Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls, lakes and, lately, for its IT Companies. The pearl market is situated near Charminar. Ornaments made with Rice Pearls can be bought from Char Kaman or the General Bazaar Market. Products such as silverware, saris, Nirmal and Kalamkari paintings and artifacts, unique Bidri handcrafted items, lacquer bangles studded with stones, Silk-ware, cotton-ware and handloom-based clothing materials are made and traded through the city for centuries.

Andhra Pradesh inherited from the State of Hyderabad great academic institutes and research labs, both public and private institutes with very diverse areas of interest from Developmental Banking at the Institute for Development in Research and Banking Technology. The infrastructural facilities for basic research in Hyderabad are some of the best in the country, hosting a large academic population from all over the country and beyond.

Hyderabad is a major center for pharmaceuticals with companies such as Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Matrix Laboratories, Hetero Drugs Limited, Divis Labs, Aurobindo Pharma Limited and Vimta Labs being housed in the city. Initiatives such as Genome Valley and the Nanotechnology park are expected to create extensive infrastructure in bio-technology.

Like many Indian cities, Hyderabad has witnessed a remarkable growth in the real estate business, thanks to a predominantly information technology-driven boom in the 1990s and the retail industry growth over the last few years which have spurred hectic commercial activity. A number of mega malls have come up or are being built in the city.

Development of specialised IT infrastructure by private players gained over the last two years after the Government kicked off the Hitec City.

Hyderabad city is today known for its IT and IT Enabled Services, Pharmaceuticals and Entertainment industries. Many Call centers, Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) firms, dealing with IT and other technological services were set up in the 1990s making it one of the major regions for call center setups in India. Ramoji Film City, the largest film studio in the world is located on the outskirts of the city.

he development of a township with state-of-the-art facilities called HITEC City, prompted several IT and ITES companies to setup operations in the city. An aggressive promotion of growth in this area has led civic boosters to call the city "Cyberabad". Hyderabad has also been referred to as the second Silicon Valley of India next to Bangalore. IT exports from the city are expected to exceed Rs 12,500 crores ($ 2.5 billion) in the 2005-06 fiscal year. There have been extensive investments in digital infrastructure within the city promoting the setting up of several campuses by a vast array of companies within the city. This list includes several multinational corporations having established centres in the city. The major areas where such campuses have been setup include Madhapur and Gachibowli.

Hyderabad has been the front runner in terms of attracting huge investments from Fortune 500 Companies. Hyderabad is poised to become a global city after the city has clinched Semiconductor Fab deals from Intellect Inc, Semindia. Hyderabad has been selected as the location for India's first Fab City, a silicon chip manufacturing facility, being setup with an investment of $3 billion by the AMD-SemIndia consortium.

Hyderabad is an important seat of learning in southern India. The city hosts two Central Universities, two Deemed Universities, and six State Universities. Osmania University is one of the oldest universities in India. Many institutes for technical education like Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University,Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, International Institute of Information Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, Osmania University Colleges of Engineering and Technology, MVSR Engineering College and medical colleges such as Osmania Medical College and Gandhi Medical College are located here. Also based here are the Indian School of Business and the National Academy of Legal Studies & Research (NALSAR). Hyderabad has various research institutes such as the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. It is also the home of Maulana Azad National Urdu University as well as BR Ambedkar Open University. This educational infrastructure attracts students from all over the country and some beyond, especially from Africa and the Middle East.Due to the rising IT boom in the state, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani has now decided to start a new campus in Shamirpet area of Ranga reddy district an area in the outskirts of Hyderabad.