UNCORRECTED PROOF SPB-186169 Chapter ID 14 March 4, 2009 Time: 09:26pm Proof 1 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Chapter 14 India’s ‘New Middle Class’ and the Globalising City: Software Professionals in Bangalore, India Carol Upadhya Abstract The chapter draws on a study of software professionals in Bangalore to sketch the cultural orientations and social identity of India’s ‘new middle class’, especially in terms of consumption patterns and lifestyles. It also poses questions about the environmental consciousness of this class through an examination of the globalisation of the city through the agency of IT corporates. By tracing the con- nections among globalisation, consumption, middle class identity, and political and cultural transformations in the city within the specific context of the software out- sourcing industry, the chapter probes the specificities of middle class environmen- talism in India and explicates its limitations and possibilities. Keywords Consumption · Globalization · Indian middle class · Software profes- sionals · Urban environment From the 1990s, India entered into a new phase of its development, that of lib- eralisation and globalization. This was a period of rising incomes, opening up of the market, large-scale entry of foreign consumer goods, diversification of occupa- tions (especially in services), and increased consumption among the middle classes. India’s dramatic debut on the global stage was precipitated in part by the success of its software outsourcing industry. Bangalore, one of the major centres of outsourcing activity, has grown rapidly both demographically and economically and as a result is facing myriad urban infrastructural and environmental problems. The city hosts an estimated 300,000 IT workers, who also constitute a highly visible and well-to-do segment of the urban middle class. Thus, Bangalore as a prime example of a global- izing city in India, and IT professionals as representative of the ‘new middle class’ (Fernandes, 2006), provide an apt context through which to explore the question of middle class consumerism in India. C. Upadhya (B ) National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore – 560 012, India e-mail: carol.upadhya@gmail.com H. Lange, L. Meier (eds.), The New Middle Classes, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-9938-0 14, C  Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009