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

Real Estate

07 Jul 2026

Pecan Realty Completes Rs 1.5 Billion Transactions

Pecan Realty has recently completed four institutional transactions worth over Rs 1.5 billion over the past two years, strengthening its position as an execution-led real estate platform. The deals include resolution-led acquisitions, structured finance transactions and capital partnerships across its development portfolio.The transactions covered acquisitions through the National Company Law Tribunal process and helped provide repayment or exits to both private and public sector lenders. The company said the deals demonstrate its ability to resolve complex project situations, work with instit..

Real Estate

07 Jul 2026

SNN Estates Expands North Bengaluru Housing Project

SNN Estates has announced an expansion of its SNN Estates Felicity residential project in North Bengaluru following strong buyer demand, with 75 per cent of the first-phase inventory sold within three days of launch.The developer will add 76 apartments in the new phase, taking the project's estimated revenue potential to around Rs 1,000 crore upon completion of Phase 2.Spread across 6.5 acres in Rachenahalli, near Manyata Tech Park, the project comprises 604 apartments in 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and 4 BHK configurations. The development includes a 50,000-sq-ft clubhouse with amenities such as sports co..

Infrastructure Urban

07 Jul 2026

SCG Drives ASEAN Industrial Transformation Strategy

SCG is strengthening its focus on ASEAN as a key growth region by advancing industrial transformation, enhancing competitiveness and building resilient regional value chains. Thammasak Sethaudom, President and Chief Executive Officer, SCG, highlighted the need for industries to continuously develop capabilities, strengthen resilience and deepen regional cooperation to achieve sustainable long-term growth.SCG views ASEAN as an important growth engine alongside China, supported by favourable demographics, trade connectivity and investment flows. With ASEAN’s GDP projected to grow by around 4.7..