Most livable cities and best municipalities in India

05 Mar 2021 CW Staff

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 population of less than a million, Shimla was ranked first followed by Bhubaneswar.

Muzaffarpur in Bihar had the lowest score.

Here are the tables of the top 10 rankings in each category:

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

10 best performing municipalities of cities with population of more than 1 million in 2020

Indore 66.08
Surat 60.82
Bhopal 59.04
Pimpri Chinchwad 59.00
Pune 58.79
Ahmedabad 57.60
Raipur 54.98
Greater Mumbai 54.36
Visakhapatnam 52.77
Vadodara 52.68

10 best performing municipalities of cities with population of less than 1 million in 2020

New Delhi 52.92
Tirupati 51.69
Gandhinagar 51.59
Karnal 51.39
Salem 49.04
Tiruppur 48.92
Bilaspur 47.99
Udaipur 47.77
Jhansi 47.04
Tirunelveli 47.02

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. Predictably, the municipal corporations that performed better were also that ranked well on cleanliness━Indore and Surat among the larger cities, and New Delhi and Tirupati among the smaller ones. 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 population of less than a million, Shimla was ranked first followed by Bhubaneswar. Muzaffarpur in Bihar had the lowest score. Here are the tables of the top 10 rankings in each category:Top 10 livable cities with population over 1 million in 20201. Bengaluru 66.702. Pune 66.273. Ahmedabad 64.874. Chennai 62.615. Surat 61.736. Navi Mumbai 61.607. Coimbatore 59.728. Vadodara 59.249. Indore 58.5810. Greater Mumbai 58.23 Top 10 livable cities with population of less than 1 million in 20201. Shimla 60.902. Bhubaneswar 59.853. Silvassa 58.434. Kakinada 56.845. Salem 56.406. Vellore 56.387. Gandhinagar 56.258. Gurugram 56.009. Davanagere 55.2510. Tiruchirappalli 55.24 10 best performing municipalities of cities with population of more than 1 million in 2020 Indore 66.08Surat 60.82Bhopal 59.04Pimpri Chinchwad 59.00Pune 58.79Ahmedabad 57.60Raipur 54.98Greater Mumbai 54.36Visakhapatnam 52.77Vadodara 52.68 10 best performing municipalities of cities with population of less than 1 million in 2020 New Delhi 52.92Tirupati 51.69Gandhinagar 51.59Karnal 51.39Salem 49.04Tiruppur 48.92Bilaspur 47.99Udaipur 47.77Jhansi 47.04Tirunelveli 47.02

Infrastructure Transport

01 Jun 2026

MMRDA advances 250 m on Orange Gate–Marine Drive tunnel

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 250 m of underground tunnelling for the Orange Gate–Marine Drive Urban Road Tunnel using India’s largest slurry shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) deployed for an urban road project.The project involves twin tunnels extending over 7 km beneath critical transport corridors, including Central Railway, Western Railway and Metro Line 3. The work requires high-precision engineering to navigate densely developed urban infrastructure.Once completed, the tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marin..

Infrastructure Urban

01 Jun 2026

Hindustan Zinc Pays Rs 188.46 Billion in FY26

Hindustan Zinc contributed Rs 188.46 billion to the public exchequer in FY 2025-26, according to its 9th Tax Transparency Report. The contribution, equivalent to 46 per cent of the company’s revenue, included direct and indirect taxes, government royalties, dividends to the Government of India, withholding taxes and other statutory levies.The company’s five-year cumulative contribution to the exchequer stood at Rs 915.72 billion. In FY26, Hindustan Zinc reported revenue of Rs 408.44 billion, EBITDA of Rs 221.62 billion and profit after tax of Rs 138.32 billion. It also achieved its highest..

Infrastructure Urban

01 Jun 2026

World of Concrete India 2026 Opens in Mumbai

Informa Markets in India will host the 12th edition of World of Concrete India 2026 from 3–5 June 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The specialised B2B exhibition will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, developers, architects, consultants, infrastructure companies, project leaders and government stakeholders.The event is expected to feature over 350 brands and more than 18,000 trade professionals. It will cover concrete and cement, dry mortar, precast technologies, formwork, construction chemicals, industrial and commercial flooring, scaffolding, safety solutio..