Now why has this city which was more famous for its gardens and laidback lifestyle changed so much in character?
The two most obvious reasons that come to every Bangalorean's mind are:
The advent of the IT industry, and subsequently
The boom in real estate prices.
Unlike other cities in India, Bangalore's main activity is information technology and information technology-enabled services (ITES). These businesses -- involving large corporates that are either multinational companies or Indian firms dealing with or catering to MNCs -- employ a very large workforce which is paid close to international rates.
The nature of the business also rules out any cash dealing and all salary payments are necessarily official payments.
Hence, all of this is 'transparent income' unlike, say, what is earned by a petty shopkeeper in New Delhi's Chandni Chowk or Mumbai's Bhuleshwar. These petty shopkeepers too could be members of the so-called millionaire club, but aren't as they disqualify themselves by not disclosing their true income.
Attracted by India's pool of talented English-speaking graduates, the largest after the United States, more than 50 major international companies have outsourced jobs to India.
Photograph: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images
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