By 2030, India’s urban population is expected to grow to 600 million or 40% of the national population. This population chooses urban life because cities provide opportunities for growth and self-actualization. This is particularly true of the post-industrial city and Indian cities are particularly representative of the new economy because industrialization was only concentrated in a few of the bigger metropolitan centres and older industrial townships, whereas most of urban India is engaged with other forms of economic activity. Because of the concentration of trade and commerce, knowledge-based industries and a vast informal sector, urban India has become the fulcrum of India’s growth, with 70% of National GDP expected to come from urban areas.
It is expected that if current growth trends prevail, India will become at least a 7 trillion-dollar economy by 2030. Urbanization is inherently complex, with a variety of social, economic and governance priorities interacting through a wide range of institutions, including multiple levels of governments, industries, social groups and civil society institutions. Urban Governance is an evolving space in India with formal local self-governments being established through the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India, 1992. The act envisaged the devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to the ‘third tier’ of governance in cities. The Urban Local Body (ULB) is the entity responsible for development, management and upkeep of cities and towns across India; however, it is severely constrained to fulfill its responsibilities and promise. The ULB suffers particularly because of a legacy of gaps in infrastructure and services and the capacity constraints that prevent it from augmenting resources and overcoming gaps. The ULB engages in symptomatic solving of immediate problems rather than addressing root causes through planned interventions and sustained investment.
There is rapidly growing acknowledgement, at all levels of leadership and public and private sector enterprise, that cities are the centres of India’s future growth and have deep links with their regional contexts and the larger footprint of development such as energy infrastructure, water sources, transportation and food production. The Union and State governments in India are actively investing in urban development and housing through the MoHUA, which works in partnership with the State-level departments and agencies to execute its programs and missions. MoHUA also invests in municipal reform and various aspects of urban quality of life and livelihoods.
While Indian cities are the location of its financial institutions and economic drivers, they are also centres of learning and creativity, offering a rich matrix of life to their citizens. While rural India has had a long a history of innovation, enterprise has been uniquely associated with urban India. It is predicted that the next generation of urban enterprises will be most likely dependent on digital technologies, data sciences, human ecologies mediated by advanced knowledge systems, new material sciences and new ways of managing resources and doing business. Enterprises require appropriate and vibrant ecosystems to flourish, and ecosystems require a variety of human actors, supportive environments and enabling technologies and catalyzing knowledge resources. Increasing the number of new enterprises and encouraging such ‘startups’ to flourish in Indian cities is an economic as well as social imperative, given the demographic dividend that India wishes to reap from having the largest working age population pool in the world.