IKEA is the iPhone of furniture and by choosing Noida as its hub, it proves that the standard of living in Noida and around has gone up considerably

IKEA – the most famous and loved luxury furniture brand in the world, is set to open its first furniture shopping centre in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The company said that it will invest 5,500 crore rupees in the financial capital of Uttar Pradesh to open the shopping centre. The Swedish giant has already bought a 48,000 square meter plot in the outskirts of the city to set up the centre.

Although IKEA has a presence in India and its stores are successfully running in cities like Hyderabad and Mumbai, it has no giant shopping centres in India for which the company is known around the world. The luxury furniture brand is now all set to open up its largest shopping centre in Noida.

“Heartfelt congratulations to Noida Authority and IKEA for this MoU. I am confident that IKEA’s decision to invest in Noida, Uttar Pradesh will prove to be a decisive factor in their own investment growth manifold. My best wishes,” tweeted UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

The decision of the luxury furniture giant IKEA to open a shopping centre in Noida shows the rising purchasing power capacity of the city and its surrounding areas. As per data from the Department of Economics and Statistics, UP, Gautam Buddha Nagar District, which comprises Noida and Greater Noida, had a per capita income of a staggering 3,68,081 lakh rupees per annum in 2018. The district is followed by Meerut (88,273), Lucknow (71,846) Kasganj (71,294), Ghaziabad (64,907), Kanpur Nagar (57,308), Aligarh (47,849), and Agra (68,795).

In the last few decades, Noida has risen exponentially on the city index of the country, riding on Information Technology enabled services and media businesses, which are flocking in the city given its efficient administration and world-class infrastructure.

As per Census 2011, the population of major UP’s cities, Agra, Meerut, and Lucknow increased by 20 per cent- corresponding to the state’s population growth- compared to 2001, while that of Kanpur – which used to the financial capital of UP but declined in stature in the last few decades – declined by 9 per cent. On the other hand, the population of Noida increased by 40 per cent.

The Yogi Adityanath government is aggressively pitching Noida as the industrial and service sector hub of North India and a symbol of the New Indian economy. “The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to promote Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway as electronic manufacturing zone. Country-specific industrial parks will be set up, which will virtually act as a home away from home for the foreign companies,” Additional Chief Secretary (IT and Electronics) Sanjiv Saran said, back in April 2018.

Since then, many other projects and facilities including the airport, textile hub, tech hub, and a film city have been announced. “The proposed Jewar International Airport in Noida will be the biggest in North India. The Kushinagar airport is also coming up, which will cater to eastern UP. Besides, Noida will be developed as the biggest hub of Northern India,” said Yogi Adityanath a few weeks ago in the ‘Invest UP’ meet.

The government has already earmarked 77 acres of land for the Noida textile hub and expects an investment of 900 crore rupees. Apart from textile, electronics manufacturing, film city, and many other new sectors, even the existing IT companies are expanding their campuses in Noida and many International companies including Microsoft have announced campuses in the city In the last few months.

A brand like IKEA deciding to set up a new store in Noida shows that purchasing power of the city and the surrounding areas (National Capital Region) has risen exponentially in the last few years. And, most importantly, investors across the world now trust Uttar Pradesh as a credible investment destination.