About the City

Bangalore is home to numerous public sectors such as heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, machine tools, heavy equipment, and defence establishments. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India owing to its pre-eminent position as the leading contributor to India's IT industry. Bangalore has developed into one of India's major economic hubs and was mentioned by CNN as one of the "best places to do business in the wired world".

During the British Raj, it became a centre for colonial rule in South India. The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country. Since independence in 1947, Bangalore grew to become the capital of Karnataka state. Today, as a large and growing metropolitan in the developing world, Bangalore is home to some of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India, and has the second-highest literacy rate in the nation.

The headquarters of several public sector undertakings such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) are located in Bangalore. In June 1972 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city.