Chennai

Demographics :
Chennai formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 7.06 million in 2007 it is the fourth largest metropolitan city in India and the 32nd largest metropolitan area in the world.

Chennai is the third largest commercial and industrial centre in India. It is considered to be the automobile capital of India, with a major percentage of the country's automobile industry having a base in the city. Chennai is also the second-largest exporter of IT/ITES services in India, behind Bangalore, and is a base for the manufacture of hardware and electronics, with many multinational corporations setting up plants in its outskirts.

The city is served by an international airport and two major ports. The consulates of 33 countries are based in Chennai, serving the four southern states.

Economy :
Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, healthcare and financial services industries. Chennai is base to around 30% of India's automobile industry and 35% of its auto components industry.

The city is an electronics manufacturing hub, with multinational corporations setting up electronics and hardware manufacturing plants, mainly in the Sriperumbudur Special Economic Zone. Other major manufacturing facilities range from small scale manufacturing to large scale heavy industrial manufacturing, petrochemicals and auto ancillary plants. Several Petrochemical companies like Chennai Petro Chemicals Limited (CPCL), Manali Petro Chemicals Limited, Madras Refineries Limited (MRL), Petro Araldite and Orchid Pharmaceuticals are situated in the outskirts of the city.
The Ambattur-Padi industrial zone houses many textile manufacturers and an SEZ for apparel and footwear manufacture has been setup in the southern suburbs of the city.

Chennai is the second largest exporter of IT and IT enabled services in the country, behind Bangalore and many major software and software services companies have development centers in the city.

Chennai has a fully computerized stock exchange called the Madras Stock Exchange. And Chennai is also home to three large national level commercial banks, many state level co-operative banks, finance and insurance companies. Prominent financial institutions, including the World Bank, have located their back office operations in the city.