It is the high-tech city of Bengaluru that has emerged as the top-ranking Indian city on the government’s Ease of Living (EOL) Index 2020.
As per the index released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday, March 4, Bengaluru, which is the center of the country’s high-tech industry, bagged the top spot on the list of Indian cities with a population of over a million.
The city is rated best on ease of living parameters among 49 million-plus cities in 2020 that has a population exceeding a million and is among the major cities in India.
“Bengaluru emerged as the top performer in the Million+ category (in the category of ‘population more than million), followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Indore, and Greater Mumbai,” the ministry said.
The EOL (Ease of Living) Index assesses the well-being of citizens in 111 cities, including cities identified under the government’s Smart Cities Mission. Pune and Ahmedabad bagged the second and third-ranking on the list.
The EOL index was first launched in 2018 and relies on indicators encompassing 15 evaluation criteria, such as education, governance, economy, affordable housing, identity and culture, assured water supply, public open spaces, wastewater management, power, health, land use planning, safety and security, quality of environment, transportation and mobility, and solid waste management.
The rankings under Ease of Living Index 2020 were announced for cities with a population of more than a million, and cities with less than a million people.
111 cities participated in the assessment exercise that was conducted in 2020. The analysis categorizes them into Million+ populated cities (those with a population of more than a million) and Less than Million populated cites (those with a population of less than a million) along with all the cities under the Smart Cities Program.
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Top 10 cities: Category – Population more than a million
1. Bengaluru
2. Pune
3. Ahmedabad
4. Chennai
5. Surat
6. Navi Mumbai
7. Coimbatore
8. Vadodara
9. Indore
10. Greater Mumbai
Top 10 cities: Category – Population less than a million
1. Shimla
2. Bhubaneshwar
3. Silvassa
4. Kakinada
5. Salem
6. Vellore
7. Gandhinagar
8. Gurugram
9. Davangere
10. Tiruchirapalli
Municipal Performance Index (MPI)
Expanding the scope for the EoLI framework in order to make it more robust, a Municipal Performance Index (MPI) assessment was also undertaken for the first time in the country.
While the Ease of Living Index measures an outcome of the indicator, Municipal Performance Index focuses on the factors that produce those outcomes.
The latter serves in determining elements that prevent efficient local governance in service delivery mechanisms, planning, financial systems, and governance practice.
The New Delhi Municipal Council emerged as the winner in the “Municipal Performance Index” list in the “less than million population” category, followed by Tirupati and Gandhinagar.
Indore was ranked highest on the “Municipal Performance Index” list in the million-plus population category, followed by Surat and Bhopal.
“The MPI examined the sectoral performance of 111 municipalities (with Delhi being assessed separately for NDMC and the three Municipal Corporations) across five verticals which comprise of 20 sectors and 100 indicators in all totality.
The five verticals under MPI are Services, Finance, Policy, Technology, and Governance,” the ministry noted.
