Think India Foundation

Only mass rapid transit solutions can provide India's urban commuters with efficient mobility

Billions of man-hours are lost with people 'stuck in traffic'. This fact is also echoed in government's national urban transport policy. The reasons are well known: exponential growth of motor vehicles with negligible increase in road space. To make things worse, unprecedented rate of urban population growth has been reported in the last census. So, travel within major urban networks such Mumbai and Delhi has become unpredictable.

Nobody will disagree that the best thing that happened to Delhi in recent years is the metro rail. Metro has altered the character of the city in many locales. In Mumbai, the electric train service is touted to be the lifeline catering to almost 80% of citizen trips. Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Bundelkhand in dilemma over split proposal

JHANSI/BANDA/CHITRAKOOT: "Bundelkhand nahin, vikas chahiye". The slogan scribbled on a pillar near Dhasan river on UP-Madhya Pradesh border in Jhansi conveys the aspiration of people of this region where development is yet to be seen. 

On November 15 last, chief minister Mayawati gave the proposal to split UP into four parts (Bundelkhand, Paschim Pradesh, Avadh Pradesh and Purvanchal) on the pretext that smaller states can be managed better as compared to bigger ones. The CM had said that UP was backward mainly because of its huge size. The resolution to divide the state was passed within 20 minutes in the state assembly. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Water crisis looms over India

Major metros like Delhi and Mumbai face huge water and environmental crises as infrastructure tries to keep pace with the increasing population, says a new study of 71 Indian cities.

The report, Excreta Matter, prepared by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), comes at a time when India is urbanising at the highest rate in the world and half of all Indians are expected to be living in cities by 2050. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

In Asia-Pacific, health poses challenge to 2015 goals

DELHI — Sixty percent of the world’s population lives in the Asia-Pacific, which makes its performance critical to achieving the global Millennium Development Goals by 2015.  It stretches from Turkey in the west to the Pacific island nation of Kirabati in the east, and from the Russian Federation in the north to New Zealand in the south. 

The latest assessment, however, indicates that the region is performing poorly on reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. In 2010, over 3 million children died before their fifth birthday. Read more

Source : smartplanet.com

City migration as a development problem? It's the ultimate urban myth

Rather than portraying rapid urbanisation in terms of overconsumption, we should be celebrating it

Rapid urbanisation in Beijing and elsewhere has taken the number of city dwellers in China over 51% for the first time. Photograph: Dan Chung for the Guardian

In January, China marked a historic milestone in its development: for the first time ever, city dwellers outnumbered the rural population. According to the Chinese statistics bureau, 691 million people now live in cities, amounting to more than 51% of the population. Yet this fact merited just a single sentence in a Chinese government press release. Meanwhile, in the western media, to the extent that this genuinely historic event was covered, it sometimes seemed less a matter for celebration than trepidation. 

Such a reaction says a lot about the way rapid urbanisation in the developing world is viewed. Over the next 20 years or so, the global urban population is expected to rise to approximately 5 billion. This explosion of urban life could be greeted enthusiastically, as a sign of progress and development – moving people off the land and out of back-breaking labour. But far too often, urbanisation is instead seen through the contemporary prism of social, political and ecological concerns: overpopulation, fears about the breakdown of traditional communities, and the dangers cities create for the broader environment, to name but a few. Read more

Source : guardian.co.uk

SECC census: The curious case of the vanishing poor

The ongoing SECC census may leave millions of poverty-stricken Indians outside the purview of the BPL category

A decade ago when her husband died, Uddi Gujjar (45) mourned for months and struggled to get her life back on track in Tikel Purohitaan village of Rajasthan’s Jaipur district. The widow worked as a manual labourer to raise her two sons Hanuman (17) and Prithviraj (15). The family survived on 25 kilograms of rice every month for Rs 2 in addition to wheat and kerosene on cheap rates that was provided by a ration shop against Uddi’s Below Poverty Line (BPL) status. However, the risk of being left out of the BPL list in the ongoing country-wide Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) makes her fearful of an uncertain future, now that the census threatens to deprive her of the status.

Left in the lurch Kamal Babu's (60) BPL card—who lives in a cramped one-room jhuggi along with five other members in South Delhi’s JJ Camp Tigri slums—was cancelled in 2010        Photo: Vijay Pandey

“I have worked with my hands all my life. If they take away my BPL card what’ll happen to my children who’re still studying?” asks Uddi, who may lose the ‘priority household’ status owing to ‘deprivation indicators’ on which the SECC score is based. Read more

Source : tehelka.com

India’s total fertility rate likely to dip by 0.1 point

NEW DELHI: India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) - the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime - that has remained stagnant at 2.6 since 2009 could finally see a drop. However, the fall could be only by 0.1 point.

The figure was disclosed by Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad while launching Kenya's family planning programme in Nairobi. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Conference to discuss slow urbanisation issue in Meghalaya

Shillong (PTI) : Concerned at the slow rate of urbanisation in Meghalaya, government officials and prominent citizens will sit together to find a long-term solution. A round table conference of top government officials and citizens will be held here on February 15. Initiated by the Indian Chambers of Commerce, the conference will be attended by officials and representatives from Industries, Tourism, Urban Development, Public Health Engineering besides Railways and Airports Authoritty of India.

"Urban spaces in the North East could act as regional hubs of growth and provide gateways to the dynamic markets of South East Asia," ICC officials told PTI. Urban development in Meghalaya especially in the major towns, including the capital is insufficient to meet the growing demands of the population, the officials said. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

JK seeks addl 16500 MT foodgrains under PDS

New Delhi : Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Qamar Ali Akhoon has strongly pleaded for additional 16500 MT foodgrains to the state on the “Central Issue Prices” to cover the entire population enumerated in the 2011 census.

The Minister was addressing a 2-days conference of Food Ministers and Food Secretaries of States the other day, an official statement today said. Read more

Source : greaterkashmir.com

Housing conundrum: FICCI report on urban infrastructure reveals uncomfortable truths

In 2001, about 286 million persons were living in urban areas of India and it was the second largest urban population in the world. According to the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, the urban population in India over the next 25 years is expected to grow 38 per cent and become 534 million in 2026. Furthermore, as per the Census of India, 2001, 640 cities/towns in 26 States/Union territories have reported slum populations. 

Andhra Pradesh has the largest number of towns (77) reporting slums followed by Uttar Pradesh (69), Tamil Nadu (63) and Maharashtra (61). As many as 42.6 million people lived in slums in 2001. This constitutes 15 percent of the total urban population of the country and 22.6 percent of the urban population of the states/union territories reporting slums. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

The blessing of two

KOLKATA: More and more parents are realizing the worth of the old slogan 'hum do, hamare do'. The 1970 campaign was meant to stem the population explosion, but it has come around to signify something entirely different four decades later - a break from the nuclear families' self-imposed norm of one child.

For two decades now, with the middle-class 'boom', most urban homes followed a structural and economic pattern - both partners worked and preferred to have a single child. This was a direct follow-up of the disintegration of the joint family, which meant staying away from even in-laws. With jobs to manage and a household to run, these double-income upscale families chose to limit kids to just one. But the pattern is changing now. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

SECC awareness programme held at Longleng

Dimapur (MExN): An awareness programme on Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 was held on February 10 at PPC hall Longleng. The Deputy Commissioner, Longleng K. Libanthung Lotha chaired the programme. The main resources person included Petevilie Khatsu, Assistant Director, Directorate of Urban Development, Nagaland and Dr. Juthshutho Phoji, Sr. Lecturer, State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) Nagaland.

A press release issued by the DC Longleng said that a detailed and through explanation on SECC was made during the programme. Various functions and queries were raised during the program and those were being clearly clarified by the resource persons. A good number of village council chairman, Enumerators, Supervisors, Charge officers, master trainers attended the program beside the officials of Phom Student Conference led by its president Chaupong Phom and PPC officials. Chongphe Phom Finance Secretary, ENSF and Chuyalo Kath Census Nodal officer Longleng in-charge also attended the programme. Read more

Source : morungexpress.com

Caste census could be ready by July-end: Jairam

New Delhi: The socio-economic caste census, which will be used to identify beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes, including the proposed food law, could only be completed by July-end, according to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. 

Last month, Food Minister KV Thomas had written a letter to the Rural Development Minister seeking an updated status of SECC (socio-economic caste census) 2011, and also requested the ministries concerned to complete the survey soon to facilitate the implementation of the proposed food law. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Entrepreneurship can solve poverty, says Narayana Murthy

Kochi : India can solve its poverty only through entrepreneurship, said Infosys founder and mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy here on Tuesday.

N.R. Narayana Murthy.

He was speaking at a function, organised by DC Books on the occasion of the release of the Malayalam translation of his book ‘Better India, Better World.’ Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

In Delhi, Leaders Call for Sustainable Action Today, Not Promises for Tomorrow

As I traveled through Mumbai and Delhi over the past few days, I’ve been awed by the rapid growth taking place in Indian cities. Statistics about urbanization abound, but experiencing the dynamic, jammed-packed streets firsthand is much more revealing.

India’s leaders are committed to helping cities keep pace with this growth, but many do not stop there. They are also working to ensure that cities grow as sustainably as possible. Read more

Source : switchboard.nrdc.org

500 mn Indians need new homes over the next decade: FICCI

New Delhi: As many as half a billion Indians would need new homes in the country's various cities over the next decade, a requirement equivalent to all of China, North America and Western Europe put together, a report on Sunday said.

There is insurmountable pressure on civic infrastructure systems, a report said.

The report -- 'Urban Infrastructure in India' -- prepared by industry body Ficci said the country's population is slated to grow to 1.7 billion by 2050 and rapid urbanisation will add nearly 900 million people to Indian cities. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

‘Cities are growing, but not facilities’

Bangalore : Cities are going to be the engines of growth for India, which is advancing faster than other countries, said DrIsher Ahluwalia, chairperson of High Powered Expert Committee on Urban Infrastructure.

“At present, 37.7 crore of the country's population lives in cities. By 2031, this number is expected to grow to 60 crore,” she said. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Guwahati reptiles withstand urbanization onslaught

Guwahati : Despite rapid urbanization, the herpetofauna population of Guwahati has not been severely affected. There are some 63 species of herpetiles in this Assam city.

"This is good news and can be termed as one of the best average populations," said herpetofauna researcher Jayaditya Purkayastha after release of his book "Urban Herpetofauna: Amphibians and Reptiles of Guwahati" on World Wetland Day Thursday. Read more

Source : twocircles.net

Fresh thrust to urbanization

Trend may redefine the political economy of the country, forcing a shift in public policy focus towards urban India

New Delhi: India’s Census 2011 shows that one in every three Indians now lives in an urban habitat and that the move towards towns and cities has happened mostly in south India, contiguously from Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu.

According to the latest census, 31.2% of the total population lives in urban centres compared with 27.8% in 2001 and 25.5% in 1991. Of the 1.21 billion population, 833 million live in rural India while the remaining 377 million reside in urban India. Read more

Source : livemint.com

Recent approaches to sustainability focus on energy

Most recent approaches to sustainability focus on energy. This is because development demands the use of energy, and there is a correlation between efficiency and development. However, sustainability involves many other aspects as well, particularly in the Indian context. Indian cities are slowly beginning to awaken to those needs in parts. 

Indian urban population is about 28% and slated to reach 40% by 2030. But cities take up only 3% of the country's total area. Any approach to sustainability will need to create more urban space. "India needs to double the area of urban space from 3% to 6%," says V Suresh, former chairman of Hudco, and principal executive officer of construction company Hirco. India could be on target here with a large number of new - and relatively more sustainable - developments planned. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Bangalore summit to discuss global water woes

Bangalore: With one-third of the global population living in India and China by 2025, the region will face imminent water scarcity unless there is action. Now experts from the two countries as well as US, Britain, Germany and other places are set to deliberate on water-related issues at a meet here from Tuesday. Billed as the first World Water Summit in India's IT hub, the summit is aimed at generating innovative ideas to meet the challenge of managing scarce water sources.

With one-third of the global population in India and China by 2025, the region will face imminent water scarcity.

"Ensuring adequate and safe water to all sections of the population, particularly the poor is a big challenge. The objective of the summit is to deliberate on issues and generate ideas," former Karnataka chief secretary A. Ravindra, the brain behind the meet, told IANS. Ravindra is now advisor to the chief minister and also heads the Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD), a non-profit organisation he started in 2003. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

The world's biggest cities: How do you measure them?

Which is the biggest city in the world? And why is such a simple question so difficult to answer?

If you search on the internet for the world's biggest city, you'll find various different candidates: Tokyo, Seoul, Chongqing, Shanghai...

Which one you regard as the holder of the title, all depends on what you mean by "city". Read more

Source : bbc.co.uk

Chennai mega region in offing, to include parts of 3 nearby districts

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is likely to expand the designated Chennai metropolitan area by almost seven times to include some key suburbs and industrial townships with the aim of strengthening their infrastructure. Once the proposal for the Chennai mega region gets official sanction, the state government will set up the Chennai Regional Development Authority (CRDA) to ensure balanced regional development of the area covering about 8,000 sqkm, up from the existing 1,189 sqkm. 

Senior state officials have proposed the inclusion of portions of three districts - Sriperumbudur in the west, Kancheepuram in the south and Tiruvallur in the north - in the Chennai metropolitan area. The provisional Census 2011 data shows that Chennai recorded a decennial growth of 7.7%, while the neighbouring Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts grew by 38.69% and 35.25% respectively, indicating a remarkable spurt in the growth of population in city's suburbs. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Republic Day: A tale for many cities

In just eight years, 2020 will be upon us. By then, our cities will be either areas of more chaos or meaningfully planned. The choice is ours. We are at a crucial junction as far as urbanism goes. The need to work vigorously on our cities and improve them is urgent and critical. Their populations have surged tremendously in the last few decades . Delhi's population increased from 12.8 m in 2001 to 16.3 m in 2011. Bangalore grew from 5.7 m to 8.5 m during the same period.

Our urban planners have perhaps not understood the nature of the modern city, what it takes not just to run them but to make them livable. The two key requirements of a city are: provision of basic services and social infrastructure. These need to be developed together. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Civic amenities, connectivity elude industrial hub of 8 lakh residents

K West, the most-populated ward is a hub of commercial and industrial activities. While part of the ward is dotted with glass-tinted multi-storey offices of major corporates, the industrial hub MIDC-SEEPZ, Saki Naka industrial belt, slums and SRA projects cover up the rest.

The ward covers 23.5 square kilometres, with a population of over 8 lakh and an additional day-time floating population of two lakh. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Small town, big spends

Non metro cities hold tremendous potential for marketers

Coimbatore skyline. Photo:M. Periasamy

Don't dismiss the small towns. That's where the big pockets are, when it comes to quantifying the purchasing power of the country. Recent research has shown that cities such as Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore and Pune have three quarters or more of the affluence levels of Mumbai.

This is precisely why marketers are rushing towards smaller towns. Their enthusiasm, according to a MART study, is also triggered by the availability of adequate land at a reasonable price. These towns have the advantage of low construction costs and lower rentals. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

As China Urbanizes, India Remains Overwhelmingly Rural

China just reached a historic demographic milestone – the vast country now has more people living in cities than in the countryside. 

The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated that about 691-million people – or 51.3 percent of the nation’s total population -- are now city-dwellers, versus 657-million people living in the rural regions.

But what about India, China's principal rival in Asia and which is also acclaimed for its growing economic dominance? Read more

Source : ibtimes.com

Socio-economic,caste census begins in Nagaland

DIMAPUR – Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has appealed to all Gaon- buras, chairmen and members of Town Councils and Village Councils in the State to extend full cooperation to census officials during the conduct of the Socio-economic and caste census 2011 which has begun on January 16 and will conclude on February 29.

In a letter released recently, the Chief Minister said the Census is being conducted with Urban Development and Rural Development departments as the Nodal departments, in pursuance of the Government of India’s decision to carry out the exercise covering both urban and rural areas in the country. Read more

Source : assamtribune.com

In last decade, population of Pune urban agglomeration grew 34%

PUNE: From just over six lakh in 1951 to 50 lakh now, the population of Pune's urban agglomeration puts it alongside Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The three metros of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata have a population of over one crore.

In the last decade, the population grew by 34.28 %, but the highest decadal growth (51.73%) was between 1971 and 1981, while the lowest (29.93 %) was between 1951 and 1961. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Urban population growth on steady path: Report

PUNE: Cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur have registered a population growth rate between 10 to 20 % in the last two decades. A similar trend is seen in Allahabad, Amritsar, Asansol, Dhanbad, Durg, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Thiruchirapalli and Varanasi.

This indicates that the growth rate of urban population is heading towards stabilization, a report by the town and country planning organisation of the union ministry of urban development has stated. The decadal growth of population in these areas too has slowed down, it added. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Socio-economic and caste census launched in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The socio-economic and caste census exercise was on Wednesday launched in the national capital with the enumeration of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. 

She replied to various queries of the Divisional Commissioner, who along with other senior officers and an enumerator, was present at the occasion to complete the formalities. Dikshit provided the complete information about herself, and the entries were recorded on a tablet and later shown to her for verification. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Worldly Wise: Explore sustainable transport solutions

2011 was a year when we were able to witness and become aware of major geopolitical changes and economic disturbances

2011 was a year when we were able to witness and become aware of major geopolitical changes and economic disturbances. But, it was also a year when very discreet yet dramatic changes took place, the world's population turned seven billion. In 40 years, our planet will be inhabited by nine billion, with two out of every three people living in cities. This accelerating urbanisation creates unparalleled challenges for governments.

The World Energy Council (WEC), in its ‘Global Transport Scenarios 2050' report, envisions that total fuel demand in all transport modes could grow by up to 88 per cent by 2050, depending on the level of government intervention. Read more

Source : gulfnews.com

Socio economic and caste census begins in Nagaland

Nagaland today joined the nationwide Socio- Economic & Caste Census (SECC) with Chief Minister of the state Neiphiu Rio being enumerated. The SECC is being launched for the first time in the country and the record is going to be used for the 12th Five Year Plan. Nagaland Census Operations Director Hekali Zhimomi said the exercise is targeting completion within 45 days and has sought cooperation from everyone. “It is a massive coordination exercise,” she said.

Also, officials of Rural Development said the issue pertaining to an organization, Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF), expressing non-cooperation with the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 has been settled at the meeting held on January 14 last. Read more

Source : morungexpress.com

Caste census kicks off, tablets for surveyors

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Sunday became part of the first nationwide socio-economic and caste census exercise in independent India. Nearly 10,000 tech-savvy enumerators equipped with tablet computers will be surveying every home and individual, including the homeless, asking questions related to your socio-economic status.

The last caste census was carried out before Independence in 1931. The enumerators will capture the life in rural and urban India with the help of a diverse questionnaire in a census exercise that concludes on February 29. The census will be carried out under the supervision of the revenue department. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Census group readies for SECC exercise

Dimapur (MExN): A meeting of the State Level Task Force on Socio-Economic Caste Census for Nagaland was convened on January 13, 2012 by the Chief Secretary of Nagaland Lalthara to discuss various issues and concerns pertaining to the preparation of the nation-wide census exercise.

Lalthara said that the census was the first time that such a comprehensive and ‘paperless exercise’ was going to be carried out throughout the country. Read more

Source : morungexpress.com

Plan panels poverty figures understated

CHENNAI: Over time, the Planning Commission of India, like the World Bank, has de-linked the estimation of poverty from its own definition, thereby painting a false picture of the number of people living below the poverty line, said noted economist Utsa Patnaik.

Delivering the T.G Narayanan Memorial lecture organised by the Asian College of Journalism here on Friday, Patnaik said that the Planning Commission, by employing a method of poverty line calculation that de-links it from the original definition, ensures that the nutritional standard purchasable continues to decline. In other words, the standard itself is lowered and then poverty reduction is claimed, she said. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Rural India beats cities in pre-natal sex determination tests

NEW DELHI: Did you think sex-selection was more prevalent in urban homes? Think Again. 

Census 2011 showed that India’s child-sex ratio had dipped to 914 girls as against 927 per 1,000 boys recorded in 2001 Census — the worst dip since 1947

An analysis of Census 2011 by the Union health ministry on the eve of the crucial meeting of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act's (PC & PNDT Act) Central Supervisory Board (CSB) has shown that the hideous crime against a girl child has become more prevalent among families in rural India. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mehsana, shame of India!

AHMEDABAD: Mehsana town has notched the shameful distinction of having the lowest child sex ratio among urban centres in India. With only 760 girls per 1,000 boys in the 0-6 year age group, Mehsana has hit the lowest ebb on the gender index, according to just-released Census 2011 figures.

The town, with a population of 1.9 lakh, has 7,753 girls against 10,203 boys in the 0-6 year age group. With a literacy rate of 90% and dominated by influential and affluent Patels, this is a reflection of a strong bias against the girl child in this north Gujarat town. The Census figures are available for towns with more than one lakh population. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

How India went from 741 cases to zero in just two years

CHENNAI : “Only one third of the journey has been completed”

The last case of wild polio virus reported in India was exactly one year ago, on January 13, when stool samples showed that 18-month-old Rukhsar Khatoon in West Bengal had polio. She has since recovered, but it is the progress of whittling down from the largest number of cases in the world to zero that is fascinating to public health experts globally.

Clearly, the nation had to overcome tremendous challenges to get here – not least of them, a huge population, the logistics of covering a vast geographical area, poor sanitation and infrastructure, resistance among some groups of people to taking the vaccine, and children of migrant communities who were difficult to cover. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Is your city smart enough?

The 21st century has been referred to as “the urban century”. By 2050, over 70 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities. The rate of urbanisation is staggering: more than 400 million people in China and 215 million people in India will migrate to cities by 2015. Today’s cities can barely handle the burden of their current populations: core services like energy, water, communications, transportation and public safety are inefficient and increasingly decrepit. The burden on the environment is also profound: cities only occupy 2 per cent of the earth’s landmass, but account for over 75 per cent of our resource consumption. Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai will be stretched to breaking point.

Management professor C.K. Prahalad famously said in 2009, “India needs to build a minimum of 500 new cities urgently. However, it has to be done from scratch to accommodate people who are on the move and to provide them better quality life.” Whether India builds new cities, or extends and develops existing ones, it needs a new city governance model that is faster, better, cheaper. Read more

Source : ieet.org

Is Mumbai Building Enough?

According to the 2011 census, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has over 23.5 million people. To house this population on the ground floor, assuming a household size of 4 and dwelling units of 900 sq ft per family which are laid wall to wall, we would need 121,384 acres of contiguous land. If all these houses are built facing the street (for access), providing a frontage of 20 ft to each unit, the total length of the street would be 35,606 kilometres.

Being the commercial capital, the city not only attracts migrants from all parts of India but also has a high floating population which commutes to the city for work everyday. This high density calls for developments to be vertically stacked by design, with multiple functions layered one over the other. Nevertheless, the proposal for increasing the Floor Space Index (FSI) in the city (which would enable more construction over the same land area) has always met with stiff resistance on practical, sustainable and ethical grounds. Read more

Source : constructionweekonline.in

Mumbai Real Estate Development Not Keeping Pace with Population Growth

According to the 2011 census, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has over 23.5 million people. To house this population on the ground floor, assuming a household size of 4 and dwelling units of 900 sq ft per family which are laid wall to wall, we would need 121,384 acres of contiguous land. If all these houses are built facing the street (for access), providing a frontage of 20 ft to each unit, the total length of the street would be 35,606 kilometers.

Himadri Mayank, Manager of Research for Jones Lang LaSalle India tells World Property Channel that because Mumbai is the commercial capital, the city not only attracts migrants from all parts of India but also has a high floating population which commutes to the city for work everyday. This high density calls for developments to be vertically stacked by design, with multiple functions layered one over the other. Nevertheless, the proposal for increasing the Floor Space Index (FSI) in the city (which would enable more construction over the same land area) has always met with stiff resistance on practical, sustainable and ethical grounds. Read more

Source : worldpropertychannel.com

Nagaland CM appeals for an ‘honest census’

Dimapur (MExN): The chief minister of Nagaland appeals to all leaders of villages and municipal institutions in Nagaland to ensure an ‘honest, true census’ as the country’s census mechanism readies to launch the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, census year 2011. 

“As the accurate and authentic data is of paramount importance for inclusive development and growth in the state, I take this opportunity to once again make a fervent appeal to all of you to extend your full cooperation to the census officials in the spot verification of households and collecting correct information in your respective locality/ward/village,” Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio stated in a message today.  The chief minister of Nagaland appealed to all “Gaon Buras” (GBs), chairmen and members of town council and village councils across the state to extend full cooperation to the census undertaking which is scheduled for January 16-February 29,  2012. Read more

Source : morungexpress.com

Cancer: Combat and cure

Multiple myeloma is a cancer formed by malignant plasma cells.

Did you know that one of the lesser-known causes of cancer is an increase in life expectancy?

This means that the more we work towards increasing life expectancy, the chances of having cancer increase. This can be attributed to urbanisation, industrialisation, lifestyle changes and population growth. In India, it is estimated that life expectancy of the Indian population will increase to 70 years by 2021–25. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

Satellite Urban Villages: an idea whose time has come

The Indian economy has been among the fastest growing economies in the world, expanding from US$ 450 billion in 2000 to US$ 1.7 trillion now, and will grow to an estimated US$ 5.1 trillion by 2020. This growth has resulted in rapid urbanisation, as experienced by Western economies in the first-half of the 20th century. Urban population in India is expected to grow from 28 per cent now to 34 per cent of the total population by 2015, though the ratio of urban to rural population will remain significantly lower in India compared to Western countries. 

However, India faces unique challenges as its economy industrialises and its urban population grows. The infrastructure in general, and especially urban infrastructure, has proven to be woefully inadequate in keeping pace with this growth. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

The eternally expanding city

From a pensioner's paradise to IT capital…how is Bangalore going to grapple with its unprecedented growth?

LIMITLESS: Bangalore is a city without borders. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Garden City, Air Conditioned City, Pensioner's Paradise, Fashion Capital, India's Silicon Valley… all these phrases described how Bangalore was. However, recent years saw Bangalore changing itself into Garbage City, Filthy City, Crime City and so on. All the planned efforts seem to be evaporating in thin air, resulting in unplanned development. And this is in spite of having plans, development organisations and umpteen projects. The reasons for such chaotic advances and consequential financial implications on the Corporation, planning authority, etc., need a critical review, as the New Year has just taken off. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Country short of town planners: Meshram

MYSORE: India hardly has 4,000 qualified town planners available. By 2051, the population of the country will increase to 2018 million, comprising urban population of 827 million, putting the country at a critical threshold, said D S Meshram, president of Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI) here in Mysore on Wednesday. 

He was briefing reporters about the three-day 60th National Town and Country Planners Congress conference, which will be held at Senate Bhavan, Manasagangothri in the city from Friday. The conference is organized by ITPI, New Delhi. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India’s human wealth

Large population is not necessarily a burden

In a developing country of more than a billion people, the phrase ‘population explosion’ has negative connotations. But, experts believe India can leverage its vast human capital to its advantage. According to the US-based National Bureau of Asian Research, over the next two decades India will witness a huge surge in its working population, much of which will be highly educated, and this can only serve to further the country’s economic growth. By 2030, the median age of the Indian population will be around 32 years, and almost 68 per cent of its estimated 1.5 billion strong people at that time will be of working age, generally defined as those between the ages of 15 and 64. What will make this huge group particularly powerful is that it will be a highly educated group of young men and women. The Vienna Institute of Demography estimates that by 2030, about 125 million working-age people in India will have a masters degree or a doctorate — more than any country in the world. Already, India is home to 60 million people with tertiary degrees — much more than Japan, Russia and even the US. Read more

Source : dailypioneer.com

Centre defers SECC household count in poll-bound U.P.

NEW DELHI : SECC priority list will be ready by July 2012 when Food Security Bill gets ready

: Even as the Union government decided to defer the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in Uttar Pradesh until the Assembly election there was over, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar objected to the process which, among others, will determine beneficiaries under the proposed food security legislation. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Gurgaon most urbanized zone in Haryana after Faridabad

GURGAON: Being the immediate neighbour of the national capital, Haryana has witnessed large-scale urbanization in the plast decade and this, in turn, has benefited the two neighbouring districts of Faridabad and Gurgaon the most. According to government figures, Haryana has grown at a rate of 44.25% in the past decade and the urban-rural share in the population of the state stands at 34.79% and 65.21% in 2001-2011. Neerja Shekhar, director of Census, said that the urban area with the largest population is the Faridabad Municipal Corporation which constitutes 15.92% of the state's population (14.04 lakh), followed by the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon with a share of 9.94% of the total population (8.76 lakh). The significant increase in people living in urban areas in Gurgaon and Faridabad is attributed to the accelerated residential and commercial development along the two national highways - NH-2 and NH-8. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com