South tech hubs Bengaluru, Hyderabad reshape India's urban economy: Report

Bengaluru: The two southern tech hubs--Bengaluru and Hyderabad--now power over half of India's urban growth momentum, reshaping jobs, consumption, mobility and the future of Indian cities, according to a data report released on Wednesday.

Together, the two cities accounted for about 53 per cent of all Grade A office space added across India's top cities in the last five years, the report said.

The findings are part of "WeAreCity 2026", the second edition of UnboxingBLR's flagship data report on Indian cities, unveiled at the Indiaspora Global AI Summit 2026 here.


Titled "A Tale of Two Cities", UnboxingBLR said in a statement that the report presents a data-led comparison of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India's two fastest-growing tech hubs that are increasingly challenging the economic dominance of Delhi NCR and Greater Mumbai.

Despite having significantly smaller populations than Delhi NCR and Greater Mumbai, the two cities are "punching far above their weight", it said.

"They (Bengaluru and Hyderabad) have contributed nearly 50 per cent of new domestic flight movements among India's top eight cities in just the last two year. In 2024-25, one in every four new companies formed across India's major cities was registered in either Bengaluru or Hyderabad. This is not incremental growth, it is structural momentum," the report stated.

While both cities are anchored by technology-led growth, the data highlights sharp contrasts in how they function, grow and behave. Bengaluru continues to lead as India's startup capital, with an edge in startups, funding, innovation output and emerging tech jobs. It also shows higher bank deposits and mutual fund participation, indicating greater disposable income and financial maturity.

Hyderabad, meanwhile, is emerging rapidly as a Global Capability Centre (GCC) hub, narrowing the gap with Bengaluru in enterprise tech jobs. It has recorded faster growth in retail credit and housing loans, signalling a city still building core assets.

According to the report, office commute times in both cities are nearly identical--averaging 59 minutes one way in Bengaluru and 58 minutes in Hyderabad--with the difference attributed more to distance, planning and infrastructure design, offering a key insight for urban policymakers.

On liveability indicators, Bengaluru residents show higher adoption of the gig economy, side hustles and experiential consumption, while Hyderabad records stronger indicators on infrastructure delivery and safety perceptions, especially for women.

Both cities dominate entry-level hiring across IT, manufacturing, pharma and BFSI sectors, outpacing Delhi and Mumbai combined in several segments, it said.

The report also introduced three indices--Economic Heft, Liveability, and Workforce Pull--to rank India's top eight cities.

Delhi NCR, Greater Mumbai and Bengaluru ranked highest in Economic Heft, while Hyderabad topped the Liveability Index, followed by Bengaluru and Kolkata. Bengaluru led the Workforce Pull Index, followed by Greater Mumbai and Delhi NCR.

Speaking at the event, Prashanth Prakash, Chairman and Co-Founder of UnboxingBLR, said Bengaluru and Hyderabad represent two different but equally powerful playbooks for urban growth in India. Bengaluru thrives on dense innovation, risk capital and entrepreneurial energy, while Hyderabad demonstrates how long-term planning and infrastructure-led execution can accelerate scale.

"What this report does exceptionally well is move the conversation from perception to proof, using data to show how cities compete, complement and ultimately shape India's economic future," he said.

Founded in 2023, UnboxingBLR is a Bengaluru-focused collaborative platform dedicated to celebrating and shaping the city's culture and identity.