Indias urban population, as of 2015, is over 400 million.

This is expected to cross

650 million by 2030, when India will be the most populous country in the world,
ahead of China. While India will reap the benefits of this demographic dividend,
there are many challenges ahead. The most significant of these are in the social
and environmental domains. Many cities, such as Delhi and Mumbai, are
struggling with poverty, slums and rising inequality, as well as extremely high
levels of pollution and degradation. A study by World Health Organisation in 2014
claimed that New Delhi was the most polluted city in the world, and thirteen of
the twenty most polluted cities were in India.
The task before us is to develop an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach, to
improve the quality of life of the people, by working towards a sustainable model
of development. This development, however, does not only refer to the physical
and visible domain, comprising of infrastructure and industries, but also the
moral and psychological health of the people. We need to therefore focus on
both technological as well as social sciences.
In our education policy, greater approach is laid on theoretical learning, and
practical experiments are not given their due importance. We can emulate the
practise in Germany, where there are Berufsschule for those who wish to
combine part time academic study and apprenticeship. After completion of a
program, a student obtains certification in a particular field or trade of work. This
would provide practical experience to those students who wish to work in a
specific field. These schools could be implemented at a greater scale in India,
through a partnership between the public and private sector; the Central
Government could work with the industry and trade unions to establish these
facilities. The suggestion is not to replace the current system of higher education
but to enlarge its scope and provide more options to students.In order to achieve
an equitable and inclusive model of development it is required to provide a
holistic education to students. Even in Universities, students should be exposed
to courses outside their specific area of education to develop a wider perspective
and outlook.
Urbanisation occurs when people living in rural areas migrate to more developed
cities, and the cities gradually grow and develop. Another possibility is that
infrastructure and facilities may be improved and developed in rural areas and a
city may come up, without any significant increase in population initially. In this
case, it is important that the architects of these cities have a broad perspective
and are sensitive to the concerns of the inhabitants. A single pattern of
development and urbanisation is not suited for the entire country development
means different things to different people, and thus the aspirations of the
citizens must be considered.
Rather than blindly following a fixed development pattern, the architects should
consult the inhabitants of these areas and together they should try to urbanise
the smaller towns. All the facilities and infrastructure must be available to
everyone and should not exclude any groups. Nor should different grades of
infrastructure be provided to different regions bringing about regional and social

disparities, and leading to ghettoization of certain communities. This is typically

seen in our cities, as the city requires an abundant supply of cheap labour
provided by smaller towns, but does not provide this labour with proper shelter,
healthcare, education or sanitation, resulting in smaller slums within the cities.
The example of Amaravati shows that these concerns have been heeded, as one
of the first colonies to be built will be for the labourers and workers who will
develop the city.
The private sector should be encouraged to collaborate with the public sector in
the fields of education, as discussed earlier, and in infrastructure development.
By developing transport and communication networks, and providing
concessions to industries to establish operations in hitherto undeveloped
regions, the entire landscape can be transformed. Industries require workers,
who will need housing, educational facilities, healthcare and sanitation facilities
as well as markets and other basic services, which will provide an impetus to the
population of these regions. Thus, employment too will increase, along with the
standard of living of the population.
A pressing concern is the lack of research undertaken in Indian universities, as a
large number of the brightest minds tend to study and sometimes settle abroad,
leading to a massive brain drain. This requires a two fold approach an
increase in the spending on universities and a special focus on research and
innovation, especially since there is a huge population of educated and
unemployed youth. By providing incentives such as a remuneration competitive
to the private sector, and with additional benefits such as medical care and
insurance, efforts should be made to encourage the youth to remain in India and
contribute to its development. Establishment of educational institutions will
contribute to the overall development of a region as discussed earlier, by raising
the demand for services.
Another issue that is relevant in the case of India is the divide between the state
and citizens in some regions, such as the Naxal affected regions in Chhattisgarh,
and parts of Orissa and Jharkhand. Such disturbances cause the regions to lag
behind their counterparts in terms of the quality of life of the people. To resolve
this and other related issues often prevalent in areas like Kashmir and the north
eastern states, we require skilled officials and bureaucrats who can help bridge
these chasms between the aspirations of the local communities and those of the
Central Government. Only by including everyone, and taking into account the
concerns raised by locals, can we develop these regions and improve the living
standards of the residents.
The challenges ahead are immense, but if we look at how much we have
achieved in the past few decades, we will realise that it is now our turn to
continue this work, and we, the people of India, are fully capable of achieving our
goals.