Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Mumbai - statistics and facts
Popularly called the city of dreams or “Mayanagri,” Mumbai (formerly Bombay) serves as the de facto financial capital and is the epicenter of the Hindi film industry or Bollywood. The capital city of the western coastal Indian state of Maharashtra the megacity is the second largest in India and accounts for the highest number of billionaires in the country. With numerous high-net-worth residents, Mumbai’s real estate is among the most expensive in the world, and a surge in luxury housing prices is among the highest in the world.
Glamour to stocks: Mumbai’s key industries
The city is the hub of money and financial-related administrative powers in India (Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India) and two stock exchanges (Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange). Various large corporations and conglomerates such as Reliance, Tata, and Aditya Birla Groups are also headquartered in the city. It is also the capital of Bollywood, an industry that earns billions in box-office revenue worldwide. SEEPZ (Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone), a special economic zone in the heart of the city established to attract investments and propel economic activity, exported goods worth more than six billion U.S. dollars in 2024. With a plethora of industries at work, it is not surprising that Mumbai is the leading contributor to India’s GDP.Slums and informal economy
In contrast to the high-rise cityscape, the shortage of affordable housing and low incomes have led to slum proliferation and ghettoization, the most famous example being Dharavi, touted as Asia’s largest slum. In the 19th century, the British cleared factories out of southern Mumbai leading to workers and low-income families moving to Dharavi. The area has attracted migrant laborers for years. More than just a slum settlement, Dharavi is a mass producer and inhabits several manufacturing industries such as leather, food products, textiles, and pottery, that form a significant part of Mumbai’s informal economy. It is an excellent example of a circular economy, with thousands of its factories engaged in waste recycling and sorting garbage, plastic, and metals. Plans to redevelop Dharavi have been mooted time and again; however, last year, the Adani Group of companies won the bid to carry out Dharavi's redevelopment. Faced with issues such as land acquisition, the project is currently surveying to determine eligibility for rehabilitation under the project.Mobility woes
The city is swarmed by perennial traffic congestion, ranking among the world’s most traffic jam-prone cities. Local trains and buses are usually overburdened. Heavy rains during the monsoon season aggravate the traffic problem and lead to road closures, train cancellations, and school holidays in Mumbai and neighboring areas. Limited availability of land in areas such as southern Mumbai has stunted the growth of above-ground train and bus networks. The new metro lines are, however, expected to relieve the city from vehicular pressure and reduce the crowds on the aging suburban rails. In addition to public safety, the new lines are also expected to improve air quality and reduce the annual emissions of the city.
