Page 2 - Urbanisation

India undertaking largest planned urbanisation programme in world: Puri

India is undertaking the largest planned urbanisation programme in the world, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday. The total investments for urban development since 2014 have risen 10 folds to more than Rs 18 lakh crore in comparison to the previous 10-year period, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said at the launch of CITIIS 2.0 -- the City Investments To Innovate, Integrate and Sustain challenge. According to the ministry, the challenge is a significant step in the direction of achieving India's commitments to combating the challenges posed by climate change. The minister also highlighted the central government's increased focus on the growth and development of urban areas in the country. Speaking about the efforts towards achieving a circular economy in the country's urban areas, Puri said that under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the government has set up 112 biomethanation plants, 2,391 waste-to-compost plants, 55 waste-to-energy plants, 2,281 ...

Our cities are choking

Revitalising urban air is crucial to ensure a healthier future for city dwellers

ADB, India Sign $200 million loan to expand urban services in Rajasthan

The Asian Development Bank will provide additional financing to support the Rajasthan Secondary Towns Development Sector Project to improve water supply, sanitation systems, and urban resilience

Odisha's new policy to check urban-rural divide, unplanned urbanisation

The Odisha government on Monday approved a policy to remove the urban-rural divide and address unplanned urbanisation with a growing population in cities. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik green-lighted the "Odisha Rural-Urban Transition Policy", which allows special budgets for the implementation of infrastructure projects and delivery of civic services in peri-urban areas. The policy provides for the constitution of steering and implementation committees with top officials of the state government, including the chief secretary, and experts in urban planning, finance, engineering, management, IT and others. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative that intends to introduce a series of progressive and pragmatic measures such as essential infrastructure, amenities and services to all citizens, residing in the fast-growing rural areas adjoining cities, an official of the housing and urban development department said. "The existing system of notification of declaring a rural area as an urba

Steel demand to grow on supportive policy reforms: Tata Steel Chairman

The demand for steel in the country is expected to grow owing to infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation, and supportive policy reforms, Tata Steel Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Wednesday. Speaking at the company's 116th annual general meeting, he said that domestic steel consumption rose 10 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 117 M in FY23. The steel industry was also impacted by the volatility in the global environment, which affected the steel demand-supply balance and resulted in volatility in steel prices. However, India appears to be an exception in the global steel arena, primarily owing to robust government spending and vibrant consumption, he said. "India's steel consumption grew by over 10 per cent y-o-y to 117 MT (Million Tonnes) in FY23. "India will continue to remain a major consumer within the global steel industry owing to infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation, and supportive policy reforms. We expect the steel demand growth to keep pace with the GD

High growth of 8-9% to be driven by manufacturing, urbanisation: Kant

High growth of 8-9 per cent could be driven by focus on manufacturing and urbanisation, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday. About 5,500 census towns need to have master planning, and sustainable urbanisation is the way forward, which is a huge opportunity to drive growth in India, he said speaking at an event for release of report titled 'The Rise of India's Middle Class'. The bulging middle class holds immense power to drive sustained economic, political and social growth in India, he said. As the number of middle class rises, he said, this will drive demand for quality healthcare, education, housing, consumer goods and many other things. The government increasingly will have to focus on education and health as well as creating job opportunities. The vision of India becoming a fully developed country by 2047 really implies that the middle class needs to be the key driver of India's growth story, he said. "Rise of the Indian middle class is also indicative of economic ...

The cultural markers of urbanisation

One can also identify small but significant cultural changes in how markets in towns have transitioned

850-900 million Indians likely to live in urban areas by 2050: Minister

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday that India is likely to have 850-900 million people living in urban areas by 2050, pointing out that urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace. The Union housing and urban affairs minister said the challenges for urban sectors are changing. "Urbanisation is taking place at a faster pace. Every minute, 20-30 people are coming (to urban areas). By 2050, India is likely to see 850-900 million people living in urban spaces," Puri told reporters on the sidelines of an event. He said that a lot of this will happen autonomously with private investments, but housing finance assumes greater importance. On Tuesday, he addressed a gathering at the 53rd foundation day of the Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO). The minister also stressed that urban schemes such Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Swachh Bharat Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) are nearing maturity and all of them are ..

Looking into urban resilience

As cities face increasing vulnerabilities due to natural disasters, the need for enhancing urban resilience through adaptive models of governance and comprehensive planning has never been greater

Notes on urban prosperity

Cities need a newer vision of urban prosperity - one that goes beyond GDP - and addresses the pillars of sustainable development

Urban centres to double in 25 years, helping real estate: Civil servant

With increasing urbanisation from 12 to 30 per cent, the next 20 years could see more development than in the last 50 years

Urbanisation and urban dynamics

Cities are not just an economic landscape. In the post-Covid world there is a need to understand the role culture plays in how a city grows beyond its economic allure

Urbanisation set to be key with 50% population in cities by 2047: NITI CEO

NITI Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer on Thursday said that urbanisation is going to be the key as 50 per cent of India's population will live in urban areas by 2047. Addressing an event organised by industry body FICCI, Iyer said many states have done wonderful work in solid waste management. "Urbanisation is going to be the key. By 2047, 50 per cent of the population will live in urban areas, if you don't have basic services in urban areas, then it is going to be a big challenge," he noted. He said the circular economy is now also becoming increasingly important. Replying to a question on issues of cleanliness of India's tourist destinations, Iyer said," If you want to promote tourism in India aggressively, you better have clean places around, you better have better behaviour by tourists and by the locals." Most beautiful tourist destinations in India are littered.

Urbanisation without chaos: How to plan and govern our cities

A governance ambiguity widens the gaps between the core of a city and peri-urban areas, resulting in a highly scattered and unorganised urbanisation

India@100: What's ahead for urbanisation?

With an expected urban population of close to 630 million by 2030, the emphasis should not be on urbanisation alone but on planned urbanisation

Delhi urban regeneration policy to give sweeping powers to Centre: Report

The block or area that the Centre will identify for 'regeneration' will have to be mandatorily redeveloped, and all the property owners will have to participate in the plan

Urbanisation's different strokes

The waves of urbanisation have been uneven around the world and are intrinsically tied to the level of development and industrialisation in a country

Urban woes and construction catastrophe

The logic of developing a city should be to foster ease of living for its people and not profits for its developers

Urban mining

To address appropriate C&DW utilisation, elements of the existing policy framework need to be revisited

Unnatural urbanisation

Urban planning must be more eco-sensitive