{"id":87970,"date":"2026-11-04T18:12:57","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T12:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=87970"},"modified":"2026-11-04T18:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T12:43:24","slug":"national-urbanisation-policy-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/04-11-2026\/national-urbanisation-policy-india","title":{"rendered":"Need for a National Urbanisation Policy in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Urbanisation, GS3\/Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Budget, Economic Survey 2026 and 16th Finance Commission have emphasised the need for a National Urbanisation Policy to address gaps in urban planning and governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Status of Urbanisation in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Urban population:<\/strong> India had <strong>377 million urban residents<\/strong> across approximately 8,000 cities and towns in 2011.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The United Nations <\/strong>estimates that <strong>44%<\/strong> of India&#8217;s population currently lives in urban areas, which is projected to exceed <strong>720 million by 2050.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Changing settlement patterns: <\/strong>Around <strong>94%<\/strong> of urban settlements are small towns, while nearly <strong>60% <\/strong>of the urban population lives in <strong>Class I cities.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Growth of peri-urban areas:<\/strong> Peri-urban areas are expanding at approximately <strong>4.15% annually<\/strong>, compared to <strong>2.9% growth<\/strong> within existing city boundaries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Functional urbanisation:<\/strong> The Economic Survey 2026 highlighted that India is more urban in functional terms than official definitions suggest, citing satellite-based estimates that placed <strong>India&#8217;s urbanisation at 63% in 2015.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional Framework<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 243Q: <\/strong>Provides for the constitution of Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 243W:<\/strong> Empowers state legislatures to devolve powers and responsibilities to municipalities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Twelfth Schedule:<\/strong> Lists 18 functions that may be entrusted to urban local bodies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 243ZD:<\/strong> Provides for District Planning Committees.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 243ZE:<\/strong> Provides for Metropolitan Planning Committees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Limitations of the Existing Urban Classification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Outdated Census criteria: <\/strong>Census 2027 will retain the 2011 criteria for identifying census towns:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Population of at least 5,000.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Population density of at least 400 persons per sq. km.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At least 75% of male main workers engaged in non-agricultural activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Administrative limitations:<\/strong> Article 243Q gives states discretion in notifying areas as urban without prescribing uniform criteria or mandatory periodic reviews.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mismatch between economic activity and governance: <\/strong>Several settlements with predominantly non-agricultural employment continue to be governed as rural areas.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate spatial planning:<\/strong> Around 52% of statutory towns and 76% of census towns lack master plans, resulting in unplanned expansion and infrastructure gaps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why is a National Urbanisation Policy Needed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Recognising emerging urban settlements: <\/strong>It will establish uniform criteria and conduct periodic reviews to identify settlements undergoing urban transformation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrated regional planning:<\/strong> It will promote planning beyond municipal boundaries, covering peri-urban areas and interconnected economic regions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthening urban governance: <\/strong>It will improve coordination among Union, State and local governments and clarify institutional responsibilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improving municipal finances: <\/strong>India&#8217;s municipal revenue is approximately <strong>1%<\/strong> of GDP, compared to 7.4% in Brazil and 6% in South Africa.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A coherent policy can strengthen municipal revenue mobilisation and ensure predictable fiscal transfers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recommendations for a National Urbanisation Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>WRI (World Resources Institute) <\/strong>India\u2019s report \u2018Equitable, Productive, Low-carbon and Resilient System of Cities in India \u2013 Recommendations for a National Urbanisation Policy\u2019 proposes seven systems transformations:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Standardise the definition and classification<\/strong> of statutory urban settlements;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Modernise spatial and regional planning;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reorient public and private finance flows into urbanisation;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Embed a tiered coordination architecture, anchored by a <strong>National Urbanisation Council;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build sectoral reforms on functional foundations;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Align urban politics with reform incentives; and\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support knowledge exchange and local innovation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India needs to move beyond the traditional rural-urban classification towards a functional approach to urbanisation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A National Urbanisation Policy can provide a common institutional and fiscal framework for managing this transition while promoting equitable, productive, low-carbon and resilient cities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/need-for-a-unified-urbanisation-plan\/article71652673.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Union Budget, Economic Survey 2026 and 16th Finance Commission have emphasised the need for a National Urbanisation Policy to address gaps in urban planning and governance. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Status of Urbanisation in India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Urban population: India had 377 million urban residents across approximately 8,000 cities and towns in 2011.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The United Nations estimates that 44% of India&#8217;s population currently lives in urban areas, which is projected to exceed 720 million by 2050. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"  https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/04-11-2026\/national-urbanisation-policy-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87970"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87972,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87970\/revisions\/87972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}