Diamonds Propel Surat Income to the Top

Average income in Surat, India’s manufacturing center, is the highest in the country, mostly due to income generated from the diamond industry. The average annual household income (AHI) in the city is Rs. 457,000 ($10,900).

The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), reported Sunday the AHI of 20 cities. Surat took the lead from Chandigarh, which enjoyed an average of Rs. 422,000 ($10,000). Mumbai is third with an AHI of Rs. 403,000 ($9,600).

The Indian state of Gujarat had another representative in the top 10 list, Ahmadabad, ranked fifth after Delhi.

The study found that Surat's AHI is double the national per capita income and its GDP growth is 11.5 percent - the fastest in the country.

Surat polishes 80 percent of the worlds diamonds by volume and employs about 700,000 people. The city also has a thriving textile industry that generates 20 percent of India's textile output.