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

With India surpassing the United Kingdom to become the fifth-largest economy, the world is closely watching as it strides towards the next 25 years. A defining factor in India achieving its developmental goals will prove to be the pace at which it urbanises. Since the 1950s, the speed of urbanisation in India has witnessed a consistent rise. Even when it has lagged its peers, India has prioritised planned urbanisation as part of its development strategy.

According to the World Urbanisation Prospects (2018 Revision), an urbanisation growth rate of 2.4 per cent was observed between 2010 and 2018. By 2022, India’s