Over the last two decades India has become a well-known producer of talent in the field of Information and Technology. One visit to Nehru Place will give you a glimpse of the vibrancy that characterizes India’s IT sector. Located in the south district of Delhi, this is the biggest market for IT products in the whole of Asia! Established as the Kalkaji Complex in 1969, this market was rechristened in the 1980s after the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru’s name. Over the years this market has become the biggest commercial centre out of the fifteen district centres of Delhi. The initial plan was to fashion this market like the boulevards of London and Paris. Although that plan didn’t quite work out, the current shape of Nehru Place is a shining example of the saying ‘Everything happens for your own good’.
This electronic bazaar of Delhi is an interesting combination of legal and grey shopping avenues in the heart of Delhi. Highly reputed companies like the Microsoft are housed the many offices operating out of the skyscrapers. It’s in the central plaza surrounded by these buildings where you’ll find the cacophony of more than 700 street hawkers selling all kinds of goods – computer software, hardware, mobile covers, cloths, lights, lamps (both Indian and Chinese). The whole complex is dotted with stores either selling brand new mobiles and computers or providing repair services. Next time your computer crashes, do keep in mind this market – you can find here software for recovering data for as low as Rs. 100.
According to some conservative estimates this thriving business centre is known for having a daily turnover of around Rs 10 crores! If you are crazy about gaming, this market will be a heaven for you. In some global circuits this market is rather infamous for the copyright infringements that occur so freely here. People can have both positive and negative experiences here – one of our favourite shops for computer hardware (and an assortment of other electronic goods) that you could try is ‘Cost to Cost’.
A lesser known aspect of Nehru Place is its fabrics market. Besides being a centre of IT, this complex is home to the showrooms of many cloth merchants and textile mills selling a variety of materials. This market is also a hub for all sorts of printing services – besides of course selling printing cartridges, both genuine and non-genuine. So next time you are wondering where to get that college poster printed from, you know where to get your work done from.
Food is found in abundance. Choose between the crowd-favourites- kachori-subzi and rajma chawal as well a slew of popular fast food restaurants at the Satyam Cinema Complex. A wine shop inside the Cinema Complex stocks well-known Indian and International brands. Just across the road, in metro station premises is Epicuria – a haven for food lovers. Housing some great brands like Benihana, Fio, L’Opera, The Flying Saucer Café to Starbucks, Burger King and Dunkin Donuts, you can spend hours sitting in their well-manicured gardens.
Nearest Metro: Nehru Place Metro Station (The station complex too houses a number of restaurants)
Market timings: 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. (Sunday closed)
