Urbanisation

India's urban shift: Some Budgets launch schemes, others reshape system

At its core, India's urban rejuvenation challenge is institutional. Long-life assets need long-term capital, but municipal revenues and investor confidence remain limited

The missing piece: A cohesive national framework on India's urbanisation

India's 2026 policy framework recognises the importance of urban growth, but falls short of offering a cohesive, data-driven national urbanisation strategy to guide planning and investment

Indian cities need governance, planning and finance reforms: Rajiv Gauba

India must overhaul urban governance, planning, and finance to support rapid urbanisation and achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047, says NITI Aayog's Rajiv Gauba

Cities need new model to become resource-efficient, inclusive, and liveable

As cities grow, the most important component of planning, its "spine", should be transportation, to connect the periphery and enable movement within the city

Density alone will not make India's cities globally competitive yet

India is economically urban but not productively so. The Economic Survey flags how weak institutions, not density itself, are holding back cities from realising agglomeration gains

India among top drivers of global urban growth in 2025, shows UN report

While megacities often draw attention, the UN report shows that most urban growth is happening in smaller cities

Global cities compete, Indian cities comply: Survey flags siloed governance

Calls for integrated city planning, land-use reforms, and disincentives on private vehicle use

Economic Survey flags supply-side gaps hurting India's urban potential

The Economic Survey 2025-26 says India's cities drive growth but suffer from daily stress due to poor planning, overuse of private transport and fragmented governance

Aligning Budget with city logistics to ease traffic congestion, pollution

With rapid urbanisation, Budget 2026-27 can strengthen urban logistics through city logistics plans, smart freight systems, digital tools and incentives to reduce congestion and pollution

Best of BS Opinion: Trade data should not distract from US trade deal

Today's pieces look at why a US trade deal is critical, issues in the higher education reform, the need for more services exports besides PMC, why India must develop design skills, and Malala's memoir

Urban projects expand, but private investment continues to remain elusive

Despite the clear pace of growth of cities in India, the ability of the city managers to track private investment is slow

Policy soon to allow high-rises in Delhi, connect them to metro: Khattar

ML Khattar, Union housing and urban affairs minister, said urbanisation is accelerating while land remains finite, making vertical expansion essential

Unlocking the potential of Indian cities as engines of growth hubs

Cities are complex, decentralised systems where economic, ecological and social dynamics interface. Urban transformations cannot be achieved by simply scripting outcomes for these interactions

Why a few hours of rain still bring India's biggest cities to a standstill

Decades of neglect, chaotic urbanisation and broken governance has left Indian metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru flooded in every rain

Smart Cities Mission deadline ends on March 31; targets remain unmet

Among the cities that have fully implemented their projects are Agra, Varanasi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Udaipur, Pune, Surat, and Vadodara

India-EU agree to strengthen ties on smart and sustainable urbanisation

Building on the 2017 joint declaration on partnership for smart and sustainable urbanisation, the 4th India-EU Urban Forum was held on Thursday, marking a significant milestone in the EU-India collaboration on sustainable urban development, a statement stated. The statement stated that the event brought together officials and experts from India, the European Union (EU) and its Member States to discuss policies and best practices to work towards integrated approaches to sustainable urban development, reinforcing the EU's global gateway strategy in India. "The forum explored transformative initiatives and innovative financing mechanisms to foster gender-inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban development, focusing on three key themes: Urban alliance and integrated approaches in Indian cities, promoting innovation and circularity at the city level, and inclusive urban mobility as a social enabler," the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said in statement. The EU-India ...

Dulux owner AkzoNobel seeks sale of India unit amid growing competition

JSW Group, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, and Asian Paints Ltd have been approached as potential buyers for the deal

A Ravindra's book delves into India's urbanisation challenges and future

With a few exceptions of large slums in megacities such as Mumbai, the poor continue to live on the city fringe-a colonial legacy that persists to this day

K'taka needs more devolution as it faces regional imbalances: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka requires greater devolution by the Centre as it faces regional imbalances, especially in the Kalyana Karnataka region, and the challenges of urbanisation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday. In his address to Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya and its members at a meeting here, he said Bengaluru needs an investment of Rs 55,586 crore over the next five years out of which the State requested for a grant of Rs 27,793 crore. Similarly, for the equitable development of the Kalyana Karnataka region, the State is investing Rs 25,000 crore and requested a matching grant of Rs 25,000 crores over five years from the 16th Finance Commission. To ensure effective disaster mitigation and timely relief and rehabilitation measures in the highly vulnerable region of Western Ghats, the State requested a grant of Rs 10,000 crore. According to him, the 15th Finance Commission's award reduced Karnataka's share sharply from 4.713 to 3.647. This has led to a lo

Economic Survey says need for 'viable, cost-effective' housing in India

Going forward, the demand for housing is expected to be driven by affordability and increased access to credit, it said