Historically, Delhi has always been the economic capital of Northern India. In the early 19th century, Delhi started to gain importance in arts and craft, textile and handloom. The period saw an expansion of many small scale industries including the handloom and copper utensils industry. By the end of the 19th century, Delhi had become the manufacturing hub of Northern India. In recent years, Delhi's service sector has expanded exponentially. The city's large English-speaking skilled labor has attracted many multi-national companies to Delhi. The key industries in service sector include information technology, telecommunications, banking, media and life sciences. Delhi and its suburbs account for over 30% of India's IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports--the second largest in the country (Bangalore accounts for 35%). Over the years, Delhi's manufacturing industry has also grown considerably. Many consumer goods industries have established their manufacturing units and headquarters in and around Delhi.

Economically, Delhi is one of the most affluent urban centers in India and is at the heart of India's largest consumer belt. As an indicator, Delhi has more cars plying its roads than India's other four 'metros', Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Bombay combined and is widely considered to have the best transport and utilities infrastructure in the country. Delhi is one of the largest markets in the country because the per capita income in Delhi is much higher than in other Indian cities. The city's booming economy is also the main reason why so many people have migrated to Delhi in recent years in search of better living conditions and employment opportunities.