Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a
satellite city
A satellite city or satellite town is a smaller municipality or settlement that is part of (or on the edge of) a larger metropolitan area and serves as a regional population and employment center. It differs from mere suburbs, Subdivision (la ...
of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
and administrative headquarters of
Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of
Haryana
Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
. It is situated near the
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
–
Haryana
Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
border, about southwest of the national capital
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
and south of
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
, the state capital. It is one of the major satellite cities of Delhi and is part of the
National Capital Region of India. , Gurgaon had a population of 876,969.
[
Gurgaon is India's second largest ]information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
hub, largest civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...
hub, largest hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...
hub and second largest management consulting
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
hub. Gurgaon is famous in India for nightlife as it houses multiple high number of high-quality pubs, nightclub
A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
s, bars, liquor shops hence called The ''Cocktail Capital'' of India. Gurgaon is also home to one of India's largest medical tourism and luxury tourism industries. Despite being India's 56th largest city in terms of population, Gurgaon is the 8th largest city in the country in terms of total wealth. It serves as the headquarters of many of India's largest companies, is home to thousands of startup companies and has local offices for more than 250 Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
companies. It accounts for almost 70% of the total annual economic investments in Haryana state, which has helped it become a leading hub for high-tech industry in northern India. Gurgaon is categorised as very high on the Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
, with an HDI of 0.889 (2017).
Gurgaon's economic growth started in the 1970s when Maruti Suzuki India Limited established a manufacturing plant and gathered pace after General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
established its business outsourcing operations known as Genpact in the city in collaboration with real-estate firm DLF. New Gurgaon, Manesar and Sohna serve as adjoining manufacturing and upcoming real estate hubs for Gurgaon. Despite rapid economic and population growth, Gurgaon continues to battle socio-economic issues, such as high income inequality and high air pollution. It also has a flood problem due to the limited drainage capacity. Gurgaon is infamous for prostitution, erotic spas, sex tourism and high-end escorts in areas like MG Road and Sector 29.
History
The region of Gurgaon originally fell under the Kuru Kingdom. Early people to inhabit the region were Hindus ruled over by the Ahir clan. Yadu tribes were a part of this clan and today their descendants commonly hold the last name ''Yadav''. In late 4th century BCE, the city was absorbed by the Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...
as part of 's earliest expansions of his kingdom.
Gurgaon may be same as the Gudapura town mentioned in the 12th century text ''Prithviraja Vijaya
''Prithviraja Vijaya'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an eulogy, eulogistic Sanskrit kavya, epic poem on the life of the Indian Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chahamana king Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan ...
''. According to the text, Nagarjuna, a cousin of the Chahamana king Prithviraj Chauhan
Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; 22 May 1166 – February 1192), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, w ...
, rebelled against the king and captured the town. Prithviraj crushed the rebellion and recaptured the town.
During the Mughal and initially during the British colonial era, Gurgaon was just a small village in Jharsa paragana
Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mahallah, Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (province), Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Sultanate of Delhi, Delhi S ...
of Delhi subah. Report of a Tour in Eastern Rajputana in 1882–83 (published in 1885) by Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...
, the then Director-General of Archaeological Survey of India, he mentions a stone pillar at Gurgaon of a local feudal lord ''"Durgga Naga"'' with a 3-line inscription ''" Samvat 729 or 928, Vaisakh badi 4, Durgga Naga lokatari bhuta"'' dating back to 672 CE or 871 CE. Jharsa paragana passed to Begum Samru in 1776–77 and came under direct British rule in 1836 after her death when her territory was taken over by the British who established a civil lines at Jharsa and a cavalry cantonment at nearby Hiyadatpur. An 1882 land revenue settlement report records that the idol of Sitla Mata was brought to Gurgaon 400 years earlier (15th century). Begum Samru claimed the offering to Sitla Mata temple during the Chaitra month and the revenue from the offerings given to the deity for rest of the month was distributed among the prominent Jat zamindars of the area.
In 1818, Bharawas district was disbanded and Gurgaon was made a new district. In 1821, the Bharaswas cantonment was also moved to Hidayatpur in Gurgaon. ''"Aliwardi mosque"'' in Gurgaon, ''" Badshahpur baoli"'' (1905).[Will history be buried for a road? A Gurgaon village waits]
, Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...
, 18 January 2018.[Intach writes to state, seeks preservation of 100-year-old stepwell]
, Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
, 20 January 2018. and ''" Bhondsi"'' (16th to 17th century) were built during mughal and British era.[ The ''"Church of the Epiphany"'' and ''"Kaman Serai"'' (Corrupted form of the "Command Serai" or ''Officer's Mess"'') was built by the Britishers in 1925 inside the civil lines.][Gurugram heritage]
, fridaygurgaon.com.
Other British colonial era historic buildings The Gurgaon Club, a 3-room building surrounded by the lawn and currently run by the Zila Parishad, the erstwhile Coronation School—now renamed to the Government Boys' Senior Secondary School, one of the 13 school established in India in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
George w ...
.[Architectural remnants of the Raj](_blank)
, Hindustan Times, 2 September 2019. During 1980s, the airstrip and hangar, air conditioned yoga ashram and TV studio were built on outskirts of the city by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
's yoga mentor Dhirendra Brahmachari.[1990]
"The Illustrated Weekly of India."
The Times Group, Volume 111, Issues 13-25, p. 35. The former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar established his own ashram near this airstrip in 1983 on 600 acre of panchayat land, where another godman Chandraswami and notorious Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...
used to visit him.[1996]
"India Today"
- Volume 21, Issues 7-12, p. 122.
, India Today, 28 February 1991.
On 12 April 2016, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar announced a proposal to officially rename the city ''Gurugram'' (Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: गुरुग्राम, lit. ''village of the Guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
''), subject to the approval of the Haryana cabinet and the Union Government. He argued that the new name would help to preserve the "rich heritage" of the city by emphasising its history and mythological association with Drona. On 27 September 2016, he officially announced that the Union Government had approved the name change, and thus the city and district would henceforth be known as Gurugram, though the old name "Gurgaon" still lingers in the colloquial usage.
Geography
Gurgaon is located in Gurgaon district in the Indian state of Haryana
Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
and is situated in the southeastern part of the state, and northern part of the country. The city is located on the border with Delhi with New Delhi to its northeast. The city has a total area of .
Topography
The average land elevation is above sea level.
Ecology
Gurgaon lies on the Sahibi River, a tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of Yamuna
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
which originates from the Aravalli range
The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in North India, Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Ahme ...
in Rajasthan and flows through west and South Haryana into Delhi where it is also known as the Najafgarh drain. The paleochannel and the current course of the Sahibi river have series of biodiversity hotspots and Important Bird Area (IBA) wetlands and forests within Gurugam, including the Outfall Drain Number 6 (canalised portion in Haryana of Sahibi river), Outfall Drain Number 8 (canalised portion in Haryana of Dohan river which is a tributary of Sahibi river), Sarbashirpur wetland, Sultanpur National Park, Basai wetland, Najafgarh lake and Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary, Ghata lake, Badshahpur lake, Khandsa lake and The Lost lake of Gurgaon. Other IBA wetlands along the Saibi river, outside Gurgaon district, are the Masani barrage wetland, Matanhail forest, Chhuchhakwas-Godhari, Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, etc. All of these are home to endangered and migratory birds. Most of these largely remain unprotected. These are under extreme threat mainly from the colonisers and builders.
Mangar Bani, a sacred grove and forest with wetlands between Gurgaon and Faridabad, is one of the last surviving natural forests in NCR is protected by Gurjars of nearby area. Contiguous to Mangar bani are Gwal Pahari and Bandhwari forested area. All of these lie on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli range.
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, the climate of Gurgaon is an overlap between a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cwa'') and a hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BSh''). The city experiences four distinct seasons – spring (February–March), summer (April–August), autumn (October–November) and winter (December–January) – along with the monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
season (June–September) setting in towards the latter half of the summer. Summers, from early April to September, are typically hot and humid, with an average daily June high temperature of . The season experiences heat indices easily breaking . Winters are cool and foggy with few sunny days. The Western Disturbance brings some rain in winters that further adds to the chill. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant seasons with low humidity. The monsoon season usually starts in the first week of July and continues till August. Thunderstorms are not uncommon during the monsoon. The average annual rainfall is .[ The highest ever temperature recorded is on 10 May 1966 and the lowest ever is on 5 December 1966. On 15 May 2022 Gurgaon recorded a maximum temperature of , the hottest day in May in 56 years.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2024, Gurugram is one of the world's 20 most polluted city in India.
]
Demographics
The Gurgaon city area has an estimated population of 876,969, according to the 2011 Census of India.
Religion
Hinduism is the most popular religion in Gurgaon, followed by Islam, and Sikhism. There are small numbers of Christian, and Buddhist followers. Gurgaon has adherents of Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
, Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
, Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and the Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
, among others. There are several places of worship for major religions, including mandirs, gurdwara
A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...
s, mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
s and churches.
Sheetla Mata Mandir, located at the heart of Gurgaon, is a temple dedicated to the wife of Guru Dronacharya, Kripi. The temple hosts fairs and people come to seek blessings of Sheetla Mata, earlier known as Kripi. Sai Ka Aangan temple, spread over an area of 36,000 square feet, is dedicated to Shirdi Sai Baba and has a life size idol of him.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 74.18% of the population spoke Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, 9.02% Haryanvi, 3.78% Punjabi, 3.59% Bengali and 1.95% Bhojpuri as their first language.[.]
Cityscape
Architecture
Gurgaon has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles and from distinct time periods. Gurgaon's skyline with its many skyscrapers is nationally recognised, and the city has been home to several tall buildings with modern planning. Gurgaon has an estimated 1,892 high-rises.
Neighbourhoods
Gurgaon is divided into 36 wards, with each ward further divided into blocks. The housing type in the city consists largely of attached housing, though many attached multi-dwelling units, including apartment
An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
s, condominiums and high rise residential towers are getting popular.
Parks
Gurgaon has a complex park system, with various lands operated by the Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority. The key parks are Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29, which is over ; Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Botanical Garden in Sector 52; Navisha Park in Malibu Towne, Sector-47; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Park in Sector 14, popularly known as HUDA Garden; Tau Devi Lal park in Sector 23; and Aravali Biodiversity Park on MG Road. There are local parks in almost all sectors in Old Gurgaon.
Culture
Entertainment and performing arts
Notable performing art venues in the city include Epicentre in Sector 44 and Nautanki Mehal at the Kingdom of Dreams near IFFCO Chowk.
Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao was born in Gurgaon.
Languages and dialect
The main language spoken in Gurgaon is Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, though a segment of the population understands and speaks English. The dialect used in Hindi is similar to that of Delhi, and is considered neutral, though the regional influences from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
and Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
adds an accent to the language. English is spoken with an Indian accent, with a primarily North Indian influence. Since Gurgaon has many international call centre
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone ...
s, the employees are usually given formal training in neutral pronunciation in order to be understandable to native English speakers. Haryanvi and Punjabi are other popular languages spoken in the city.
Sports
The city has two major sports stadiums: Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 38, which has facilities for cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
, basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
and athletics as well as a sports hostel, and Nehru Stadium which is designed for football and athletics. Amity United FC is a tenant of Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Gurgaon district has nine golf courses and is described as the "heart of India's golfing country".
Joginder Rao, a domestic cricket player, was from Gurgaon.
Economy
Gurgaon has the third highest per-capita income in India and is the site of Indian offices for half of Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
companies. The city also benefits from its close proximity to Delhi.
Maruti Suzuki Private Limited was the first company that set up a manufacturing unit in the city in the 1970s, making cars.[ Eventually, DLF Limited, a real estate company, acquired vast stretches of land in the city. The first major American brand to set up a unit in Gurgaon was ]General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
in 1997. GE's setup in Gurgaon prompted other companies, both international and domestic, to follow suit providing outsourcing solutions in software, IT, service and sales through delivery facilities and call centres. However, due to the lack of proper public transport and the inability of most of the employees to afford a personal vehicle, most of the call centres provide pooled-in cars to and from their offices.[
Apart from business process outsourcing and IT sectors, the city is home to several other companies. Siemens Industry Software, in Gurgaon Business Park, made a portfolio of design software that was used by ]NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
to digitally design, simulate and assemble the vehicle before any physical prototypes were built.[ Various international companies, including ]Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
, Pepsi
Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
, BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
, Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American global company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratories. Agilent was established in 1999 as a spin-off from Hewlett-Packar ...
, and Hyundai, have chosen Gurgaon as their Indian corporate headquarters; this continues to in the 2020s, with Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...
and Nissan
is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
making the same choice.[ Major Indian airlines like Air India, ]IndiGo
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
, SpiceJet, and Air India Express have their global headquarters in the city, making it the largest civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...
hub of India.
All the major companies in the city depend on their own backup, given the fact that Gurgaon does not have a reliable power and water supply, public transport or utilities. OMC Power is a distributed energy company headquartered in Gurgaon.
Retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
is an important industry in Gurgaon, with the presence of 26 shopping malls.
Law and government
Gurgaon is governed by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, which follows a mayor-council system. In 2017, the GMDA (Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority) was formed, which looks after the city's infrastructure.
Crime
As per the authorities, the following is the key crime data of Gurgaon for 2022:
The police department in Gurgaon is headed by the Commissioner of Police - Gurgaon Police, which forms a part of the Haryana Police and reports to the Haryana state government. Gurgaon Police has a separate traffic police department headquartered in sector 51. Fire protection within the city limits is provided by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram through four fire stations, located in sector 29, sector 37, Udyog Vihar and Bhim Nagar.
In 2018, the first cyber police station was inaugurated in the city. As per the authorities, around 1,500 complaints related to cybercrime, including cyber fraud, online banking fraud, cheating through bank cards, social media complaints & data theft, are received every month. Due to a shortage of in-house cyber experts, the police largely outsource such cases to external organisations.
Education
The city's public school system is managed by the government of Haryana and administered by Haryana Board of School Education. There are other schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...
, Indian Certificate of Secondary Education
The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) is an academic qualification awarded by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, a private, non-governmental board of education in India. The CISCE conducts these examinati ...
and International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
boards. Key schools in the city include Alpine Convent School, Ambience Public School, Amity International School, Blue Bells Model School, Delhi Public School, Gems International School, Gurugram Public School, Heritage Xperiential Learning School, K R Mangalam World School, Lancers International School, MatriKiran, Ryan International School, SCR Public School, Shalom Hills International School, The Shri Ram School and Vega Schools.
There are several universities and institutes, offering bachelor's, master's, doctorate and other programs, located in Gurgaon and the surrounding area, including Gurugram University, Sushant University, NorthCap University, GD Goenka University, K.R. Mangalam University, Amity University, Management Development Institute, Great Lakes Institute of Management
The Great Lakes Institute of Management (also known as Great Lakes or GLIM) is a Private school, private business school in India. It was founded in 2004 by Bala V. Balachandran, a professor at Kellogg School of Management with its first cam ...
, Infinity Business School, BML Munjal University, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University.
Transport
Roadways
The major highway that links Gurgaon is National Highway 48, the road that runs from Delhi to Mumbai. While the Delhi-Gurgaon border-Kherki Dhaula stretch has been developed as the Delhi–Gurgaon Expressway, the rest is expanded to six lanes.
Railways
Intercity rail
Gurgaon railway station is operated by Northern Railway of Indian Railways
Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
. The rail station forms a part of the larger Indian Railways network. Along with that, Gurgaon has Tajnagar railway station, Dhankot railway station, Ghari Harsaru Railway Junction and Farrukhnagar Railway Station, Patli Railway Station. Under Modernisation of Railway Stations, Indian Railways is modernising four railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s in Gurgaon. Gurgaon railway station, Ghari Harsaru Railway Junction and Farrukhnagar Railway Station will be developed and modernised with modern amenities and international facilities.
Delhi Metro
There are five stations served by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is a centre-state joint venture that operates the Delhi Metro and Noida Metro. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is also involved in the planning and implementation of metro rail, monorail, and high-speed r ...
. located on the Yellow Line, which are Millennium City Centre, IFFCO Chowk, MG Road, Sikanderpur and Guru Droncharya.
There are plans to extend metro coverage in future.
Rapid Metro
The Rapid Metro has eleven stations in Gurgaon, with an interchange with Yellow Line of Delhi Metro at Sikanderpur metro station. The Rapid Metro became operational in November 2013 and currently covers a distance of . One more phase of the project is in the pipeline and would take the total number of subway stations in the city to 16. An estimated 33,000 people ride the Rapid Metro every day, which provides an exclusive elevated transit service with three coach trains that run in a loop.
Airways
Airport
Gurgaon is served by Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is located just outside of Gurgaon city limits near National Highway 8.
Transit systems
Public transit
In November 2013, Gurgaon launched an '' Ciclovia''-inspired initiative known as ''Raahgiri Day''—in which a corridor of streets is closed to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday mornings to encourage the use of non-motorized transport and participation in outdoor leisure activities. Gurgaon was the first city in India to implement such a program, followed by New Delhi, and later Noida.
Gurgaon is also expected to get India's first pod taxis.
File:Delhi Gurgaon Toll Gate.jpg, Toll gate of the Delhi Gurgaon Expressway
File:Gurgaon Rapid Metro.jpg, The Gurgaon Rapid Metro serves the city of Gurgaon.
File:HUDA City Center (Delhi Metro).jpg, Millennium City Centre metro station on the Yellow Line of Delhi Metro
File:HR-FDB-Volvo.jpg, Haryana Roadways operates buses on intercity routes in the city.
Utilities
Electricity in Gurgaon is provided by the government-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. Gurgaon has a power consumer base of 360,000 with an average power load of 700-800 MW. There are frequent power outages in the city, especially during the peak consumption season of summer. Apart from the power deficit, the equipment used by the power department like transformers, panels and transmission lines are either old or overburdened.
Issues
Abusive workculture
Gurgaon is infamous for its toxic workculture and abusive work culture, even compared to other cities such as Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
, Pune
Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
and Navi Mumbai where workculture is far better.
Flooding
Gurgaon is notorious for its urban floods every monsoon. The areas on NH-8 around Hero Honda Chowk, Basai, Dhankot, sector 37 etc. see massive urban floods and headlines grabbing traffic jams reported widely in news media. A recent research report puts the blame on the broken natural water body linkage and obstructions in the flow in the city due to frantic construction during the last decades. The HUDA master drainage lines get choked or burst at the seams. Disruptions in the hydrological flow of natural drains and limited drainage capacity are all primary reasons for the floods.
Gurgaon's Ghata Jheel, Badshahpur Jheel, Khandsa Talab were linked to Najafgarh drain which links to Yamuna river
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
, via natural water channels and drains.
As per the ground reports and research, the three natural water bodies are struggling for their existence with encroachments on their lands and natural channels. Agencies responsible have tried to create artificial water bodies to compensate, but the efforts fail due to unpredictable rain and water flow patterns leading to deployment of water pumps to fight the situation.
In 2012 Punjab & Haryana High court banned ground water usage for construction activity, and NGT has recently reprimanded authorities for drain concretisation.
See also
* National Capital Region
* New Gurgaon
* Largest Indian cities by GDP
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Gurgaon district
High-technology business districts in India
Satellite Cities in India
Medical tourism
Haryana
Haryana-related lists