It was little surprise that it was the 26-year-old son of a local Ludhiana businessman who last month paid Rs1.55m ($38,461) to mobile operator Hutch after triumphing in a hotly-contested auction for a “VIP” mobile phone number ending with a status-enhancing series of noughts.

With the largest number of Mercedes per capita of any urban centre, the bustling Punjabi city has come to epitomise the new consumer India.