The story of urbanisation in the Global South – and particularly in India – is not one of industrial expansion or prosperity. It is a story of pauperisation. Cities today are swelling not because factories are hiring, but because the countryside is expelling. This new urbanisation is driven by desperation rather than development – by the push of agrarian collapse, not the pull of industrial promise.
Transit-oriented Development can curb India's urban dysfunctions by integrating land use with transport, but fragmented governance, weak execution, and poor planning hinder its transformative potential.
Background India introduced the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification (NAPCD) in 2001 after joining the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The plan was not just a policy decision, it was also a response to a reality that…
The North East Road Sector Development Scheme was launched during the Financial Year 2015-16, to take up rehabilitation, construction, and/or upgradation of the following categories of roads (including bridges on the roads) in the North Eastern Region (NER) in order of priority:
Policy UpdateBavleen Background The Government e‑Marketplace (GeM) portal is India’s flagship digital platform for government procurement of goods and services, launched on 9 August 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI) to drive greater efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness in…
In an era of rapid urbanization, India’s cities stand on the cusp of transformation. From revamping water systems to building smarter mobility networks, the nation needs robust infrastructure guided by forward-looking public policy. India’s cities are at a critical juncture. With rapid urbanization expected to push nearly 600 million Indians into cities by 2036 (NITI Aayog, 2023), the need for sustainable infrastructure has never been more urgent.
When India speaks of inclusive development, the Northeast often features at the center of the conversation, a region of not only picturesque beauty and rich diversity but also persistent infrastructure gaps. In 2017, recognizing that existing central schemes were not fully bridging these gaps, the Government of India launched the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER).