One of the most visible signs of India’s economic development in the past seventy-five years has been the growth of its cities. Some of them are now among the largest on the planet, both in terms of area and population. However, Indian cities are far from perfect. They’re often not well planned, coping with problems of rapid growth and inefficient use of land and other resources. Indian cities are also plagued by a lack of basic amenities, such as clean drinking water, sanitation, and solid waste management systems, as well as safety-related problems.

What is the scale of the challenges facing India’s cities? What are some of the ideas and themes that are unique to India’s experience of urbanization? What is the global significance of the trends underway in Indian cities?

Devashish Dhar discusses many of these questions in his recent book, India’s Blind Spot: Understanding and Managing Our Cities. In this episode, he joins Anirudh Burman to unpack them further.

Episode Contributors

Devashish Dhar is a former public policy specialist at NITI Aayog. He is a Mason Fellow from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Li-Ka Shing Scholar from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Anirudh Burman is an associate research director and fellow at Carnegie India. He works on key issues relating to public institutions, public administration, the administrative and regulatory state, and state capacity. He has also worked extensively on financial regulation and regulatory governance.

Additional Readings

India’s Blind Spot: Understanding and Managing Our Cities by Devashish Dhar

Understanding Indian Cities by Anirudh Burman

Key Moments

00:00); Introduction

(02:25); Chapter 1: What Prompted Devashish to Study Indian Cities?

(04:55); Chapter 2: Why is Urbanization a Binding Constraint?

(07:17); Chapter 3: Transforming Cities: Economic Growth and Socio-Economic Factors 

(11:50); Chapter 4: Unique Features of India’s Urbanization and Cities 

(21:49); Chapter 5: Infrastructure, Housing, and Utility Issues in India 

(29:10); Chapter 6: Are There Any Solutions to High Rents? 

(36:18); Chapter 7: Causes of Failure to Redevelop Land Property 

(42:45); Chapter 8: Urban Governance

(51:23); Chapter 9: Urban Reforms in Small Cities

(54:54); Chapter 9: Children as Figures of Urban Research

(01:01:45); Closing Comments 

(01:02:55); Outro 

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

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