The Indian city of Kota is known as the country's “coaching factory” due to its numerous education institutions that prepare would-be doctors and engineers for their entrance exams.
But in recent years it has gained a new reputation, as the premium "cycling city" in a country where riding a bike can be difficult or even dangerous.
Kota's large student population has spurred a growth in the number of bicycles in the city.
The city in India’s western desert state of Rajasthan draws about 200,000 pupils every year from across the country, as young people between the ages of 14 and 21 prepare for their national qualification tests to enter premier engineering or medical institutions.
The students come from diverse economic and social backgrounds but have adopted the humble bicycle as their main mode of transport.
“Youngsters enjoy cycling but here it is both a necessity as it is pocket-friendly and convenient, so you’ll see most of the students riding. All my friends ride a bicycle, it is fun to ride it in a group,” Aditya Singh, a student, told The National.
Whether going to their coaching institute, returning to accommodation or going to eat out, students are almost always seen riding bicycles – a rare sight in the country where the popularity of the bicycle has declined significantly.
There are no official statistics on the exact number of bicycles in Kota, but media reports estimate 50,000 people cycle every day, of which at least 30,000 are thought to be students, in a city with a population of 1.5 million.
Growing cycling community
The popularity of cycling in Kota stands out against the rest of India, where the car reigns supreme.
Cycling as a means of transport is uncommon in most of India due to lack safety and infrastructure, and because of the hot weather.
Bicycles were commonly used in the early 1900s, having been brought in by the British.
In 1910, about 35,000 bicycles were imported to India, according to historian David Arnold.
However, the popularity of cycling dropped over time, as scooters and motorbikes and later cars were introduced and more buses hit the roads.
Now, the South Asian nation is one of the countries with the busiest roads in the world but lacks cycling infrastructure.
There are more than 300 million registered vehicles. Although many Indians cannot afford cars, roads are often full of motorbikes, scooters, tuk-tuks, buses, trucks and pedal-rickshaws.
Crashes are frequent, with more than 412,000 road accidents reported in India in 2021, government figures show.
There is little dedicated cycling infrastructure and most roads are congested and polluted.
In Kota, however, the scene is different.
Students prefer cycling as it is convenient and cheap. Despite the absence of a cycling track, they feel safer to ride as traffic is slow and almost every fifth person is estimated to ride a bicycle.
“We have to cover a short distance so it is convenient for us. I have a motorbike at home but here, I feel good to ride a bicycle. It is also good for health and good for the environment,” Vicky Chauhan, another student, said.
“Youngsters enjoy cycling and public transport could be expensive. Also, because most of the people ride bicycles here, it feels safe on the road."
The growing cycling community in the city that is spread across 300 square kilometres has also given rise to the demand for dealers who sell bicycles for between 4,000-15,000 rupees ($48-$180).
Kota also has the second-largest second-hand bicycle market in the country, shop owners claim, with sales of 100,000 annually.
“Because of the cycling culture, there is a huge demand for bicycles. It is beneficial for exercise purposes and also they can sell it back to us for half the price when they leave the city,” Hemant Chhabariya, owner of Chhabariya Cycle Concept, told The National.
“Kota has the second biggest second-hand cycle market in the country. We sell more than 100,000-125,000 second-hand cycles every year. We have recently sold 500 cycles to students of an engineering institute."
Contributing to a greener environment
It is not only students who have taken to bicycles, with various groups formed throughout the city that aim to encourage cycling for a clean environment.
India suffers from the scourge of air pollution all year round and is home to 39 out of 50 most polluted cities in the world.
Experts have blamed vehicle emissions as a contributing factor to the toxic air quality, along with fuel adulteration and smoke from farm fires.
Delhi has been experiencing high levels of toxic air levels since October, with the Air Quality Index reaching hazardous or severe levels, forcing the government to pitch for a vehicle rationing system, but in Kota, the AQI has remained at moderate levels.
Cyclists give credit for the cleaner atmosphere to the use of bicycles.
Cycling keeps the environment clean and humans fit
Chandresh Dutt Sharma,
founder of Cyclotrots in Kota
Chandresh Dutt Sharma, founder of Cyclotrots, a bicycle community with 4,000 members in Kota, is one of them.
“We started the group in 2011 with an aim to eliminate pollution and reduce carbon emission and give back to mother earth. We were two or three friends then but now more people, including teachers at coaching centres and other professionals have joined us,” Mr Sharma, 53, told The National.
“We organise seminars and workshops in schools and coaching institutions to motivate them to cycle more. While students prefer cycles for shorter distances, we organise events for fitness and train for competitions.
“Cycling keeps the environment clean and humans fit.”
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
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Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
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Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
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5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
The%20specs
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
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The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
