Urban Infrastructure

India’s economy is on a growth path that lets it aspire to Viksit Bharat by 2047. Yet everyday life reveals a harsher story—unsafe roads, polluted air, fragile healthcare and routine neglect. Until we have real accountability on this measure, Indian lives will continue to feel undervalued.

Behind India’s soaring urban aspirations lies a troubling truth: survey findings show uneven access to health services, falling financial coverage and sharp divergences in care-seeking behaviour. India must do something about this before it gets too late.

The quality of life has genuinely improved in this sliver of Mumbai—a rarity in urban India. What explains this? It’s not the pressure of democracy but an unsung reason that we must learn to appreciate.

The Naksha initiative seeks to digitize urban land records in India, employing drone surveys and GIS tools to enhance accuracy and transparency. This programme aims to streamline property transactions, curb unauthorized constructions, and support urban planning as the population grows.

As Zohran Mamdani’s NYC campaign and Tolullah Oni’s proposal of ‘hope infrastructure’ show, the future of urban spaces may hinge on how we envision their purpose. We need urban planners to adapt cities to the sensibilities of people instead of just letting concrete jungles emerge for people to fill.

Indian cities are in dismal shape. It's easy to blame this on incapable public officials, but the underlying problem is structural: how they’re governed. 'Special governance zones' could yield innovative models for best practices to be adopted across the country.

From Florida’s suburbs to Mumbai’s high-rises, fear is reshaping relations with neighbours. As redevelopment walls people off and tech replaces trust, urban India must ask: can design and planning bring back the sociability we’re fast losing?

Rapid urban growth is exposing cracks in India’s city governance. Without stronger local governments, institutions suited to city scale and better planning, millions risk living in poorly managed urban spaces. Can reforms turn the tide?

Japan International Cooperation Agency is prioritizing sectors where blended finance—where public funds combine with private investments to create infrastructure projects such as roads and housing—can deliver the greatest impact.