Ease of Living Index 2018

Why in news?

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Ease of Living Index 2018 in August 2018.

What is Ease of Living Index?

The Index was launched in 2017 by MoHUA.  The Index captures the quality of life in cities and seeks to:

1. Drive an evidence-based approach for future interventions and investments to deliver ease of living outcomes;
2. Catalyse actions to improve the quality of life in Indian cities;
3. Track broader development outcomes, including the Sustainable Development Goals; and
4. Serve as basis for dialogue with citizens and urban decision-makers on key strengths as well as areas demanding improvement in cities.

How many cities participated in the ranking process?

111 cities in 35 states/ union territories participated in the Ranking process.

Which cities topped the ranking?

Pune, Maharashtra topped the 2018 ranking. Top 10 cities are (rank order) are Pune, Navi Mumbai, Greater Mumbai, Tirupati, Chandigarh, Thane, Raipur, Indore, Vijaywada and Bhopal. Among other other major cities, Chennai ranked 14th rank, Ahmedabad 23rd, Hyderabad 27th, Varanasi 33rd, Bengaluru 58th and Delhi 65th.

Rampur in Uttar Pradesh was ranked worst on the scale and also Kohima and Patna on bottom two and three ranks while.

What are the framework and indicators based on which these ranking are based upon?

It captures quality of life based on data collected from urban local bodies on 4 parameters, which were further broken down into 15 categories and further 78 indicators.

Each of these 15 categories falls within one of the following four pillars: (i) institutional, (ii) social, (iii) economic, and (iv)physical. The different categories include: (i) assured water supply, (ii) economy and employment, (iii) education, (iv) governance, (v) health; (vi) mixed land use and compactness, (vii) solid waste management; and (viii) transportation and mobility. The cities ranked under the Index have population more than one million, and fall within the category of smart cities and capital cities.

What is the significance of such ranking?

The index aims to help cities attain liveable city status, get them more investments and improve tourism.

It also seeks to serve as knowledge base for taking policy decisions and for planning. It also marks shift to data driven approach to urbanisation and promote competitive spirit among cities.