Urbanisation in India: An Appraisal of 2011 Census Data

Of late, there has been a change in the thinking of policy makers about urbanization in India. The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) argued that urbanisation should be seen as a positive factor as urban areas contributes to about 65 percent of the GDP. As India has entered into the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), the urban transition is considered as a major challenge requiring a massive expansion in the urban infrastructure and services. Under this backdrop, the results of the 2011 census assume enormous significance in enhancing our understanding about the magnitude, growth and inter-state variations in the levels and tempo of urbanization. Urbanisation has increased faster than expected as per 2011 Census. This has reversed the declining speed of urbanisation during 1980s and 1990s. Also, for the first time since independence, the absolute increase in urban population was higher than rural population. This paper attempts to study the trend, pattern and components of urban population growth namely the contribution of natural increase, rural to urban classification and migration in the light of 2011 Census results.