Urbanization in India

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Urbanization in India began to accelerate after independence, due to the country's adoption of a mixed economy, which gave rise to the development of the private sector. The population residing in urban areas in India, according to the 1901 census, was 11.4%,[1] increasing to 28.53% by the 2001 census, and is now currently 34% in 2017 according to The World Bank.[2] According to a survey by UN, in 2030 40.76% of country's population is expected to reside in urban areas.[3] As per World Bank, India, along with China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States, will lead the world's urban population surge by 2050.[4]

Mumbai saw large-scale rural-urban migration in the 20th century.[see main] Mumbai, in 2018, accommodates 22.1 million people, and is the second-largest metropolis by population in India. Delhi has 28 million inhabitants and witnessed the fastest rate of urbanisation in the world, with a 4.1% rise in population as per the 2011 census.

History

Post-independence, India faced high rates of poverty, unemployment, and a stagnant economy. The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, focused on the domain of science and technology.[5] The mixed economy system was adopted, resulting in the growth of the Public sector in India crippling down the development of Indian economy leading to what is popularly known as Hindu rate of growth.[6] The South Asian region though predominantly rural (accounted for 69.9% rural population as of 2010), has recorded much higher annual growth of urban population. India, the leading country in South Asia has shown an unprecedented increase in the urban population in the last few decades and its urban population has increased about 14 fold from 1901 to 2011. This growth is mainly uneven but not skewed and not concentrated to a single city of the country. India shares most characteristic features of urbanization in the developing countries where the rate of urbanization is faster than the developed countries. For instance, in 1971 there were only about 150 cities whose population was more than one lakh, now this figure has reached to 500. The urban population of India has increased from 25.85 million in 1901 to 377.11 million in 2011.[7]

Modern India

The contribution of the agricultural sector to the GDP of India started to decline and the percentage contribution from secondary sector increased. The period after 1941, witnessed rapid growth of four metropolitan cities in India, which were Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai.[8] The nation's economy saw a rise due to industrial revolution and the invention of new technologies increased the standard of living of people living in urban areas.[9] The growth of public sector resulted in development of public transport, roads, water supply, electricity, and hence the infrastructure of urban areas. Some of the cities like Three tier also increasing population.

Map of the urban/total population ratio of Indian states, as per the 2011 census

Maharashtra was the most urbanized major state in India till 1991, stood behind Tamil Nadu in 2001 and third after it in 2011, with Kerala being second,[10] with the urban-total state population ratio. However, Maharashtra's urban population of 41 million, far exceeds that of Tamil Nadu which is at 27 million, as per the 2001 census.[11] The spatial distribution of large cities in India is uneven as out of 100 most populous cities in the country more than 50 are confined to only 5 states namely, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Other than state capitals and major industrial centre, large cities are mainly concentrated in the national capital region (NCR), the western and southern part of India.[7]

  1. ↑ Kamaldeo Narain Singh (1 January 1978). Urban Development In India. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-080-8. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "Urban population (% of total) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "Urbanization in India faster than rest of the world". Hindustan Times. 27 June 2007. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Business Standard (15 June 2012). "Victims of urbanization: India, Indonesia and China". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 June 2012. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ N. M. Khilnani (1993). Socio-Political Dimensions of Modern India. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-81-85880-06-8. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  6. ↑ TR Jain; Mukesh Trehan; Ranju Trehan. Indian Economy and Business Environment (for BBA). FK Publications. pp. 250=. ISBN 978-81-87344-71-1. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Nandy, S. N. "URBANIZATION IN INDIA – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE CONSEQUENCES". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ Viswambhar Nath; Surinder K. Aggarwal (1 January 2007). Urbanization, Urban Development, and Metropolitan Cities in India. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-81-8069-412-7. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Indian Industrial Revolution". Srcindore.org. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "Rural-Urban distribution of population" (PDF). Census of India Press Release. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Urbanization" (PDF). Planning Commission (India). Retrieved 15 June 2012.
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