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Raaja Bhasin
When Shimla leapfrogged over 91 other cities in a single year to emerge as the ‘most liveable city’ according to the Government of India’s Ease of Living Index (EoLI), many were surprised. Among those, somewhat nonplussed, were also the people and authorities concerned in the town. A journalist friend from Delhi sent a message, “How did this happen? What are the great changes that have taken place in a single year?” Somewhat airily, I replied, “All the other places slipped.” On a serious note, how did Shimla leap and clamber past a host of the 111 participating cities?
As Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement sent some into a tizzy and others into a state of euphoria, a couple of incidents came to mind. A few years ago, I met a young couple from Mauritius whose ancestors had gone to that island as indentured labourers from Bihar. They had heard stories, obviously passed down a few generations, of what a w
Govt tightens rules for weddings, public congregations in Karnataka
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As Ease of Living Index 2020 is released, a look at the relevance of liveability in India, and what it entails
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Synopsis
The findings from the Municipal Performance Index also reveal that the Finance vertical is highly correlated with the Governance and Services verticals. This link shows that urban local bodies that are better able to manage their finances are also better at governing their cities and providing better services to their citizens.
There is a need for India to improve urban development efforts through evidence-based policymaking at the local level.
Cities are the epitome of human civilisation. Edward Glaeser calls them the greatest invention of mankind. In her masterpiece Cities and the Wealth of Nations: Principles of Economic Life, Jane Jacobs argues that it is cities, not nations that are the drivers of wealth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi aptly asserts that cities are not merely growth centres, but they have the strength and capacity to mitigate poverty. And so, it can be seen from the lens of data, no matter what the geography.
By Soumyadip Chattopadhyay, Arjun Kumar
Twenty-first Century India is urbanizing at a massive scale. The country is expected to house half of its population in urban areas by the year 2040. Cities, especially the larger ones, have been placed at the centre of the economic growth strategies. However, the increasing pace of urbanisation in India has not been matched by adequate planning, governance and infrastructure development. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have further exposed the shortcomings of Indian cities in addressing urban densification and inadequate provision of urban basic services including drinking water and sanitation.
This pandemic has affected the urban poor more than anyone else. The engines of our economic growth have been derailed due to massive disruption in economic and related activities inflicted by this pandemic. Given the predominance of informal production and labour relations in the Indian cities, a cessation of all economic activity is bound to h