Urbanisation - Asset or Liability?

                  Urbanisation - Asset or Liability?

       According to the recent census of 2011, India has a population of 121 crore and out of this around 30% of the population lives in urban areas. The rate of urbanisation is also increasing at a greater pace day-by-day. Broadly the reassons for urbanisation can be categorised into two types- viz, (1) Urban Pull Factors and (2) Rural Push Factors.

Urban Pull Factors are the positive factors which attract the people to urban areas because of their advantages like better living conditions, better employment opportunities, better health conditions, better education facilities etc. On the other hand Rural Push Factors are rhe negative factors which force the people to leave rural areas because of  lack of livelihood opportunities in rural areas.

      Urbanisation by itself is not a problem, it is both an asset as well as a liability. If managed in a better way urbanisation can be made an asset and the fruits of urbanisation can be reaped.

      For making urbanisation an asset, focus should be on improving the infrastructure in the country- both urban and rural. More focus should be on developing small and medium towns as this will reduce the burden on big urban centres. Also the problem of urbanisation can be controlled by effective rural development i.e, by promoting agro-based industries, MSMEs, by providing vocational training for skill development and by providing self-employment opportunities to the rural people, especially to rural youth.

    The Govt of India has started JNNURM programme for improving the infrastructure in cities. It covers a fewer cities and it is just a beginning and in future this should be extended to more cities.

    Thus the urbanisation should not be considered as a problem. By better management and by necessary policy initiatives the urbanisation should be made an asset for the benefit of the country.