{"id":131919,"date":"2026-11-04T11:43:43","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T06:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=131919"},"modified":"2026-11-04T11:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T06:13:43","slug":"national-urbanisation-policy-nup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-urbanisation-policy-nup\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case for a National Urbanisation Policy (NUP)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>National Urbanisation Policy (NUP) Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s 2027 Census, being conducted after a 16-year gap, will continue to classify settlements as urban based on statutory notification.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The three census-town criteria are population of at least 5,000, density of at least 400 persons per sq km, and at least 75% of male workers engaged in non-agricultural activities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this preserves comparability with previous Census years, it <\/span><b>fails to capture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India\u2019s evolving urban <\/span><b>realities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Economic activity, infrastructure and population growth increasingly extend beyond municipal boundaries, creating a need for a comprehensive National Urbanisation Policy (<\/span><b>NUP<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Understanding India\u2019s Urbanisation<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Uneven and expanding urban landscape:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2011, India had <\/span><b>377 million urban<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> residents across approximately 8,000 cities and towns. Since then, States have notified another 1,000 statutory towns.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UN estimates that <\/span><b>44% <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of Indians live in urban areas, with the urban population projected to exceed 720 million by 2050.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around 94% of urban settlements are small towns, while nearly 60% of the urban population lives in Class I cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Class I<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cities encompass vastly different urban realities, from megacities such as Mumbai and Delhi to smaller cities such as Mangaluru and Amravati.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Peri<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211;<\/span><b>urban<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> areas are growing at approximately 4.15% annually, compared to 2.9% within established administrative boundaries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Emerging policy recognition:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Economic Survey 2026 highlighted that India is more urban in <\/span><b>functional terms <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">than conventional definitions suggest, citing satellite-based estimates that placed the country at <\/span><b>63%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> urban in 2015.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recent fiscal initiatives also reflect this shift, for example,<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Union Budget 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Allocated \u20b95,000 crore each to City Economic Regions (<\/span><b>CERs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), focusing on wider economic geographies rather than isolated cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>16th Finance Commission:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Increased the share of local grants earmarked for ULBs to 45% and introduced a \u20b910,000-crore urbanisation premium to incentivise States.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, these initiatives lack a coherent framework for recognising transitioning settlements, coordinating regional planning and aligning fiscal incentives.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Limitations of the Rural-Urban Binary<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Governance gaps:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Article 243Q(2) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">leaves the notification of an area as urban to State discretion, without standard criteria or mandatory disclosure of the reasoning behind decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consequently, urbanisation is treated as a binary rather than a continuum, creating governance gaps.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Article 243W<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> makes the devolution of municipal functions permissive rather than mandatory. Therefore, urban notification does not automatically transfer all 18 functions listed in the Twelfth Schedule.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Peri-urban governance deficit:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Bhiwandi <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">region near Mumbai, comprising 60 villages and nine census towns, illustrates this challenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite 91.8% of employment being non-agricultural, much of the region remains under rural governance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panchayats are responsible for land use, waste management, water and air quality without adequate technical capacity or an appropriate urban mandate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Weak spatial planning:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Approximately 52% of statutory towns and 76% of census towns lack master plans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nine States have not updated their planning legislation since the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/74th-constitutional-amendment-act\/\" target=\"_blank\">74th<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/74th-constitutional-amendment-act\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Constitutional Amendment,<\/a><\/strong> 1992.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The model planning law used by many States dates to 1985 and fails to address the rural\u2013urban continuum, climate adaptation and contemporary land acquisition requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, <\/span><b>unplanned <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">urban expansion undermines infrastructure development, environmental sustainability and service delivery.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Why India Needs a NUP<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would establish <\/span><b>shared principles <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to align existing institutions without imposing a one-size-fits-all blueprint or creating a parallel delivery system.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grounded in the <\/span><b>principle of subsidiarity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it would enable the Centre to coordinate across government tiers, channel resources and strengthen local capacities while allowing States and local governments to respond to local conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WRI India&#8217;s report (Equitable, Productive, Low-carbon and Resilient System of Cities in India), proposes <\/span><b>seven<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> systemic transformations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Seven Systemic Transformations<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Standardise urban classification:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Settlement status should be reviewed at fixed intervals against uniform criteria rather than only during the Census.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Satellite imagery and geospatial data can track built-up expansion and economic activity, enabling timely recognition of urbanising settlements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Modernise spatial and regional planning:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spatial planning must precede infrastructure, housing, climate adaptation and financial reforms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Metropolitan Planning Committees (Article<\/span><b> 243ZE<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and District Planning Committees (Article <\/span><b>243ZD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) provide existing constitutional foundations for coordination.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, regional planning must extend beyond million-plus cities, where much of India&#8217;s urban growth is occurring.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peri-urban zoning should become mandatory in rapidly urbanising regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Reform urban finance:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s municipal revenue is approximately 1% of GDP, compared with 7.4% in Brazil and 6% in South Africa. Property tax contributes only 0.15% of GDP.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key reforms include &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthening own-source revenue, particularly property taxation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing predictable, formula-based fiscal transfers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improving project preparation and implementation capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expanding access to blended finance and innovative financing instruments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These measures can reduce dependence on fragmented, scheme-specific funding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Establish a coordination architecture:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>National Urbanisation Council<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> could integrate existing institutions, including the Inter-State Council, the Central Council of Local Government and NITI Aayog.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would provide a platform for coordinated decision-making across States, regions and government tiers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Align sectoral reforms with functional geographies:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Administrative boundaries rarely correspond to the actual geography of urban challenges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, 65% of Delhi&#8217;s PM2.5 originates outside the city. Municipal-level air pollution strategies therefore remain inadequate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reforms should be organised around functional units such as <\/span><b>airsheds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, river basins and city regions, with institutions empowered to operate at these scales.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Align urban politics with reform incentives:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Untied grants should reach municipalities directly through transparent, published formulas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial incentives should encourage reforms while maintaining accountability for performance and service delivery.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Promote knowledge exchange and innovation:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cities require institutional support, technical expertise and opportunities to share successful practices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowledge networks and local innovation can help municipalities adopt context-specific solutions and meet performance benchmarks.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s urban future cannot be governed through an outdated rural\u2013urban binary.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A NUP can create a<\/span><b> coherent framework<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for equitable, productive, low-carbon and resilient urbanisation, ensuring that governance, finance and planning evolve alongside the changing geography of economic activity and population growth.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/need-for-a-unified-urbanisation-plan\/article71652673.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>TH<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Economic activity, infrastructure and population growth increasingly extend beyond municipal boundaries, creating a need for a comprehensive National Urbanisation Policy (NUP).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":131925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[11342],"class_list":["post-131919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-national-urbanisation-policy","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131919"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131953,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131919\/revisions\/131953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}