Economy of Ahmedabad 5214758 130293015 2007-05-12T09:27:49Z Thunderboltz 468757 + ref [[Image:SG Road2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A retail mall on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway]] '''[[Ahmedabad]]''' is the largest inland industrial center and the second largest industrial center in western [[India]] after [[Mumbai]]. The textile industry has been the main industry of Ahmedabad. On 30 May 1861, [[Ranchhodlal Chhotalal]] founded the first Indian textile mill called the Ahmedabad Spinning and Weaving Company Limited, to be more popularly known as the Shahpur Mill later on. This was followed with a series of textile mills like the Calico Mills in 1880 by Maganbhai, and other mills founded by industrialists like [[Ambalal Sarabhai]] and [[Kasturbhai Lalbhai]] which gave Ahmedabad the title of [[Manchester]] of India. The textile industry saw a decline in the early part of the 20th century, but was revived again due to the [[First World War]] and also by the [[Swadeshi movement]] led by Mahatma Gandhi during the independence movement<ref>"The Ahmedabad Chronicle, Imprints of a millennium", page 34. Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design, 2002</ref>. [[Arvind Mills]] is one of the largest textile mills in the country. Ahmedabad also has a thriving chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry. Two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies of India - [[Zydus Cadila]] and [[Torrent Pharmaceuticals]] are located in the city. The city also serves as the corporate headquarters of the [[Adani Group]] which is a leading trading and export company of India. The [[Nirma]] group of industries running a large number of detergent and chemical industrial units in Gujarat, also has it's corporate headquarters in the city. The last few years has seen the rise of the [[Information Technology]] industry in Ahmedabad. A Nasscom survey in 2002 on the ‘Super Nine Indian Destinations’ for IT-enabled services (ITES) had ranked Ahmedabad fifth among the top nine most competitive cities in the country<ref>{{ cite web |title = "Ahmedabad joins ITES hot spots", The Economic Times, 16 August, 2002 |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?art_id=19195158 |accessdate=2006-05-14 }}</ref>. The real estate prices in the city are also booming due to the entry of large retail stores and also due to the [[Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project]]. ==References== <references/> [[Category:Economy of Ahmedabad]] {{economy-stub}}