Surat - Gujarat

Surat, previously known as Suryapur, is a well-developed commercial city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also the administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest-growing cities in India. The city proper is the third cleanest city in India. Surat is Gujarat's second-largest city and India's 8th most populated city (in terms of Population in the Municipal Corporation area of the City) with a population of 4.5 million. Surat ranks fourth in a global study of the fastest developing cities conducted by The City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs. It is the fastest growing Indian city in terms of economic prosperity. The city registered an annualized fastest GDP growth rate of 11.5 percent over the seven fiscal years between 2001 and 2008, according to data compiled by the economic research firm Indicus Analytics. UK-based charity, The Ecological Sequestration Trust (TEST), has selected Surat as one of the three cities in the world, to be developed as "global cities."

The city is located 306 km south of state capital Gandhinagar and is situated on the left bank of the Tapti River (Tapi), the center being around 22 km (14 mi) from its mouth. A moat divides the older parts of the city, with its narrow streets and handsome houses, and the newer suburbs. The city is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital/Manchester textile city of India, a distinction it took over from Ahmedabad. It is also known as the "Embroidery Capital of India" with the highest number of embroidery machines than any other city.92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. It has one of the highest GDP growth rates in India at 11.5% as of 2008. Surat was the primary port of India during the Mughal period, a distinction it lost to Bombay during the late 17th century as the East India Company grew.

Diamond polishing

Surat is famous for its diamond industry and textile industry, along with silk and chemicals. It is at the heart of the world's diamond polishing industry, which in 2005 cut 92% of the world's diamond pieces and earned India $15 billion in exports. Gujarati diamond cutters, emigrating from East Africa, established the industry in 1901, and, by the 1970s, Surat-based diamond cutters began exporting stones to the US for the first time. Though much of the polishing work takes place on small weight stones, Surat's workshops have set their eyes on the lucrative market for finishing larger, pricier stones in the future.

The 18 November 2008 issue of the Wall Street Journal had an article about the diamond industry in Surat. It claims that 80% of the world's finished diamonds are cut and polished in this city. However the wages of the industry's workers remained flat for years and 250,000 workers, or one-third of the city's diamond industry workforce, has left between 2005–2008, leaving about 500,000. Only after a July 2008 strike did the workers obtain a 20% salary raise, their first in a decade. Most of the diamonds are polished in the Varachha area.

Textiles

• Surat is known for producing world-class synthetic textiles.".

• Surti households have been declared the most prosperous in the country by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Future Capital Research's Roopa Purushothaman in their latest study. The average annual household income (AHI) in the diamond city is Rs 457,000 – the highest in the country.[16] The study says that Surat's AHI is almost equal to China's per capita income of 2007 and double the national per capita income. Even its GDP growth of 11.5 percent for many consecutive years is the fastest in the country.[17] Recently Surat's diamond and textile industry faced a recession due to a slowdown in the US economy but is recovering. Jari, the oldest business in Surat, and 80000 embroidery units make the city a major center of the embroidery industry.

Industries

Surat also has many industrial Giants such as KRIBHCO mammoth fertilizer plant, Reliance petrochemical plant, Essar's 10 million tonne steel plant, L&T's heavy engineering unit, GSEG, gas processing plant of ONGC, GAIL (Gas Authority India Ltd.), Niko Resources Ltd(MNC A Canadian based company Olpad, Surat, Gujarat Type of Project: Exploration and Production Oil & Gas), NTPC -KGPP gas-based power plant, Shell LNG terminal All these at Hazira and ABG Shipyard (Shipbuilding Yard) and UltraTech Cement (Grinding Unit) at Magdalla port whereas Torrent Power has a mega power plant and GIPCL has got a huge lignite power plant in Kamaraj area. L&T colony &and ONGC colony are situated near to the airport.