Consultation paper on Gurgaon Vision and Action Plan developed by NASSCOM Haryana for discussion with Political Leaders, Senior Government Officials and other stakeholders
Over the last two decades Gurgaon has attained a position of an important economic centre for India, a hub for IT-BPM, automobile industries and a not-to miss location for many other sectors.
Today there is little doubt that the city is facing severe growth challenges due to factors such as high cost of living and doing business, inefficient infrastructure, lack of reliable public transport, lack of skilled local talent for industry, alarming pollution levels, depleting water levels, perception of an being unsafe for women, multiple government agencies leading to slow decision making and last but not the least an out-dated IT Policy that is largely real estate oriented.
Data shows that not as many companies are setting up centres in Gurgaon as was the case 5 years back. Many state governments have recognized IT-BPM industry as an imperative source of mass employment and economic development empowering large sections of societies and are taking measures to attract the industry. A similar trend can be seen globally as all aspiring investment destinations are re-inventing themselves to come across as attractive locations. Given the mobile and replicable nature of the industry, our fear is that if the administration, which in our mind is a mix of centre & state, does not respond to Gurgaon’s calling we might soon witness the city lose its dominant position.
Gurgaon has the right ingredients to turn itself around. Gurgaon houses about 450 IT-BPM companies employing 2.5–3.0 lakh professionals who additionally create jobs for another 8-9 lakhs. IT-BPM industry is youth dominated, globally connected, has high level of women participation, and can be leveraged as an instrument of positive change in the society.
Gurgaon requires dynamic leadership and personal involvement of senior political leaders and government officials to understand the need of the hour and bring along multiple agencies to believe in a single vision. We as industry leaders are acutely conscious of our roles as citizens. Industry is willing to play a key partnership role with the government, to volunteer its expertise, time and resources, and to engage its employees as necessary.
We have identified number of areas where action is needed for Gurgaon to make progress to realize its potential. Through this note we would like to engage you in a dialog to develop a common vision for Gurgaon, identify the pain points and action areas, and collaborate to make progress.
In the following note we have presented our thoughts in on following 5 areas:
- Opportunities and Challenges for Gurgaon
- Potential Vision for Gurgaon
- Efforts done by NASSCOM Haryana towards the vision
- Suggested partnership approach for progressing the Gurgaon vision
- Specific areas that need immediate action.
- Opportunities and challenges for GurgaonOver the last two decades, Gurgaon has emerged as one of top locations for IT-BPM companies not only in India but globally. It is home to not only various MNC’s (including many Fortune 500 companies) and large Indian companies but also many SMEs. Close access to airport gives an additional edge to Gurgaon.Growth of the IT/BPM industry has been one of the key drivers behind the development of Gurgaon and its emergence as the “Millennium City”. Following are some facts which highlight the significant contribution IT/BPM industry is making to the economy of Haryana:
- Gurgaon houses about 450 IT-BPM companies employing close to 2.5 – 3.0 lakh professionals directly and 8-9 lakh indirectly
- 76% of employees from Indian IT-BPM industry are < 30 years of age; women constitute 31% of the workforce of which 45% are fresh intakes from campus. Similar trends apply to Gurgaon
- Gurgaon contributes 7-8% of Haryana’s State GDP
- Gurgaon contributes to a total of 6-7% of Indian IT-BPM exports
Clearly, Gurgaon and IT/BPM industry has been a great partnership. They have grown together and contributed to each other’s development. However, in the last few years we have noticed stagnation and even a dip in Gurgaon’s contribution to the Indian IT/BPM industry. While in absolute terms the revenues from the city may still be increasing, clearly in relative terms there is a downfall in the overall contribution.
As an Industry body, we tried to assess the reasons for this downward trend and came up with the following findings why Gurgaon is losing its attractiveness:
- City Infrastructure is limited and poorly planned with no reliable public transport system which covers all sectors of Gurgaon.
- Due to unavailability of a reliable public transport system and limited connectivity to other parts of NCR, companies have to employ a fleet of cabs to transport their employees. This is leading to increased cost of operations, congestion on roads, health & safety issues.
- We found through an empirical study that cost of doing business in Gurgaon is 10-15% higher than other metros & 20-25% higher than non-metros in India. High real estate cost also contributes towards making Gurgaon non-competitive.
- Gurgaon is known to be one of world’s most air polluted cities; typically 70% contributed by private vehicles. Further, limited power supply forces inhabitants to run diesel generators fuelling pollution and increase in cost of operations.
- There is limited supply of local talent from within the state because graduates passing out from Haryana are not found employable by the IT-BPM industry. Most of the companies are forced to import talent from other parts of NCR & India. This further adds to the cost of operations for companies.
- Gurgaon is perceived as unsafe for women with cases of mugging being reported often, raising a question on law and order situation.
- Multiplicity of government agencies leading to lack of coordinated action & delay in decision making.
- NASSCOM Haryana Vision for GurgaonNASSCOM Regional council for Haryana is a representative body of the IT-BPM industry with the aim of enhancing the local eco-system by making relevant industry interventions in areas such as Infrastructure, Industry-Academia tie-ups, Policy recommendations and Community building. With deliberations over the last couple of years, the group has jointly developed a vision for Gurgaon.Developing Gurgaon as the most preferred destination for IT-BPM industry – “bigger & better than Silicon Valley”
This vision has three components:
- Gurgaon as great city to live & work in
- Gurgaon as hub of innovation and entrepreneurship
- Gurgaon ecosystem as nursery for world-class talent
What can make Gurgaon a great city to live & work in?
- Active Commuting: Build an eco-system that promotes and supports sustainable use of public transport and non-motorised means like cycling, walking etc. Needless to say, a sustainable eco-system would need key elements like road safety, easy access to metro, bus and auto stations. Use of technology and encouraging companies and RWAs to take initiative in and around their areas.
- Making Gurgaon a great place for women by providing a welcoming environment including safety and security, creating enablers for women to perform at their full potential and be leaders in our companies and communities.
- Water: Immediate and appropriate steps to conserve water through measures like rain harvesting, water recycling. Enough has been talked about depleting water levels in Gurgaon. In addition provide for storm water drain which is prevent roads from disintegrating during rains.
- Inclusive Development. Inclusive Development by ensuring that the fruits of Gurgaon’s success reach all sections of society. This could be done through creating and implementing master plan that helps develop Gurgaon in a sustainable manner, provides options for low income housing, proper facilities for public education, healthcare, access to Government schemes for the migrant working class and ensuring fair working conditions and employment terms for all.
Gurgaon as hub of innovation & entrepreneurship
- For Gurgaon to become “bigger and better than Silicon Valley” we have to encourage innovation & entrepreneurship at large scale and not just repeat the formula that got industry success over the past 15-20 years. Looking at global patterns the next frontier of growth will be driven by product companies focused on innovation & intellectual property creation. Hence it is an imperative to enable innovation & support entrepreneurship through fostering an eco-system that accelerates growth of product companies and start-up firms in Gurgaon.
- Revise the IT policy which is currently real estate oriented towards incubating & nurturing products & intellectual property focused companies.
Gurgaon ecosystem as nursery for world-class talent
Skill Gap is one the major issues impacting employment of Haryana graduates. There is a need for a collaborative approach between key stakeholders i.e., Government , Industry , Academia to invest in world class intermediary & higher education institutions and upgrade infrastructure, curriculum & faculty of existing colleges.
Why this vision is feasible & necessary?
Gurgaon presents unique set of opportunities that can help it grow to be “bigger and better than Silicon Valley”
- With ~300,000 direct employees and ~1 million indirect employees, it is already one of the largest hubs of the IT/BPM industry in the world
- Industry is geographically concentrated that makes it easier to collaborate and take collective actions
- As a young city, there is a positive spirit of industry and citizen engagement and action on common issues. Initiatives like Raahgiri Day are a great example of citizens taking initiative and creating positive impact working along with government departments
- IT/BPM industry is such a large proportion of the Gurgaon ecosystem that it is in a unique position to raise the bar for theAt the same time, if Gurgaon does not address its problems it would lose its current position
- IT/BPM industry is competitive and mobile. Competition from both Tier 2 centres in India and other locations across the world is rising and is backed by strong political will & administration-industry partnerships. Gurgaon cannot afford to sit on its laurels. If timely action is not taken, it will lose its current position in the IT/BPM industry. This will have serious socio-economic consequences for local communities, as this industry is such an important economic driver for Gurgaon and Haryana
- Efforts by NASSCOM Haryana towards the Gurgaon VisionNASSCOM Haryana has taken a proactive approach and number of actions towards realizing the Gurgaon vision. Active Commuting has been our area of focus for the past 18 months with some steps taken in the other vision areas as well.Active Commuting
- Active Commuting, an initiative to promote use of public transport, cycling & walking. Our focus has been towards sensitization and demand creation. Our initiatives included signature campaigns like CEOs walk to work, creation of “Walk-on” anthem with music video with rock group Euphoria, Outdoor hoardings, Active Commuting workshops, CEOs conclave to sensitize & brainstorm, CEOs assisting pedestrian crossing and giving the message on road safety.
- Interaction with state government & local administration on infrastructure improvement. Pilot project with Haryana Roadways to start A/C busses to fix last mile connectivity, joint programs with entities like Rapid Metro & DLF.
- Some early successes include increased awareness and sensitization – “Car oriented planning will not work & focus needs to change from moving vehicles to moving people“. Companies shifting from cabs to public transport. To name a few – NTT Data, EValueServe, Sapient, IGT, Hero BPO and many more. Some senior leaders have started to Active Commute to walk the talk. Last but not the least – some movement to build safer infrastructure around Shankar Chowk crossing, near Aricent and Nagarro building in Udyog Vihar side & near Cyberpark.
- Lessons learnt: extremely unsafe pedestrian & non-motorised infrastructure that impacts safety and make Active Commuting hazardous. Concerns on safety have been the biggest roadblock in our efforts to promote Active Commuting. In addition, there is very poor access to metro stations, no single authority to discuss issues & resolve bottlenecks, and no visible steps taken towards implementation of Common Mobility Plan (CMP) of Dept of Town & Country Planning.
Way forward on Active Commuting
- Create a common body/committee involving all stakeholders to help implement the CMP and achieve its objectives which include
- Increased Use of Public Transport
- Improved NMT and pedestrian facilities
- Improved Safety of travel
- Reduction in pollution
- Facilitate actions to improve safety for Pedestrians and Cyclists e.g. cycling tracks, zebra crossing through changes in road design, signage, speed breakers & implementation of strict action for disobeying traffic laws.
- Improve connectivity into major hubs in Gurgaon via feeder bus services.
- Provide for overhead walkways across busy roads esp NH8 eg connecting Udyog Vihar via a foot-over bridge at Rapid Metro gateway station, which can significantly increase the use of Rapid Metro and help in decongestion of car traffic.
- NASSCOM & similar thinking bodies to continue to drive Sustainable Transport adoption.
- Jointly own Active Wednesdays, a campaign to pledge & leave behind private cars for use of public transport, cycling & walking
Some other initiatives by NASSCOM Haryana
- Submission of recommendation on IT policy to State Government in Chandigarh
- Submission of proposal to State Government on Industry – Academia partnership to raise skills levels in both Technical and non-Technical colleges
- Recommendations made for development of Rohtak and Manesar as IT/BPM industry hubs towards creating a “Greater Gurgaon” ecosystem
- Worked closely with Gurgaon police on cyber training initiative by bringing industry expertise
- Suggested partnership approach for progressing on Gurgaon visionTo progress the vision for Gurgaon it is imperative that various stakeholders come together and act collectively in a spirit of true partnership. Both the opportunities and challenges for Gurgaon are so significant that no one party is likely to be able to address them on its own.
- Key stake holders like Political leaders, Government departments & Infrastructure providers to develop Integrated Master Plan, secure funding for key projects, ensure timely execution across key projects and most importantly define and deliver on Service Level Agreements to the citizens.
- Industry body & citizen groups to provide a platform to industry leaders for collective visioning, problem solving and action. Moreover, engage our employees to participate in positive changes and to bring the best of NASSCOM to Gurgaon.
- Specific action items that need immediate attention & can demonstrate commitment from administration
- Create a new nodal agency or empower one of the existing government departments to ensure single point accountability for infrastructure development of Gurgaon. Due to existence of multiple agencies and divided jurisdictions, there is limited accountability & visible decision making. The suggested nodal body should be the single point of contact responsible for overall development of Gurgaon. Noida & Greater Noida Authority is a good example of such a nodal agency.
- Update the Integrated Master Plan for Gurgaon working in consultation with Industry bodies like NASSCOM, CII and relevant Citizen Groups. This should provide clear visibility and structure to planning for Gurgaon and promote inclusive development by reducing cost of living. It is imperative there is a granular approach to planning, involvement of agencies working on Urban Development, and display of commitment in implementation.
- Expedite development of footpaths, cycle paths and safe Zebra crossing to encourage walking, cycling and to improve road safety. In addition, run focused campaigns for road safety & respect for pedestrians & cyclists. Involve the IT-BPM industry to spread the message of positive change and change behaviors among the 3 lacs employees through identified channels of communication.
- Improve feeder bus services into the Metro stations so they can be fully utilized and thus reduce the need for companies to run individual cab services. In addition, introduce full bus service for Gurgaon. This is required both intra-Gurgaon and connectivity to rest of NCR from where large part of workforce for the IT/BPM industry comes. In particular, attention should be given that buses chosen are able to navigate within the narrow lanes of Udyog Vihar.
- Form a hi-powered committee comprising of Govt and Industry to take overall responsibility for developing and implementing the vision for Gurgaon. This body should not just develop the vision but recommend policy changes and implementation mechanisms for making it happen. In addition to the various infrastructure related point discussed above, such a body needs to also focus on Inclusive Development, making Gurgaon a nursery of world class talent and a hub of Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
We believe Gurgaon has unique set of opportunities. With the right vision and action, we can truly create a success story that can be “bigger and better than Silicon Valley”. This success story can be a great showcase of the “New India”. We can showcase how Indian industry can be a world leader. We can showcase how development can positively impact lives of millions in the local communities. And, we can showcase how government, industry and citizen group can work together on complex issues. We look forward to working together to make this beautiful vision a reality for Gurgaon.
