In addition, property tax has been reduced and it is now lesser than Hyderabad or Bangalore. Octroi has been rationalized. These have made Pune a favorable destination for new investment. To further attract knowledge based industries, the property taxes for these establishments were lowered to those of residential levels, a drastic cut which has proved to be a major attraction for the knowledge creating and transforming industries. The Education City Pune is now poised to become the Knowledge City Pune - A Step towards the 21st Century - A step towards making Pune the Number 1 city.

According to the Software Technology Parks of India figures, a hundred new companies have come to Pune in the last six months. Software exports have increased from Rs 2400 crore to Rs 4500 crore until last December, and about 10,000 new jobs have been created.

Mr. Kalmadi has also been tirelessly promoting Pune as the preferred destination for Biotechnology (BT), a science that will dominate global industrial growth in this century. Fifty years ago Pune became the first Indian city to establish modern Biotechology industry (BT) producing antibiotics and today it is the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the country supplying vaccines for every fourth child in the world. Mr Kalmadi recognized the importance of BT, especially of its confluence with IT, to the economic growth and industrial R & D. It was under his leadership that the first joint IT/BT conference in India was held four years ago in Pune. The focus of the conference was to present to the world a ‘Pune Showcase’ as a hub for biotechnology industrial R & D. The second conference dealt with the projected and potential biotechnology market especially in pharmaceuticals and agriculture in India. Special attention was paid to the role of BT in rural development The theme of the forthcoming conference, which is in the planning phase, is to highlight the strength of Pune to ensure ‘Maximum Return of Investment’ to the Bio Technology and Info Technology entrepreneurs.