India's top 10 most livable cities

05 Mar 2021 Editorial Team

A total of 111 cities participated in the exercise when the assessment was conducted last year by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Bengaluru emerged as the best city on ease of living parameters with an index score of 66.70 among Indian cities with a population of more than a million. Pushing last year’s top-ranked city, Pune, to a second position, Bengaluru jumped the charts from its distant previous position at 58 in 2018.

Ease of living was the lowest in Bareilly (UP), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), and Srinagar (J&K). Among cities with a population of less than a million, Shimla was ranked first followed by Bhubaneswar.

For Top 10 most livable cities, click here.

Muzaffarpur in Bihar had the lowest score.

Top 10 livable cities with population over 1 million in 2020:

1. Bengaluru 66.70
2. Pune 66.27
3. Ahmedabad 64.87
4. Chennai 62.61
5. Surat 61.73
6. Navi Mumbai 61.60
7. Coimbatore 59.72
8. Vadodara 59.24
9. Indore 58.58
10. Greater Mumbai 58.23

Top 10 livable cities with population of less than 1 million in 2020:

1. Shimla 60.90
2. Bhubaneswar 59.85
3. Silvassa 58.43
4. Kakinada 56.84
5. Salem 56.40
6. Vellore 56.38
7. Gandhinagar 56.25
8. Gurugram 56.00
9. Davanagere 55.25
10. Tiruchirappalli 55.24

Also Read: Most livable cities and best municipalities in India

Image: Lalbagh glass house arboretum is one of the many lung spaces in Bengaluru that helped the city gain the high ranking.

The recently announced Ease of Living Index 2020 rankings for cities indicates that Bengaluru and Pune are the most “livable” among larger cities, while Shimla and Bhubaneswar topped the charts among the smaller cities. A total of 111 cities participated in the exercise when the assessment was conducted last year by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Bengaluru emerged as the best city on ease of living parameters with an index score of 66.70 among Indian cities with a population of more than a million. Pushing last year’s top-ranked city, Pune, to a second position, Bengaluru jumped the charts from its distant previous position at 58 in 2018. Ease of living was the lowest in Bareilly (UP), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), and Srinagar (J&K). Among cities with a population of less than a million, Shimla was ranked first followed by Bhubaneswar. For Top 10 most livable cities, click here. Muzaffarpur in Bihar had the lowest score. Top 10 livable cities with population over 1 million in 2020: 1. Bengaluru 66.70 2. Pune 66.27 3. Ahmedabad 64.87 4. Chennai 62.61 5. Surat 61.73 6. Navi Mumbai 61.60 7. Coimbatore 59.72 8. Vadodara 59.24 9. Indore 58.58 10. Greater Mumbai 58.23 Top 10 livable cities with population of less than 1 million in 2020: 1. Shimla 60.90 2. Bhubaneswar 59.85 3. Silvassa 58.43 4. Kakinada 56.84 5. Salem 56.40 6. Vellore 56.38 7. Gandhinagar 56.25 8. Gurugram 56.00 9. Davanagere 55.25 10. Tiruchirappalli 55.24 Also Read: Most livable cities and best municipalities in IndiaImage: Lalbagh glass house arboretum is one of the many lung spaces in Bengaluru that helped the city gain the high ranking.

Infrastructure Urban

17 Sep 2025

DCPC Prepares for Special Campaign 5.0 with Focus on E-Waste

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, is gearing up for Special Campaign 5.0, to be held from 2nd to 31st October 2025. The initiative will focus on e-waste disposal as per MoEFCC’s E-Waste Management Rules 2022, space optimisation, and enhancing workplace efficiency across field offices.Special Campaign 4.0, conducted between October 2023 and October 2024, delivered notable results in record management, grievance redressal, scrap disposal, and cleanliness drives.Key outcomes of Special Campaign 4.0Records management: 2,443 physical fil..

Real Estate

17 Sep 2025

BlackRock India Leases 1.4 Lakh Sq Ft in Bengaluru

BlackRock Services India, the domestic arm of global asset manager BlackRock, has leased 1.4 lakh sq ft of office space at IndiQube Symphony in Bengaluru, according to Propstack data. The 10-year deal is valued at around Rs 4.10 billion.The lease, among the largest transactions in India’s co-working sector, highlights the growing preference of global institutions for flexible office providers. The agreement, commencing October 1, 2025, covers ground plus five floors in KNG Tower 1 at Ashoknagar, MG Road — one of Bengaluru’s prime commercial hubs.As per the lease document, BlackRock will ..

Infrastructure Transport

17 Sep 2025

L&T Bags Rs 25–50 Bn Order for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Track Works

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Transportation Infrastructure business has secured an order valued between Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 billion from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor.The contract, Package T1, involves the design, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of 156 route km of high-speed ballastless track on a Design-Build Lump Sum Price basis. The stretch runs from Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex to Zaroli village in Gujarat and includes 21 km of underground track and 135 km of elevated viaduct.Se..