Backed By Cities, Economies In Indian States May Turn Bigger Than Before  

Who likes to toil in the fields in the searing sun to sell the produce in what feels like a pittance in return for all the labour? That is just the tip of an iceberg as in a country like India that experiences extreme weather conditions, it's not just the sun; it's also the rain and the thunder, the lightning and the mist. Why not move to the city, find a job, and even if it is monotonous, you do not have a crop standing the in the field to worry about all the time? You are paid in cash. Life is much easier.  

So, we can forget all about being an agrarian economy – people are fast relocating to urban landscapes of cities leaving behind the greener pastures of villages, and, as a result, about 40 per cent of India's population is expected to be urban by 2025. No wonder, the government is doing all it can to expand the urban cover, develop smart cities and improve infrastructure. After all, it would be Indian cities, along with this 40 per cent population, that are likely to be driving the future growth of the country. These cities will also contribute to states go bigger.

Sample this.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, the size of the economy of New York City is comparable to the size of neighbouring Canada; the former's gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2015 stood at $1,603 billion in comparison to the latter's $1,552 billion. During the same period, at $339 billion, the economic scale of Atlanta's economy was comparable to the GDP of the United Arab Emirates at $345.

We can see a similar comparison between Indian states and the economies of other nations.

According to a report by The Economist that was published in 2011, the economy of Uttar Pradesh, the populous state of India, is comparable to the size of the economy of Qatar and Kenya. The size of the economy of Maharashtra, the state that houses India's financial capital Mumbai, is equivalent to the size of the economy of Singapore, a nation-state much appreciated for its sustainable urban growth model. The report shows similarities between the GDP scales of Andhra Pradesh & Slovakia, Gujarat & Angola, Karnataka & Croatia, Haryana & Serbia, Punjab & Tunisia, Delhi & Latvia, and Bihar & Uzbekistan.

It is true that India and the US are different countries and their economies are standing on different pillars. The world's largest economy is far more advanced and India has been trying to reach where it already stands through its thrust on large-scale urban programmes. However, given the rate of progress, it will only be right to say, India, too, will soon become an economy where the cities will drive the growth by pushing up the economic scale of their respective states. Also readWhat Happens To Villages As India Moves To Its Cities?