Pune is widely considered the cultural capital of Marathi-speaking Maharashtrians. Pune has a reputation for its several esteemed colleges and educational institutions — the reason why it is called the Oxford of the East (or 'Oxford of India'). It has a very strong presence in the automobile sector and is on its way to consolidate its position as the 'Detroit of India' too. Once referred as a 'pensioner's paradise' it is now home to many software and IT companies. Its cosmopolitan population speaks several other languages like English and Hindi.

Economy
Pune has a burgeoning software industry, thanks to the presence of IT parks like Rajiv Gandhi IT Park at Hinjewadi, Magarpatta Cybercity, MIDC Software Technology Park at Talawade, Marisoft IT Park at Kalyaninagar, International Convention Center (ICC), Weikfield IT Park etc. Many of India's major software players such as Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Sasken, Calsoft,Cybage, Cognizant, Tata Elxsi, Fluent, Xansa, John Deere Technology Center, Patni, Satyam, Cybage, KPIT Cummins, Aztecsoft (Disha), Persistent Systems, Geometric Software Solutions Limited, Neilsoft , Nihilent Technologies and Kanbay Software have a major presence in Pune. Global majors like Accenture, BMC Software, NVIDIA, HSBC Global Technology, IBM, Dell, Red Hat, Siemens, EDS, Amdocs, UGS, I-Flex, Cognizant, Symantec, SunGard Data Systems, Versant Inc., Zensar Technologies, eGain Corp., Syntel Limited, T-Systems and SAS Research and Development India Pvt Ltd have a major presence in Pune. Pune is also emerging as a prominent city for BPO due to the availability of skilled English speaking manpower. BPO companies like WNS, Convergys, Infosys BPO, EXL, Wipro BPO, vCustomer and Mphasis have started operations in Pune. Several hardware and VLSI companies like are also located in Pune.
Pune is a major industrial centre, growing rapidly every year. It is home to one of the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers, Bajaj Auto. Other automobile majors are Tata Motors, India's largest passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturer, DaimlerChrysler, which has an assembly line for its Mercedes-Benz brand, Kinetic Engineering and Force Motors Ltd (previously known as Bajaj Tempo). Engineering goods industries situated in Pune are Bharat Forge Ltd, the world's second largest forging company, Cummins Engines Co Ltd, has its Research & Technology India center, Thermax Limited a global player providing sustainable solutions in energy and environment, Alfa Laval, Sandvik Asia, Thyssen Krupp (formerly Buckau Wolff), KSB Pumps, Finolex, Greaves India and Forbes Marshall, among others. Among the recent companies to expand their engineering operations in India is Eaton Corporation - Eaton India Engineering Center EIEC-Pune is twenty percent of Eaton's global technical strength and Eaton's largest integrated, multidisciplinary research and development engineering center outside the US. Pune has also been selected by Eaton for their TCO- Truck Component Operations plant, which is coming up in Ranjangaon-Pune. Electronic goods giants like Whirlpool and LG have appliance manufacturing plants. Food majors like Frito Lay and Coca Cola also have their food processing plants. Apart from this Pune houses many mid and small industries. The international air connectivity had helped many volume produce growers in the surrounding districts to export their goods conveniently.