Volume 7, Issue 4, April – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

India's Urban Agglomeration Growth: A Focus

S. Senthamizh Selvi A. abdul Raheem
Ph.D Research Scholar (Part-Time), Associate Professor and Research Supervisor,
PG and Research Department of Economics, PG and Research Department of Economics,
The New College (autonomous), Chennai-14 The New College (autonomous), Chennai-14

Abstract:- In the current context, India's urbanisation is individuals migrating from rural areas in quest of the
progressing at a quicker rate, although just one-third of economic opportunities associated with urban life.
the population lives in cities. Only over 30% of the
world's population lived in cities in 1950, but by 2012, II. INDIA'S URBANIZATION
that number had risen to more than 50%. According to
estimates, India's urban population accounted for India's urbanisation is largely due to the country's
around 10% of the world's urban population and about economic liberalisation in the 1990s, which resulted in the
21% of Asia's. According to a UN estimate, by 2030, rise and development of the private sector. At the moment,
more than 70% of the world's population would be living urbanisation is moving at a faster pace. In India, around a
in cities. Furthermore, it is estimated that urban regions third of the population lives in cities. According to the 2011
will house 40.76 percent of India's population. India is in census, India has 53 cities with a population of one million
the midst of a tremendous urban shift, and its urban or more; this figure is expected to climb to 87 by 2031.
population is the world's second largest behind China's. Some of these metropolitan areas will grow into huge
Natural growth and rural-to-urban migration have both economic powerhouses, with GDPs exceeding those of
contributed to India's urbanisation. In India, urban countries like Israel, Portugal, and the United Arab
poverty has arisen as a result of a lack of employment Emirates. Given the high number of people in a compact
possibilities and inadequate income among a significant region and the significant economies of scale that provide
portion of the urban population. Therefore, this paper jobs, housing, and services, cities are meant to be the key
focuses on India’s urban agglomeration growth. centre for sustainable development. It is critical to properly
comprehend Indian cities' ecological, economic, and social
Keyword:- urbanisation, urban growth agglomeration, sustainability potential. In the current urbanisation context,
towns and cities, population growth. this can only be accomplished through good inclusive urban
design. The Indian government is obliged to allocate
I. INTRODUCTION funding to various programmes and initiatives in order to
renew and rebuild urban spaces. Relationships between the
Urbanization is a contentious topic since it is private and public sectors can also be a helpful strategy to
influenced by a variety of elements in different social dealing with urbanization-related concerns, particularly in
contexts. These variables are subject to alter over time. terms of providing transportation, reliable water supply,
While population density is a crucial component in contemporary sewage treatment, and an effective solid waste
urbanisation in some definitions, patterns of behaviour and management system.
relationships are important in the process of urbanisation in
others. The emergence of a great tradition characterises III.URBAN AREA CRITERIA
primary urbanisation, as evidenced by the ancient
civilizations of Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley, Egypt, Rome, Different criteria are used to define an urban or urban
and Mesopotamia. Primary urbanization's goal is to align place or area: a) Population size; b) Population density; c)
political, economic, educational, intellectual, and artistic Prominent economic activity; and d) Administrative
activities with Great Tradition's norms.Secondary Structure. According to the United Nations. There are three
urbanisation occurred during the city's industrial phase, sorts of urban areas: a) Administrative, based on the form of
resulting in migration, increased trade and commerce government; b) Economic, based on the working
activities, and the establishment of production units in cities, population's economic activity, with no more than a certain
as well as the influence of formal regulatory and percentage of their economically active population involved
administrative bodies and institutions, resulting in a new in agriculture. c) Ecological states are agglomerations that
type of society that is easily characterised by heterogeneity cover the globally approved criteria of locality as population
and the replacement of traditional values and norms. clusters within dense settlement outlines, regardless of
Secondary urbanisation, which resulted in the breakdown of administrative delimitations, size, or economic kind. In
great tradition, is defined as this cultural shift. Both of these India's 1961 Census, a well-defined definition of urban was
processes result in cultural shifts in cities. Secondary adopted, according to which an urban region includes: [1] a
urbanisation is regarded as parasitic in character, as it results population density of not less than one thousand people per
in colonialism, capitalism, depletion of key resources, and square mile; [2] a population size of 5000 or more people.
deterioration of social bonds, relationships, and shared [3] Non-agricultural occupations should account for three-
standards. The movement of people into towns and cities quarters of the population. The following are the definitions
and away from rural areas occurs as cities grow in of urban area from the 2001 and 2011 censuses:
population, partly due to natural growth but primarily due to

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Volume 7, Issue 4, April – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
 Any location with a municipality, municipal corporation, population is employed in non-agricultural jobs. 3) A
cantonment board, or notified town area committee, for population density of at least 400 people per square
example. Statutory towns are a type of urban entity that is kilometre. Census towns are a type of town that falls into
notified by law by the relevant state/UT government. this category. The towns were divided into six groups
 Other locations with – 1) A population of at least 5000 based on their population in the 2001 Census, as follows:
people is required. 2) At least 75% of the working male

Classification of Towns Size of Population

Class I Towns Less than 1,00,000 population
Class II Towns 50,000 to 99,999 population
Class III Towns 20,000 to 49,999 population
Class IV Towns 10,000 to 19,999 population
Class V Towns 5000 to 9,999 population
Class VI Towns Less than 5000 population
Table 1

IV. OUTGROWTHS AND URBAN 2774. The population of these 7935 towns accounted for
AGGLOMERATIONS 31.16 percent of the total urban population. Many of these
communities are governed by UAs, while others are self-
Table 1.1 shows the increase in the number of governing. There are five megacities in the country, each
municipalities, UAs, and OGs during the last ten years. The with a population of more than 10 million people. Greater
rapid expansion of urbanisation has resulted in a jump in the Mumbai has a population of 18.4 million, Delhi has a
number of statutory towns from 3799 in 2001 to 4041 now population of 16.3 million, Kolkata has a population of 14.1
(2011). From 2001 to 2011, census towns ranged from 1362 million, Chennai has a population of 8.7 million, and
to 3894, UAs from 384 to 475, and OGs from 962 to 981. Bangalore has a population of 8.7 million (8.5 million).
According to the 2011 Census, the country has 7935 towns.
In the last ten years, the number of towns has increased by

Number of Towns
Type of Towns/UAs/OGs Increase in 2001 - 2011
2001 2011
Towns: 7935 5161 2774
a) Statutory Town 3799 4041 242
b) Census Towns 1362 3894 2532
Urban Agglomerations 384 475 91
Out Growths 962 981 19
Table 2: Outgrowths and the Number of Towns/Urban Agglomerations (2001 & 2011)

Source: Census of India, 2001 & 2011

Statutory Town indicates places with a municipality, V. GROWTH OF INDIA'S URBAN

corporation, cantonment board or notified town area AGGLOMERATIONS AND TOWNS
committee, etc.
Table 1.2 shows the expansion of Urban
Census Towns comprises of a minimum population of Agglomerations (UAs) and towns in India by size/class from
5,000; at least 75 per cent of the male main working 1901 to 2011, indicating the rise of million-plus cities and
population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and a their populations as a result of the recent rapid urbanisation
density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km. phenomenon. Overurbanization or pseudo-urbanization is a
term used to describe India's urbanisation, in which people
Urban Agglomerations (UAs) must consist of at least a move to cities due to rural push rather than urban pull. Only
statutory town and its total population (i.e., all the approximately a fifth of the increase in urban population
constituents put together) should not be less than 20,000 as between 2001 and 2011 can be attributed to migration, while
per the 2001 Census. more than a third can be attributed to changes in
classification, as the economic character of settlements shifts
Outgrowths OGs are viable units such as a village or a away from agricultural to non-farm activity. The remainder
hamlet or an enumeration block made up of such village or is attributed to urban population increase. In the first wave
hamlet and clearly identifiable in terms of its boundaries and of globalisation, new cities sprang up as transit hubs thanks
location. to railways, hill stations and cantonments for the governing
elite, and market towns for exporting agricultural products.
Megacities are very big urban agglomerations having
populations of more than 10 million people. The three cities
classified as very large UAs in this category are Greater
Mumbai UA (18.4 million), Delhi UA (16.3 million), and

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Volume 7, Issue 4, April – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Kolkata UA (14.1 million). These cities are home to almost towards class I cities. The population of class I towns has
43% of India's urban population. The number of million- been steadily increasing throughout the years.
plus cities has steadily increased from 5 in 1951 to 35 in
2001 to 53 in 2011. In 2011, India has 53 urban Because of the rapidly growing number of
agglomerations with a population of one million or more, municipalities, the current phase of urbanisation is likely to
compared to 35 in 2001. intensify. The collapse of urban basic services such as
housing, water supply, drainage, sanitation, and other
In 2011, 31.2 percent of India's urban population lived infrastructure, particularly in slum areas, occurred as a result
in 6171 towns and 495 UAs, compared to 27.8% in over of the huge population size of the main cities. The
4368 towns and over 380 UAs in 2001. According to the population of large cities has exploded, resulting in a near
2011 Census, Class I UAs/Towns are home to 264.9 million collapse of urban services and quality of life. The
people, or 70% of the total urban population. Out of the 468 demographic explosion and poverty-induced rural-urban
UAs/Towns in the Class I category, 53 UAs/Towns with migration have accounted for urbanisation. Both large and
populations of one million or more are known as Million small cities are experiencing an increase in urban
Plus UAs/Cities and are the country's major metropolitan agglomeration. During the post-reform period, 16 cities
centres. These Million Plus UAs/Cities are home to 160.7 were added to the list of cities with populations of one
million people (or 42.6 percent of the urban population). million or more. In 1991, there were more than 22 million
Since the previous Census in the country, 18 new cities, which climbed to 32 in 2001 and 38 in 2011. In India,
UAs/Towns have been added to the list. As seen in the the pattern of urbanisation is defined by a constant
graph, the urban population of class I towns increased from concentration of people and activities in large cities. People
1981 to 2011 when compared to class II, III, IV, V, and VI migrate from rural areas to urban areas in pursuit of work
towns. In all of India's main urbanised states, however, the and a better standard of living. Due to the uneven regional
share of urban population of class III, IV, V, and VI has distribution of urban population, this has resulted in
decreased. This demonstrates that, in comparison to class II, imbalanced urban expansion.
III, IV, V, and VI cities, the predominant population trend is

No. of Towns by Size/Class Percentage of Urban Population by Size/Class

Census Years All Classes
I II III IV V VI I II III IV V VI
1901 1811 24 43 130 391 744 479 26.0 11.2 15.6 20.8 20.1 6.1
1911 1754 23 40 135 364 707 485 27.4 10.5 16.4 19.7 19.3 6.5
1921 1894 29 45 145 370 734 571 29.7 10.3 15.9 18.2 18.6 7
1931 2017 35 56 183 434 800 509 31.2 11.6 16.8 18 17.1 5.2
1941 2190 49 74 242 498 920 407 38.2 11.4 16.3 15.7 15 3.1
1951 2795 76 91 327 608 1124 569 44.6 9.9 15.7 13.6 12.9 3.1
1961 2270 102 129 437 719 711 172 51.4 11.2 16.9 12.7 6.8 0.7
1971 2476 148 173 558 827 623 147 57.2 10.9 16 10.9 4.4 0.4
1981 3301 218 270 743 1059 758 253 60.3 11.6 14.3 9.5 3.5 0.5
1991 3696 300 345 947 1167 740 197 65.2 10.9 13.1 7.7 2.6 0.3
2001 4368 393 401 1151 1344 888 191 68.6 9.67 12.2 6.8 2.3 0.2
2011 6171 468 474 1373 1683 1749 424 70.2 8.5 11.1 6.4 3.4 0.4
Table 3: Growth of India's Urban Agglomerations and Towns by Size, Class, and Category (1901–2011)

Source: Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, 2001, Census of 2011
Class I: Greater than 100,000 population Class II: 50,000-100,000 population
Class III: 20,000-50,000 population Class IV: 10,000-20,000 population
Class V: 5000-10,000 population Class VI: Less than 5000 population

VI. URBAN GROWTH'S CONTRIBUTION exclusively due to rural-urban migration. The data in the
preceding table plainly shows that net rural-urban migration
Table 1.3 shows the split of urban growth into three is quite low. Furthermore, from roughly 21.5 percent in
primary components: natural rise, net rural-urban 1991-2001 to 35.6 percent in 2001-2011, the contribution of
classification, and net rural-urban migration. Natural net reclassification of rural to urban areas, changes in
population growth contributed 43.8 percent to urban municipal boundaries, and out growths has increased
population growth from 2001 to 2011, compared to 58 dramatically. In comparison to net rural to urban migration,
percent from 1991 to 2001. Despite the natural rise in this has been the most important factor determining the
population, it is commonly assumed that urbanisation is speed of urbanisation during the 2000s. According to the

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Volume 7, Issue 4, April – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
2011 Census, there has been a massive growth in the towns have come up as part of urban agglomeration in cities
number of towns in India, indicating that there has been with populations of one million or more in 2000.
restructuring of rural urban spaces and that many of the new

Share in Total Urban Population

Census Years Number of Cities Population (In Million)
(%)

1901 1 1.51 5.84

1911 2 2.76 10.65
1921 2 3.13 11.14
1931 2 3.41 10.18
1941 2 5.31 12.02
1951 5 11.75 18.81
1961 7 18.1 22.93
1971 9 27.83 25.51
1981 12 42.12 26.41
1991 23 70.66 32.54
2001 35 108.34 37.87
2011 53 160.71 42.62

Table 4: India's Urban Growth Contribution (1971–2011)

Source: Bhagat R. B. (2018)

Population (In million) Percentage Distribution

Components 1971- 1981- 1991- 2001- 1971- 1981- 1991- 2001-
1981 1991 2001 2011 1981 1991 2001 2011
Urban increment 49.9 56.8 68.2 91 100 100 100 100
Natural Increase (of initial population
24.9 35.4 39.3 39.9 50 62.3 57.6 43.8
plus inter-censal migrants)
Net rural-urban migration 9.3 10.6 14.2 18.7 18.6 18.7 20.8 20.6
Net classification from rural to urban
including jurisdictional changes and 15.7 10.8 14.7 32.3 31.4 19 21.5 35.6
outgrowths
Table 5: Population, Number, and Percentage India's Metropolitan Cities as a Percentage of Total Urban Population
(1901–2011)

Source: India Stat – Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India

VII. METROPOLITAN CITIES' PROPORTION country's total urban population. In 2011, this number
increased to 53 cities, accounting for almost 43% of the
The process of urbanisation has resulted in the entire urban population.
emergence of metropolitan cities. A large majority of India's
urban population lives in cities with populations of one VIII. CONCLUSION
million or more. Table 1.4 displays the number of million-
plus cities in the United States over the last century, as well As a result, urbanisation can be defined as a process
as their growth. According to the data, the country only had that manifests itself in a specific society's demographic,
one such city around the turn of the century, in 1901. In social, economic, technological, and environmental elements
1911, the number increased to two and remained consistent of life through temporal, geographical, and sectoral changes.
until 1941. Apart from the total number of cities, the total The term "urbanisation" refers to the gradual concentration
population of these cities has increased dramatically over the of people in urban areas. The beginning of the
decades, as has its proportion to the total urban population. contemporary, worldwide process of urbanisation is a
By 2001, the country had 35 million or more cities, with relatively new phenomenon, closely linked to the industrial
these cities accounting for roughly 38 percent of the revolution and economic prosperity. In India, urbanisation is
partly owing to economic liberalisation in the 1990s, which

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ISSN No:-2456-2165
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