New Delhi, Jan 29 (NationPress) The vision for India's urban future hinges on transforming our cities to become economically vibrant, socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and institutionally robust, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26 released on Thursday.

The Survey, presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, emphasizes that future urban strategies should focus on system performance rather than isolated projects — merging housing, transport, sanitation, climate resilience, and financing — to create livable, climate-adaptive cities that foster inclusion and long-term economic viability.

"India's urban landscape is more advanced in economic and functional aspects than official statistics indicate," it highlighted.

Utilizing satellite data from the Global Human Settlements Layer (GHSL) by the Group on Earth Observations at the European Commission, it reported that India was 63% urban in 2015, which is almost twice the urbanization rate noted in the 2011 Census.

The Survey asserts that Indian cities serve not just as living spaces but as vital economic infrastructure.

Urban density and proximity foster agglomeration economies that enhance productivity, expand labor markets, and stimulate innovation.

Thus, the economic significance of cities is fundamental to India's growth trajectory, as highlighted in the Economic Survey.

The report states that India is already economically urbanized, with most national output stemming from cities and urban locales. The challenge now is to optimize this urbanization for the benefit of citizens in both tangible and intangible aspects.

It positions cities as economic assets requiring focused investment and strategic planning.

The World Bank has projected that by 2036, India's urban centers will accommodate 600 million people, or 40% of the population, up from 31% in 2011, with urban regions contributing nearly 70% to GDP.

Recognizing cities as essential economic infrastructure is the first crucial step towards aligning public policy, fiscal priorities, and planning frameworks with India's developmental goals.

To this end, the country has significantly enhanced its mass rapid transit systems over the past decade.

The Survey also advocates for expanding and digitizing bus fleets, prioritizing e-bus deployments, integrating last-mile and shared mobility solutions, operationalizing Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and capturing value around transit stations.

As of 2025, approximately 1,036 km of Metro/RRTS services are operational across about 24 cities, with additional corridors under construction.

The government has initiated PM e-Bus Sewa to bolster city bus services, deploying 10,000 e-buses under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.

This initiative has received backing of Rs 20,000 crore from the central government and a Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) to ensure cash flows for operators.

The survey reports that in FY25, 7,293 e-buses have been sanctioned across 14 States and 4 Union Territories, with Rs 983.75 crore allocated for depot and power infrastructure, and Rs 437.5 crore already disbursed.

Additionally, the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM–U) has been supported by investments from the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and AMRUT 2.0. By 2025–26, door-to-door collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) is expected to reach 98% of urban wards.