Urbanization

Tier-2 cities and the next migration wave

India's urban population is projected to add roughly 250–300 million people by 2050 — most of that growth will land in tier-2 cities like Surat, Coimbatore, and Indore rather than the existing metros.^[1]

Whether these cities get functional water, transit, and housing systems before the population arrives — rather than after, as happened in most first-generation metros — is arguably the single largest infrastructure question India faces.

Housing affordability & formal-sector supply

Formal housing supply in most tier-2 cities still lags population growth by a wide margin, pushing a large share of new urban residents into informal or semi-formal housing markets that are difficult to plan infrastructure around.