‘Name change will dilute brand Gurgaon’

The decision of the Haryana government to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram has not gone down very well with leaders of IT companies and corporate houses in the city who believe that the exercise will dilute the international brand of the city built over years.

The decision of the Haryana government to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram has not gone down very well with leaders of IT companies and corporate houses in the city who believe that the exercise will dilute the international brand of the city built over years.

Corporate leaders said changing Gurgaon’s name can impact its image, not to mention the cost of replacing boards, stationery. (Abhinav Saha/Hindustan Times)

Also, there is a feeling that instead of carrying out ‘cosmetic changes’, the government should focus on building infrastructure, improving roads, solving the problem of traffic congestion and improving the living condition in the city.

“There are far more important issues in Gurgaon that require intervention of the state rather than changing the name. There is no transport system for people, Udyog Vihar is in a mess and road projects are in a limbo but these issues get little thought,” said Bhupinder Singh, CEO, Intellinet, an IT company based in Gurgaon.

Deepak Ohlyan, regional member of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and also the executive director of Dell, said that Gurgaon is an international corporate hub that attracts people and investment from across the world. “Change is good but it should be constructive and add value. There was a need to take people and the business sector into confidence before making this move. Gurgaon has a brand identity and changing the name suddenly could impact the image, apart from adding a substantial cost,” he said.

Corporate leaders said business cards, documents, boards and almost everything will have to be printed afresh and this will cost the companies extra and that too at a time when the economy is in a slowdown phase.

Sam Chopra, CEO of Remax, said instead of Gurugram, the government could have opted for the easier

‘Guru Gaon’.

“Only a minor change would have achieved the goal or it should be Drona Dham. Right now it is cosmetic,” he said.

Prabhat Agarwal, a former IT company CEO and a social entrepreneur, said changing the name was a non-issue for him.

“There are social issues, infrastructure problems and lack of resources in the city. These need to be solved. Changing a name will not save any problem,” he said.

However, Arvind Rai, director of Modelama Exports, said the change in name was a positive step as it will connect people with history of Gurgaon and connect people with their past.