Economy
The gross domestic product of Guwahati metro was estimated at $1 billion in 2010. As a river port, Guwahati has traditionally been an important administrative and trading center. Separate income estimates are not yet available as city-level income estimation is not a traditional practice in India, and is not practiced in a systematic and continual manner. However, by looking at the agglomeration of activities and employment patterns it can be easily understandable that the city contributes a lion's share of the state's income.
The major economic activities are trade and commerce, transportation and services. Guwahati is the most important trade hub in the North Eastern Region. It is a major wholesale distribution center, a marketing hub, and also a retail hub of the region. The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre is one of the largest in the world. As in other cities, 'mall culture' is now invading Guwahati. Manufacturing is an important activity, although it is not comparable to those of India's rapidly growing industrial cities. The most important manufacturing industry in the city is the petroleum refinery of IOCL at Noonmati, which is known as Guwahati Refinery. The city contains the headquarters or regional offices of several manufacturing and business establishments, e.g., Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL). Guwahati is important for printing and publishing, as well as businesses related to electronic and print media. During the past two decades, businesses such as real estate development, finance, etc. have intensified. Retail and real estate have emerged as big players. Recent times have seen large scale retail chains such as Big Bazaar, Westside, Pantaloons, Salasar Mega Store, Hidesign, Wills Lifestyle, Levi Strauss & Co. had opened outlets in Guwahati. Guwahati is home to the Guwahati Stock Exchange (GSE). For the promotion of trade and industry of Assam there is a trade centre named Maniram Dewan Trade Centre at the Betkuchi area of the city.
Tourism and recreation, education, research, cultural activities, real estate, etc. are slowly increasing and contributing to city's economy.
Read more about this topic: Guwahati
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“It enhances our sense of the grand security and serenity of nature to observe the still undisturbed economy and content of the fishes of this century, their happiness a regular fruit of the summer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“War. Fighting. Men ... every man in the whole realm is in the army.... Every man in uniform ... An economy entirely geared to war ... but there is not much war ... hardly any fighting ... yet every man a soldier from birth till death ... Men ... all men for fighting ... but no war, no wars to fight ... what is it, what does it mean?””
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)