Authorities are aiming to establish Hyderabad as a centre of thriving nightlife in the near future, with the metro and the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation services running until 2 am within seven years.
Special nighttime zones, with their own governance model and policing, are being planned in the city. Safe and secure nightlife is what the state government is promising.
Within seven years, and with the right kind of boost, the city’s ‘night time economy’ (NTE) is projected to grow to Rs 26,011 crore. In 2025, Hyderabad’s NTE is estimated at Rs 8,500 crore.
This means that the compound annual growth rate of NTE will be 20.4%. The improvement in nightlife is going to create 2.1-2.4 lakh jobs by 2031, it is projected. Among the sectors projected to create employment opportunities in NTE are hospitality, retail, entertainment, transport and mobility, security, and civic infrastructure.
NTE is defined as businesses and activities between 6 pm and 6 am. In this economy, the service sector plays a key role and safety for women is of particular importance.
In comparison, with 22% NTE growth in the last five years and after limited reforms, over 7 lakh jobs were created in Mumbai. While Hyderabad contributes 45-50% of Telangana GSDP, NTE’s contribution to GSDP by 2031 is projected to be 2.9-3.1%.
Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told The Indian Express, “Night Time Economy is one of the many projects which will further the growth of Hyderabad to a global city on par with London, New York and Berlin. Night-specific governance and smart regulation will be key to the development of Hyderabad.”
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Ranjan said that Hyderabad’s NTE will be safe and inclusive. That is, “there will be better policing at nighttime,” he said, to make nightlife accessible and safe for women. In Telangana’s capital, talks are on between the administrative and planning wings, as well as police chiefs, regarding a plan to implement safe and secure nightlife.
The government has currently identified night zones that include core parts of Hyderabad — Gachibowli, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Tank Bund and Charminar. Once policing is established well, there will be no need for special nighttime permits to operate in these zones, the planners envisage. The NTE boost is expected to happen by “expanding economic activity during traditional hours to boost employment, tourism, infrastructure utilisation and quality of life,” Ranjan said.
Nighttime access will be boosted by improving last-mile connectivity. This would mean extending the Hyderabad metro and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation networks to operate till 2 am in the first phase. The state is also expected to partner with ride-hailing platforms, including Uber, Ola and other operators. There will be special geo-tagged pickup and drop sites inside the night zones.
The new NTE can be rolled out in 12 months. While the first three months will concentrate on non-alcoholic weekend-only pilots in zones including Charminar, Gachibowli and Madhapur, the next three months will be invested on alcohol-serving venues in zones including Jubilee Hills and Hitech City, centred around five-star hotels. In the last six months, the NTE will expand to include weekdays, too, in all the select localities.
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Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to make an announcement regarding the nightlife rollout soon, officials said.
