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Hyderabad (pronounced /ˈhaɪdərəbɑːd/ ( listen); Telugu: హైదరాబాద్ [ɦəjd̪ərɑːbɑːd̪], Urdu: حیدرآباد [ɦɛːd̪(ə)raːbaːd̪]), is the capital of the state Andhra Pradesh, India. It also goes by its sobriquet City of Pearls. As of 2010 it is the sixth most populous city and sixth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. Hyderabad was founded by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 on the banks of Musi. Today the city covers an area of approximately 650 km². The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad come under the ambit of a single municipal unit, The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

Hyderabad has developed into one of the major hubs for the information technology industry in India which has earned it the additional sobriquet "Cyberabad". In addition to the IT industry, various biotechnology and pharmaceutics companies have set up their operations in Hyderabad owing to its established Public sector in Life Science Research and Genome Valley. The city houses the most expensive residential real estate in Andhra Pradesh in Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills. The city is home to the Telugu Film Industry, the second-largest in India, known popularly as Tollywood. Residents of Hyderabad are generally called Hyderabadis. Located at the crossroads of North & South India, Hyderabad has developed a unique culture that is reflected in its language and architecture.

Economy

Hyderabad is the financial, economic and political capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The city is the largest contributor to the state's gross domestic product, state tax and excise revenues. Hyderabad ranks 93rd (as of 2008) in the List of richest cities in the world by GDP (PPP) with US$60 bn and sixth in India. In terms of GDP per capita (PPP), Hyderabad ranks 4th in India with US$6,428. The workforce participation is about 29.55%. Starting in the 1990s, the economic pattern of the city has changed from being a primarily service city to being one with a more diversified spectrum, including trade, transport, commerce, storage, communication etc. Service industry is the major contributor, with urban workforce constituting 90% of the total workforce. Hyderabad was ranked the 2nd best Indian city for doing business in 2009.

Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls, lakes. The bangles market known as Laad Bazaar is situated near Charminar. Products such as silverware, saris, Nirmal and Kalamkari paintings and artifacts, unique Bidri handcrafted items, lacquer bangles studded with stones,silk ware, cotton ware and handloom-based clothing materials are made and traded through the city for centuries.

Hyderabad is a major center for Pharma & Biotech with companies such as USP, Novartis, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Agilent, Biological E limited, Shantha Biotechnics, Sanofipasteur, Bharath Biotech, GVK BIO, Matrix Laboratories, Krebs biochemicals, Magene Lifesciences, AstraZeneca, Hetero Drugs Limited, Divis Labs, Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Quintiles, Ocimum Biosolutions, Lee Pharma, MAKRO, Gene-Tech, Vimta Labs etc being housed in the city. Initiatives such as Genome Valley, Fab City and the Nano Technology park are expected to create extensive infrastructure in bio-technology.

Like many Indian cities, Hyderabad has witnessed a high growth in the real estate business,thanks to an information-technology-driven boom in the 1990s and the retail industry growth over the last few years which have spurred hectic commercial activity. A number of mega malls have come up or are being built in the city. Real estate demand in the suburban and rural areas surrounding Hyderabad has gone up exponentially leading to a rapid increase in prices over the past few years. Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills and Himayath Nagar areas are considered the posh residential areas of Hyderabad.

The retail industry in Hyderabad is on the rise. Many international and national brands have set up retail chains here. The city has multiple Central Business Districts (CBDs) spread across the city. There are many major business/commercial districts from the older Charminar area to newer Kothaguda. For the advancement of infrastructure in the city, the government is building a skyscraper business district at Manchirevula, near Rajendranagar with a 450 m supertall structure APIIC Tower at its centre. Also, the Lanco Hills near Gachibowli presents the tallest structure in India for residential and commercial purposes.

The largest employers in Hyderabad are the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Government of India with 113,098 and 85,155 employees respectively.

Economy

Hyderabad has established itself as the leading destination for IT and IT-enabled services, BPO and entertainment industries. Many computer software companies, software consulting firms, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, dealing with IT and other technological services firms have established their offices and facilities in the city since the 1990s.

The development of a township with related technological infrastructure called HITEC City prompted several IT and ITES companies to set up operations in the city. An aggressive promotion of growth in this area has led civic boosters to call the city Cyberabad. There have been extensive investments in digital infrastructure within the city promoting the setting up of several campuses by a vast array of companies within the city. This list includes several multinational corporations having established their development centres in the city. Major areas where such campuses have been set up are Madhapur, Kondapur, Gachibowli and Uppal. Microsoft (with its largest R&D campus outside the US), Oracle Corporation etc. have set up operations in Hyderabad. For a more comprehensive list of IT companies in Hyderabad, refer to Software industry in Andhra Pradesh. TCS Deccan park is one of the active branches of TCS in hyderabad.