Need for a unified urbanisation plan

AI Summary

The article argues that India needs a unified urbanisation policy as growth increasingly spans a rural-urban continuum. It says Census 2027 will retain 2011 definitions, potentially worsening the undercount of urban India, and calls for institutional and fiscal mechanisms to address the gap.

The Union Budget, Economic Survey and Finance Commission recognise that India is urbanising across a rural-urban continuum. Yet Census 2027 will use the 2011 definitions, deepening the undercount of urban India; a National Urbanisation Policy can recognise this gap and build the institutional and fiscal mechanisms to bridge it