Urbanisation in India

Urbanisation is the growth in the share of people living in towns and cities. India remains less urbanised than many comparable countries, but its urban population is very large in absolute terms and growing steadily. According to Census 2011, about 31 per cent of India's population lived in urban areas, and the urban population has grown since then through natural increase, migration from villages, and the reclassification of large villages as towns. India's largest cities, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, are among the world's largest urban agglomerations, while hundreds of smaller towns, often called census towns, have grown rapidly without full municipal services.

Cities attract people for work, education, health care and the hope of a better life, but they also concentrate problems. Housing is the most visible: many urban residents live in informal settlements without secure tenure, clean water, sanitation or drainage, while formal housing is unaffordable for low-income workers. Transport, air pollution, waste management, water supply and flooding strain municipal budgets and infrastructure. At the same time, cities generate a disproportionate share of economic output, innovation and tax revenue, and they offer greater freedom, especially for women and young people, than many villages.

Urban governance in India is shaped by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which gave constitutional status to municipalities, provided for elected councils, reservations for women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and ward committees and metropolitan planning committees. In practice, however, many municipalities remain weak: state governments retain control over land, police and major funds, mayors often have limited powers, and parastatal agencies handle water, transport and development separately. The result is fragmented governance, in which no single body is clearly accountable for a city's overall condition.

For civil studies, urbanisation is a test of planning and inclusion. Smart city, housing, transport and sanitation programmes matter, but so do basic questions: who owns urban land, who provides water and waste services to informal settlements, and who participates in planning decisions? A city that grows economically while excluding its poorest workers from housing, water and voice is not succeeding, however impressive its skyline. Urban policy must therefore combine infrastructure, governance reform and social protection, and recognise that small towns, where much future growth will occur, need investment before they become the next generation's slums.