Formerly known as Madras, Chennai is the capital city of Tamil Nadu. Rated as the fourth largest city in India, the city is also the leading commercial centre of South India. It's an important metropolitan city that is well-connected to all of India's other major cities and enjoys major economic, financial and trade benefits. Expats in India should certainly consider finding a job in Chennai.
Chennai's economy
Chennai has been remarkable in terms of economic growth and development. The credit of the booming economy of the city goes to the leading industries mainly automobile, software services, petrochemicals, financial services, healthcare, textiles and hardware manufacturing. It is the 5th most important Indian city with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 78.6 billion in 20194. Famous for its colonial past and affluent heritage, tourism also forms an integral part of the economy. Chennai is also among the best tourist destinations and to date continues to attract a bevvy of international tourists.
Chennai is known as the 'Detroit of India' because of its automobile industry which has more than 35% share of the automobile industry in India. Some of the major automotive companies operating in Chennai are Nissan Motors, Mitsubishi, BMW, Ford, Renault, Hyundai, Daimler AG, Ashok Leyland and Caterpillar.
The healthcare sector has been very important in Chennai, and the city is home to several high standard public and private hospitals, such as Apollo, Global Hospitals and Lifeline Hospitals. The Cancer Institute established in the city in 1920 is one of the oldest cancer hospitals in India.
It houses some of the leading foreign banks including Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citibank, Barclays, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd., Deutsche Bank, Ryan Services and Standard Chartered Bank.
Chennai is the second leading exporter of information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services in India. The Tidel Park of the city is the largest IT Park in Asia. It houses the head offices of leading software companies.
It also hosts many power stations, among which are the Northern Thermal Station, GMR Vasavi Diesel Power Plant, Ennore Thermal Station, Basin Bridge Gas Turbine Power Station, Madras Atomic Power Station and the North Chennai Power Company Limited.
The labour market in Chennai
The extensive and lucrative opportunities in different fields especially regarding the following fields: information and communication technology, IT and software production and healthcare have always attracted many foreigners. Named as one of the most productive metro city of India, Chennai is very open towards foreigners who go to the city in search of employment. If you are interested in trying your luck in this fast-developing city then do not hesitate to apply for jobs. Apart from the above-mentioned sectors, other fields where opportunities may be available are finance, engineering, as well as in the automotive industry.
Find a job in Chennai
Getting a suitable job matching your profile and expectation is very important for job satisfaction. If you have friends and contacts in Chennai then word-of-mouth can be helpful in identifying the right opportunities.
Apart from this, you can also explore other options like job portals, professional social networks and other virtual platforms. Registering with a recruitment agency is another good option that is likely to help you find the right job.
You can seek further information on expatriate forums. You may also want to consider sending spontaneous job applications to major firms operating in Chennai.
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