Urban India

If urban India contributes 65% of the country’s GDP by 2011, then the cities must get their due. Creating future cities may not just mean making Mumbai a second Hong Kong or New Delhi a Paris, but seriously evolving strategies to convert a number of smaller cities into metros of global scale and standards. WHILE 70% of India’s population still lives in villages, the urban ladscape is expanding by the day. There is a growing realisation that the urban pockets need to gear up to withstand rising demographic pressure and house at least 40% of the nation’s population by 2021. The challenge now lies in creating cities of the future which will not only accommodate the growing aspirations of modern Indians but also follow the basic tenets of global city building.
For India’s inclusive growth, development of tier II and tier III cities is extremely important. And that is possible by concentrating on urban corridors along national highways or roads with good connectivity. As mega cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have skewed development and wooed more investments than the rest, experts are now keen on developing what they call “urban corridors”.Though attracting investments has helped cities to develop further, the growth itself has been so explosive in the last few decades that some cities are now facing difficulties in handling migrants from countryside. A recent report — Integrated City Making — brought out by Urban Age programme of the London School of Economics and Political Science, states how some big Indian cities are caught in a cusp between the globalised world economy and the dislocations that follow in its wake. “Leading IT industries sit alongside low levels of literacy, and new condominium developments overlook informal slum developments. Densities vary, but tend to be highest in the poorest areas. In Greater Mumbai, more than 50% of the population lives in slums occupying 8% of land,” the report says. Yet, Indian cities must attract more investments if they want to position themselves as global cities. And thanks to various fiscal incentives, some cities and their peripheries have been able to attract investments despite major infrastructure bottlenecks.The location of a city is crucial. A city can’t grow in isolation. In India, if a city falls within the investment regions such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, NCR of Delhi, Punjab-Haryana belt, Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka, it can expect to attract more investments.Within NCR, Greater Noida is competing with Gurgaon. The Pune-Mumbai belt will remain a major investment zone. Kolkata has begun to attract investments. Among the smaller cities, Jaipur has improved a lot.In fact, once a city is big and smart, it does not necessarily need any major investments. What’s then needed is a clear vision to stay ahead of the rest.