Listed as the largest and most populous city in the state of Punjab, Ludhiana stands proud on the banks of the mighty and ancient Sutlej River. The city is known to be a major industrial hub in Northern India, which has led the BBC to name it the Manchester of India. The foundations of the city were laid down by members of the Lodhi Dynasty, back in 1480. Since then, the city has shown significant growth from a quaint little village to a fully-functioning city in terms of development and heritage. Today it ranks 48th in the list of top 100 smart cities in the world, and is deemed to be amongst the easiest cities in India for business by the World Bank. Ludhiana sees heavy foot traffic from corporate travellers in comparison to leisure travellers. To this end, the city is also a hot seat for the hospitality industry.