Chennai is the safest city in India.
By Sreekanth A Nair
Hyderabad has been ranked as the best Indian city to live in according to the quality of living ranking released by global consulting firm Mercer on Tuesday.
Ranked 139 in the list of 230 cities across the world, Hyderabad city excels in India in terms of ‘lower crime rate’, ‘lesser air pollution’ and ‘improved options for international and reputable English speaking schools.’
Hyderabad has been ranked as the best city by Mercer for the second time in a row. But the city slipped one rank from previous year due to `increased power disruptions’ and ‘extreme weather situation.’ The states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had witnessed severe heat wave causing more than 1700 deaths.
Pune has been selected as the second best Indian city with a rank of 144. Other Indian cities that found a place in the list are Bangalore (145), Chennai (150), Mumbai (152), Kolkata (160), and New Delhi (161).
“Fewer traffic jams, a more balanced weather, and the warmth of people add to the advantages of staying here in Hyderabad,” M.R. Rao, managing director and chief executive of SKS Microfinance Ltd, told Live Mint.
Chennai was selected as the safest Indian city followed by Hyderabad and Bangalore. Internal stability, levels of crime and local law enforcement of Chennai have helped the city to get recognized as the safest Indian city.
Austrian capital Vienna topped the ranking followed by Zurich (Switzerland), Auckland (New Zealand), and Munich (Germany). Baghdad (230) and Damascus (229) are the world’s least safe cities according to the ranking.
Luxembourg tops the personal safety list and is followed by Bern, Helsinki, and Zurich – all tied in 2nd place.
“Despite recent security issues, social unrest, and concern about the region’s economic outlook, European cities continue to offer some of the worlds’ highest quality-of-living,” said a statement issued by Mercer.
Ironically big cities like London, Paris and New York couldn’t even make it into the top 35. Paris slipped 10 places to 37th due to the recent terrorist attacks that shook the world. London is in 39th place.
The highest ranking US city is San Francisco (28) followed by Boston (34) and Honolulu (35). New York has been ranked 44th and Washington DC is in 51st position. Growing number of crimes and concerns about personal safety have affected the ranking of the US cities.
Mercer evaluates local living conditions in more than 440 cities surveyed worldwide. Living conditions are analyzed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories such as Political and social environment, Economic environment, Socio-cultural environment, Medical and health considerations, Schools and education, Public services and transportation, Recreation, Consumer goods, Housing, and natural environment.
Mercer is a global consulting firm in talent, health, retirement and investments. Mercer’s authoritative survey is one of the world’s most comprehensive and is conducted annually to enable multinational companies and other employers to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Employee incentives include a quality-of-living allowance and a mobility premium.
“Heightened domestic and global security threats, population displacement resulting from violence, and social unrest in key business centers around the world are all elements adding to the complex challenge facing multinational companies when analyzing the safety and health of their expatriate workforces,” said Ilya Bonic, Senior Partner and president of Mercer’s Talent business.
“Multinational companies need accurate data and objective methods to determine the cost implications of deteriorating living standards and personal safety issues when compensating expatriates,” Bonic added.
1 Comment
Yes Hyderabad is the best city. BUT BANGALORE IS BECOME THE WORST CITY TO LIVE TODAY
BANGALORE IS A TRAFFIC JAM CITY, IT TAKES ANY ONE 2-3 HOURS TO REACH 15 – 20 kMS TO REACH his or her work place in Bangalore and more time is spend on the Road.A person wastes 4 hours everyday only in travelling in Bangalore spending that time on Polluted Bangalore Roads, People are not friendly, Rents are very high so I Advice People that BANGALORE IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO STAY NOWADAYS, ROADS ARE NARROW TRAFFIC TRAFFIC EVERYWHERE IN BANGALORE EVERY NOOK AND CORNER IS FULL OF TRAFFIC AND PEOPLES ARE ALWAYS STUCK IN THIS MOST COSTLY CITY NOT MEANT FOR MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE