Recent estimates of the economy of Hyderabad’s metropolitan area have ranged from US$40-US$74 billion (PPP GDP), and have ranked it either fifth- or sixth- most productive metro area of India.[5] Hyderabad is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP), tax and other revenues, of Telangana, and the sixth largest deposit centre and fourth largest credit centre nationwide, as ranked by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2012.[151] Its per capita annual income in 2011 was ₹44,300 (US$620).[152] As of 2006, the largest employers in the city were the state government (113,098 employees) and central government (85,155).[153] According to a 2005 survey, 77% of males and 19% of females in the city were employed.[154] The service industry remains dominant in the city, and 90% of the employed workforce is engaged in this sector.[155]
Hyderabad’s role in the pearl trade has given it the name “City of Pearls” and up until the 18th century, the city was the only global trading centre for diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds.[30][156][157] Industrialisation began under the Nizams in the late 19th century, helped by railway expansion that connected the city with major ports.[158][159] From the 1950s to the 1970s, Indian enterprises, such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) and Andhra Bank (AB)[133] were established in the city.[160] The city is home to Hyderabad Securities formerly known as Hyderabad Stock Exchange (HSE),[161] and houses the regional office of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).[162] In 2013, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) facility in Hyderabad was forecast to provide operations and transactions services to BSE-Mumbai by the end of 2014.