Union Budget: Transforming Indian Cities with Key Reforms and Investments

• Despite significant investments (₹9 lakh crore since 2014-15), quality of life in Indian cities hasn't improved due to issues in urban planning, official competencies, and local government empowerment.
• The Union Budget 2026-27 should propose a 10-year national mission for urban roads, mandating high design standards like Tender SURE and linking funding to quality procurement and urban design recruitment.
• It should also support creating a shelf of bankable urban projects by funding city strategies, Capital Investment Plans (CIPs), and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) to build institutional capacity.
• The budget needs to fund the identification, mapping, and valuation of underutilised public land in cities to unlock its value for socio-economic growth.
• Finally, the Union Government must reimagine urban infrastructure finance by upgrading policy frameworks to attract investments from insurance, provident, and pension funds, and promote municipal borrowing through reform-linked grants.

Why It Matters: Future Union Budgets must focus on urban planning, project development, land value, and infrastructure finance to truly transform Indian cities.