Introduction

Delhi is the most preferred city for business in India. The city has emerged as a key center for business and investment opportunities. Delhi’s proximity to National Capital Regions (NCR) i.e. Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad offers a number of advantages to businesses such as an excellent infrastructure, large consumer base and good connectivity. Delhi is also home to a number of leading educational institutions and hospitals. The presence of these institutions has helped the city become a preferred destination for professionals and businessmen.

Economic Indicators

1. the economy of Delhi is the 13th largest among states and union territories of India.
2. In 2021-22, Delhi’s GDP at current prices was Rs 9,23,967 crore and in the last five years, it grew by 50 per cent.
3. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Delhi for 2021-22 is Rs 9,23,967 crore, an increase of 17.65% over 2020-21.  

1. Delhi ranked third in terms of per capita income behind Sikkim and Goa, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2021-22.
2. Delhi’s per capita income grew 16.81 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,01,982 in fiscal 2021-22. The per capita income of Delhi was three times higher than the national average in 2021-22.
3. Delhi recorded a revenue surplus of Rs 1,450 crore in 2021-22.
4. The income from manufacturing has increased from Rs 18,907 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 42,230 crore in 2021-22.

Advantages of the NCR

The State of Delhi has a huge advantage in the development and prosperity of some districts of adjacent states due to the conformation of the National Capital Region (NCR).  NCR is a coordinated planning region centred upon the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) in India.   It encompasses the entire NCT of Delhi and several districts surrounding it from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan viz., Gurgaon, Faridabad Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat Bulandshahr, Meerut and Ghaziabad.  The NCR and the associated National Capital Region Planning Board plan the development of the region and evolve harmonized policies for the control of land uses and the development of infrastructure in the region.

The Epicentre of power

The seat of power of Parliament of India the supreme legislative body of India comprising of Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is housed in Delhi. The President of India, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, 543 members of Lok Sabha and 245 members of Rajya Sabha are stationed in Delhi. The Defence Chiefs and offices of all Central Ministries, Secretaries to Government India and other top Government officials are in Delhi.  

The highest judicial body The Supreme Court of India is located in Delhi.

Presence of large industrial houses:

Delhi and its NCR has had the presence of some of the largest industrial houses in India for over half a century. Some of the important ones are:

1. Maruti Udyog Limited – the largest car manufacturer in India.
2. Hero Motocorp – One of the largest manufacturers of two-wheelers in India
3. Escorts Limited – One of the largest tractor manufacturers in India
4. Bharti Airtel – One of the largest communication solutions-provider
5. Indraprastha Gas Limited – The largest supplier of natural gas for cooking and vehicle fuel
6. HT Media Limited – one of the largest media houses
7. Bata India Limited – The largest shoe manufacturer and premier brand
8. Paytm – Digital Payments financial services
9. Dabur India Limited – Ayurvedic & Natural Health care company
10. DLF Limited – The Largest Real Estate company in India
11. Engineering India Limited – A Navaratna PSU
12. HCL Technologies Limited – Global technology company
13. PVR Limited – Pioneer of Multiplexes and the largest theatre chain in India.

Most Cosmopolitan city

 Delhi is one of the most cosmopolitan city due to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural presence of people from various States of India migrating and making Delhi their second home.  People from Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar etc…have a presence in Delhi in large numbers.    As early as in 1960s various Central Government Ministries attracted the best talent from all over India to join the bureaucracy followed by opportunities in the corporate world and then business and trade.   With the presence of Embassies and High Commissions of various countries and offices of international organisations, there is the presence of a large ex-pat population also. 

World-class Infrastructure

Delhi has a world-class infrastructure which attracts FDI, MNCs and big corporates. 

Air Connectivity: Delhi airport has one international terminal and two domestic terminals with major Airlines from all across India and the World having flights to and from Delhi Airport.   Delhi Airport is the busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and also in terms of cargo traffic.   It is also one of the world’s busiest airports and the busiest airport in Asia by passenger traffic handling nearly 37.14 million passengers in 2021.   In the financial year 2020, the airport handled 67.3 million passengers.   Skytrax World Airport Awards has awarded the Delhi Airport as the Best Airport in India and South Asia in 2022 for the fourth consecutive time.

Rail connectivity:  Delhi Division has a route kilometrage of 1386.82 with 213 stations. The Division handles 496 Passenger carrying trains and 210 Freight trains every day. Delhi has excellent rail connectivity to all major cities of India.   Delhi has 8 stations and handles 1,00,000 passengers per day.

Delhi Metro: Delhi Metro is the lifeline of Delhi.    Spread over 390 km, 12 lines and 286 stations and it operates 2700 trips per day.   In August 2022 it recorded an average line utilisation of 44.9 lakhs per day which is 75% of the pre-covid periodutilisation.     After the completion of Phase IV, the Delhi Metro will become the third largest metro network in the World.  Apart from providing faster, convenient travel in AC coaches it helps in reducing the menace of pollution in Delhi to a large extent.   Delhi Metro is the second metro in the world after the New York City Subway to be ISO 14001 certified for environmentally friendly construction.  The Delhi Metro has won awards for environmentally friendly practices from organisations including the United Nations, RINA, and the International Organization for Standardization.  It has also won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2005 and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President’s Award 2012.

Road Transport: Delhi has excellent road transport covering all the areas of the vast city, which is predominantly run by the State-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).  DTC is the world’s largest compressed natural gas bus service.   Apart from the bus service of the DTC, there are Bus services which are run by private operators.

Delhi has 16,700 km length of roads in 2019.   The Delhi government is working to transform the Delhi roads along European standards and under the streetscaping project, the Delhi government aims to decongest, redesign and beautify several roads across the city.

Delhi also has three inter-state bus terminals and also has very good connectivity with all cities of Northern India through state-run bus services as well as private run.  

Skill development

The government has set up Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University to provide skill training to labour in the unorganised sector.   The programme aims at up-skilling people in the unorganised sector and connecting them with the target groups through a designated portal.   This initiative is aimed at not only improving their skills but to improve their income and quality of life.

The Start-up Capital:

Delhi has emerged as the start-up Capital with many successful start-up stories overtaking Bangalore.   To promote entrepreneurship, the Delhi government has prepared a Start-up Policy.   A provision of Rs 50 crore has been made in the 2022-23 Budget for the implementation of the Policy.     According to Economic Survey 2021-22, over 5000 recognised starts have been added as against 4514 in Bangalore.   To facilitate the start-up of 460 compliances or either eliminated or simplified. High-quality infrastructure, wide roads, a huge metro network, bus transport, and uninterrupted and cheap electricity are some of the important factors which attract start-ups to Delhi.

A few of the very successful start-ups that have emerged from Delhi NCR are:

1. Lenskart – Eyewear
2. Bharatpe – Payment app
3. GlobalBees – market advisory
4. Zomato – Food Delivery
5. Inshorts – Media
6. Snapdeal – E Commerce
7. Mobikwik – Fintech
8. Greencure wellness – Herbal care
9. Hike – Social Media
10. Dogspot – E Commerce
11. Flyrobe – Fashion
12. 3Hcare – Healthcare

Ease of doing business

Delhi Government has reduced 454 compliances and made them digitalised towards ease of doing business.   Some of the noteworthy ones are property mutation, trade licenses and their renewal and electricity and water connections, pollution clearance.   Another initiative taken up by Delhi Government is the digitalisation of compliances processes, and making them transparent robust, easy accessibility and convenient to users.

IT/ITES

The Delhi Government is taking all measures in promoting the hi-tech, sophisticated, knowledge-based IT and ITeS industries in the state.   Among all the states, Delhi has the largest share of skilled workforce, making it suitable for knowledge-based economic activities such as IT/ITeS.  The Delhi Government has planned to set up a ‘Centre of Excellence to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in these sectors.  NCR of Delhi has the presence of major software development companies like Infosys, Oracle, Cognizant, HCL Technologies, Thought Works, MphasiS and Accenture. NCR of Delhi stands at 5^th spot in India in IT/ITES exports which stands at Rs. 2,139.34 crores in Financial Year 2020-21.

Energy sector:

Delhi has achieved 100% electrification.   While all other states of India have a power deficit, Delhi has a power surplus.  As of March 2022, Delhi had a total installed power generation capacity of 7,616.97 MW, of which 6,520.93 MW was contributed by thermal power, 723.09 MW by hydropower, 270.12 MW by renewable power and 102.83 MW by nuclear power. According to the Delhi State Budget for 2022-23, the government allocated Rs. 3,340 crores to the energy sector for providing subsidies to customers through DISCOMs. Delhi has the cheapest electricity rates in the country and 91.4 per cent of households have availed the benefit of power subsidy in 2020-21. 

Delhi – The Tourism Hub

Delhi is very well connected to all National and international destinations and for tourists coming from abroad, Delhi is like a Gateway to India.   Delhi Government has introduced two new schemes Delhi Heritage Promotion and Delhi Tourism Circuit to boost tourism.   Delhi secured 4th rank in total foreign tourist visits in 2020, with a total share of 9.50 per cent.

Delhi tourism map comprises some very exciting tourist attractions both historical and contemporary.  Few of the noteworthy tourist destinations in Delhi are:

1. Red fort (Lal Quila)
2. Jama Masjid
3. Qutab Minar
4. Jantar Manter
5. India Gate
6. Safdarjung Tomb
7. Parliament of India
8. President Bhavan
9. Lotus Temple
10. Akshardham
11. War Memorial
12. Redeveloped Kartavya Marg
13. Netaji statue

Besides the tourist attractions in Delhi, the world Heritage monument Taj Mahal, Agra, the Pink City Jaipur, the famous religious destination Haridwar and Rishikesh are within 300 km from Delhi and easily approachable from Delhi.

Popular Education Destination: 

Delhi boasts of some of the best educational institutions which attract a large number of students not only from all places in India but abroad.    Some of the most popular and sought-after educational institutions in Delhi are:

1. Delhi University
2. Jawaharlal Nehru University
3. Jamia Millia Islamia
4. Indian Institute of Technology
5. Delhi Technological University
6. Indraprasta University
7. National Law University
8. Delhi University Campus Law Centre
9. All India Medical Institute
10. Maulana Azad Medical college
11. Lady Hardinge Medical college
12. Stephen’s College
13. Hindu College
14. Miranda House
15. Shri Ram College of Commerce
16. Lady Shri Ram College for Women
17. Ramjas College
18. Sri Venkateswara College

Primary Education: As per Budget estimates for 2021-22, Delhi has allocated 23.5% of its total expenditure for education in 2022-23 which is higher than the average allocation of 15.2% for education by all other States in India.  The Delhi State government, under Budget 2022-23, has allocated Rs. 15,507 crores towards education.

Delhi Government has taken up massive infrastructure development in over one thousand Government schools in Delhi.   Besides this 25 new schools were built and 8000 new classrooms were constructed.

To develop leadership qualities the Principals of the Government schools were first sent to the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, on leadership development programmes and Cambridge for training sessions. 

Health care

Delhi is one of the best cities for health care.  The first and most prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung, Lady Hardinge Hospital, Maulana Azad, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the Government sector and Fortis Escorts Institute, Apollo Hospital, Max Group of Hospitals, and Fortis Group of Hospital in the private sector offer the best medical care in India.   Besides patients from all over India, it also attracts patients from many foreign countries pioneering Health tourism. 

Delhi has allocated 14.8% of its total expenditure on health, which is higher than the average allocation for health by all other states of India (6%).  Delhi Government has launched several schemes to provide free medicines, diagnostics and several life-saving surgeries through a three-tiered network of Mohalla Clinics, Polyclinics and Hospitals. The Mohalla Clinics, which function as primary health care centres, charge no fees and have been set up at 158 locations across the city.   The Delhi government runs 38 full-fledged hospitals across the city. The government has significantly improved conditions in these hospitals. The state has made all medicines, tests and surgeries at these hospitals completely free.

Art and Cultural Centre

Being the National Capital, Delhi has developed as a centre for Art, Culture, Music, Dance and Drama.  Some of the prominent complexes are the National School of Drama, Triveni Kala Sangam, Lok Kala Manch, and Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts giving opportunities to budding talent to hone their skills and seasoned artists to showcase their talent.    Apart from celebrating all Indian Festivals with a lot of festivities the major cultural fairs organised in Delhi are the Republic Day parade, Independence Day celebrations, Beating the Retreat ceremony, Army Day celebrations, International Trade Fair, Delhi Book Fair, Delhi Flower show, Qutab Festival, Mango Festival, Phool Walon ki Sair, and Kite flying festival.

Delhi thus is one of the most attractive investment destinations for MNCs to set up their liaison office, backup offices, assembly units etc.

SimplyBiz Private Limited provides managed services in the field of Advisory, Transactions, Business Setup, Compliance, Accounting and Taxation. SimplyBiz has its Head office in Hyderabad and branch offices in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and National Capital Region.

SimplyBiz can facilitate your setting up your business in Delhi and NCR by

• Scouting and zeroing of business opportunities.
• Advising on the right entity structure based on the business objective. 
• Helping in entity set-up and compliances thereof.
• Ensuring all licenses/registrations re obtained before commencing operations.
• Providing ongoing support on managed services covering Compliances – under the Companies Act, 2013, FEMA, other applicable Acts and Accounting, Payroll & Taxation aspect of your business.

*The Author S. Prabhakar, is a Fellow member of the Institute of the Company Secretaries of India, Chartered Secretary from UK, Lawyer and Registered Insolvency Professional.  

For enquiries please reach out to Ms. Geetanjli Aggarwal, ACS, Head – Bengaluru Branch at geetanjali@simplybiz.in