Processes of urbanization in India: the exclusionary trends

Abstract

Many consider India to be a major contributor to Asian urban explosion. However, there is evidence to suggest a slowdown in its growth rate of urban population which questions theories of over-urbanization. An overview of the structure of urbanization reveals that there has been an excessive concentration of urban population in million plus and other large cities. However, there is a paradigm shift in recent decades as the growth dynamics at the higher level have slowed down due to exclusionary urbanization, bringing down the demographic growth. With a projected incremental workforce of at least 400 million people between now and 2050, India must look to transfer of people from rural to urban areas as well as from primary to secondary or tertiary sectors.