', says DMRC

Services between the Shahdara and Dilshad Garden stations on Delhi Metro's Red Line are delayed due to an "attempted cable theft" in the early hours on Saturday, the DMRC said. The Red Line connects Rithala in Delhi to New Bus Adda in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. "Delay in services between Shahdara and Dilshad Garden. Normal service on all other lines," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a post on X. Services are running at a restricted speed of 25 kilometres per hour between the two stations from the start of service due to a case of attempted cable theft on this section in the early hours, causing damage to signalling cables, said the DMRC's principal executive director (corporate communications) Anuj Dayal. Since undertaking repairs during service hours would have resulted in stopping operations in the affected section, it was decided that trains would be run at a restricted speed between the Dilshad Garden and Shahdara stations during the day to avoid inconveniencing

Union Budget 2024: Will Bengaluru be included in 50% HRA exemption?

Currently, rented houses in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai qualify for a 50% exemption from HRA, while those in other locations (non-metro) fall into the 40% category

Truck freight rates for major metros inch up in February: CMIE data

Road transport is estimated to account for over 70 per cent of domestic freight demand

Tier-II cities see surge in medical consultations, outpacing metros: Report

Metro cities also experienced a surge in medical consultations, with Mumbai leading at 92.07 per cent, followed by Hyderabad at 91.63 per cent and Chennai at 83.4 per cent

Apollo Hospitals targets over 15% topline growth per annum till 2030

On the hospital front, AHEL aims to boost volume growth across key specialties such as cardiology, oncology, and neurosciences.

For decongesting their clogged roads, Indian cities must take the bus

Dedicated lanes for the public transport can be more economical than Metro networks

Delhi largest green belt among metros, pollution down since AAP govt: Rai

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday the national capital has the largest green belt at 23.6 per cent among big metro cities, and asserted that pollution levels in the city have reduced since 2014 through sustained efforts. Rai responded to a query by an MLA about the number of trees planted and the decrease in pollution levels in the last five years in Delhi during the ongoing Winter Session of Delhi Assembly. "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had made a resolve and promised the people during last polls that in five years two crore new trees will be planted. And in four years that target has been met," Rai informed the Delhi Assembly. Rai added that the plantation drive will be intensified in the remaining one year. On the issue of pollution, Rai shared the data on PM10 and PM2.5 levels, saying on average there has been a 31 per cent reduction in pollution levels since the formation of the AAP government. In 2014 , the yearly average of PM10 stood at 324 and st

In economic shift, smaller cities keep consumption engine running

Non-essential spending has increased more in non-metro segment as incomes rise

Green-certified office space jump 36% across top 6 cities since 2019: Study

Green-certified office space stock have increased 36 per cent to 342 million square feet across six major cities in the last three and half years, according to a CBRE-CII report. Real estate consultant CBRE and industry body CII on Wednesday released its report titled, 'Indian Real Estate: Taking Giant Strides - 2023 Mid-Year Outlook' at CII Realty conference here. According to the report, green-certified office stock stood at 251 million square feet in 2019. Enhanced focus on global and domestic Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) regulations are driving occupiers' flight-to-quality wave towards modern, premium and sustainable spaces in the medium to long-term, the report said. Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, "As the economy gains momentum and the real estate sector thrives, there is a growing emphasis on ESG and its compliance. We anticipate accelerated demand in modern, tech-enabled, and green-compliant ...

Union Cabinet approves CITIIS 2.0 with a focus on circular economy

To achieve these objectives, the PMU or programme management unit at NIUA will coordinate the provision of technical assistance and strategic support to state governments

No metro city in country is as safe as Mumbai: Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said Mumbai is the safest among metropolises in the country. Fadnavis, who also handles the home portfolio, was speaking after inaugurating the Women's Security Project of Navi Mumbai Police. After the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case of 2012, awareness about women's safety increased, laws dealing with crimes against women were tightened in Maharashtra and now women's complaints are heeded immediately, he said. Although the number of crimes against women has increased, it is important to note that more and more women are coming forward to report such crimes, Fadnavis said. No other metropolis in the country is as safe as Mumbai, he said, adding that in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai women feel safe because of the prompt response of police and the Nirbhaya squad. Women in these cities can travel alone even late at night due to the vigilant and efficient police system, Fadnavis added. As our country and cities are big, maxi

Big catching up for new players: Barista CEO Agarwal on growing competition

Unfazed by the growing competition from new players as well as international chains, coffee house Barista is now looking beyond metro cities for expanding its footprint and drive growth, according to its CEO Rajat Agarwal. From coffee giants Tim Hortons, Tata Starbucks, the recently opened 'Pret A Manger' to local coffee-related startups like Blue Tokai, Sleepy Owl and Rage Coffee, everyone seems to be betting big on the growing coffee culture in the traditionally tea-drinking nation. However, the Barista CEO says that there is a "large level of catch-up" that has to be done by new players as the country's second-largest integrated coffee house with a presence in over 100 cities is growing at a rapid pace. The homegrown coffee chain brand, which last month opened its 350th store in India in Udaipur (Rajasthan), also looks to reach the count of 500 stores in the coming two years. "Now that we are already 350th, we are much above or far in terms of our number of stores presence. We h

Metros continue to dominate Tier-2 cities in residential real estate market

The year 2022, saw maximum residential property sales in the last eight years, with total absorption increasing by 28 per cent year-on-year, according to a recent report

Reliance Retail may convert Metro Cash & Carry stores into B2B outlets

They may not be converted into hypermarkets and supermarkets as many are on city outskirts

Physical presence back in focus as mutual funds look beyond metros

New branches being added even as digitisation empowers every transaction

Rs 23,380 cr needed to upgrade grade A offices in four metros: JLL report

These four cities are also the biggest office markets in India, holding 569 million sq ft, or 77% of the total Grade A office stock of 740 mn sq ft situated in the country's top seven cities