Providing Affordable Housing
- The Covid-19 pandemic had brought to fore the plight of migrant workers in India.
- The reverse migration we saw, highlights the need to provide affordable living conditions to the workers, so that they are not compelled to migrate back in times of income uncertainties.
- Data show that around 25 per cent of India’s urban population lives in slums and for some States this is close to 35 per cent.
Urban Mobility
Urbanisation is associated with better mobility. In India, roads are multipurpose public goods, used by various classes of motorised and nonmotorised vehicles, as well as other users such as street-sellers, children playing and animals.
Transportation remains the largest sector of lending by the World Bank. Regional lending institutions, represent more than 20% of their net commitments towards transportation. Demand for infrastructure investments will continue to increase in the future.
Urbanisation and Socio-Economic Growth
Since historic times cities are engines of economic growth and innovation. It is said that, cities, not nation-states, are the main players in macroeconomics. According to The Economic Survey, from 1991 to 2011, the percentage of India’s population that lives in cities and towns has increased from a quarter to a third and this segment produces more than three-fifths of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Urban areas offer significant opportunities for both formal and informal employment, generating a sizeable share of new private sector jobs. Urbanization has helped millions escape poverty through increased productivity, employment opportunities, improved quality of life and large-scale investment in infrastructure and services.
