# Urbanisation pace too slow for 2047 goal, says Panagariya 2026-08-06T19:46:48+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Economist Arvind Panagariya has said India must accelerate urbanisation to become a developed nation by 2047. Speaking at the NCAER India Policy Forum 2026, the former 16th Finance Commission chairman noted India's urban population is about 35%, far behind South Korea and Taiwan at similar stages of industrialisation. He called land scarcity and restrictive building regulations the biggest obstacles, urging states to raise FSI limits, free up idle government land, and create special employment regions. India's urbanisation has been actively driven by policies since the 1990s, from the Mega City scheme and JNNURM to the Smart Cities Mission. Yet the country's political and institutional machinery still tilts heavily toward rural voters, even as a third of Indians now live in cities. Panagariya argued that without faster migration into urban centres, high economic growth will not be sustainable. ## Coverage - newindianexpress.com - livemint.com Tags: cities, infrastructure, municipal governance, urbanisation Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indias-cities-grow-faster-than-its-politics-can-adapt/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indias-cities-grow-faster-than-its-politics-can-adapt/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.