Primate Cities in India

Submitted By: Rajesh K [M.U.R.P] I semester

School of Planning & Architecture – VijayawadaAn Institute of National Importance , MHRD , Govt of INDIA

Primate city

PRIMATE CITY :• A primate city is a major city that works as

the financial, political, and population

centre of a country and is not rivalled in

any of these aspects by any other city in

that country

• Normally, a primate city must be at least

twice as populous as the second largest

city in the country.

PRIMACY INDEX [PI]• PI = C1/ (C1 + C2 + C3 + C4) * 100

– PI = primacy index – C1 = amount of people in the biggest

city of the country – C2 = amount of people in the second

city of the country – C3 = amount of people on the third

city of the country – C4 = amount of people in the fourth

city of the country If the PI is > or = to 50, then it is

a primate city.

Connectivity• Golden Quadrilateral highway

• North–South and East–West

Corridor highway.

• Expressways make up

approximately 1,208 km

(751 mi) of India's road

network.

• The present suburban railway

services in India are limited and

are operational only in

Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune,

Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad

and Bengaluru.

• Ports.

• In India the present phase of urbanization has a short history, starting with the

modern factory industries developed on the Western line.

• Here four nodal cities developed during colonial rule Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai

and Delhi have paid significant role.

• Three of these were port cities with their respective hinterland where they

exercised their influence.

• The fourth was the capital of the British India and acted as a dry port with

profound impact in the northern parts of the country.

• Hence, Indian urbanization system was developed not along the single node

Major Cities in India

Map of Comparison of populationPopulation increase from 2001-2011

Rank Urban Agglomeration

Population (2011)

Population (2001)

Growth rate

Primacy Index for 2001

Primacy Index for 2011

1 Mumbai 183,94,912 164,34,386 11.93 38.66 41.82 Delhi 163,49,831 138,50,507 18.05 42.02 44.383 Kolkata 140,57,991 132,05,697 6.45 45.05 58.624 Chennai 86,53,521 65,60,242 31.91 31.34 33.255 Bengaluru 85,20,435 57,01,446 49.44 35.98 33.866 Hyderabad 76,77,018 57,42,036 33.7 40.29 42.79

MumbaiDelh

i

Kolkata

Chennai

Benga

luru

Hydera

bad

Ahmedab

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2,000,0004,000,0006,000,0008,000,000

10,000,00012,000,00014,000,00016,000,00018,000,00020,000,000

Population distribution from 2001-2011

Population (2001) Population (2011)

Primacy at India Level• At present, in India, there is no primate city. India being a federal state, the situation does not

warrant to give fillip to only one centre agglomerated voluminously leaving far behind other

centres.

• In 1981, Delhi was the national capital, but it has third rank after Kolkata and Mumbai, their

respective population being 5.7, 8.2 and 9.19 million. This was again not the case of primacy.

• Prior to 1991 Census Kolkata was the largest city of India (1981 popula tion being 9,194,018) while

Mumbai (1981 popula tion 9,171,794) occupied the second rank. Hence the ratio between the

populations of these two premier cities was 1: 0.9975. During 1991 Census Greater Mumbai

emerged as the largest city of India.

• In 1991, The ratio between the population of Mumbai and other 5 largest cities of

the country in descending order thus comes to 0.8750 for Kolkata, 0.6684 for Delhi,

0.4303 for Chennai, 0.3448 for Hyderabad, 0.3278 for Bangalore. This does not fit

the law of the primate city.

• In 2011 Census, Mumbai was the largest city of India (2001 popula tion being

16434386) while Delhi (2001 popula tion 13850507) occupied the second rank.

Hence the ratio between the populations of these two premier cities was 1: 0.9975.

During 2001 and 2011 Census Greater Mumbai and Delhi emerged as the largest

city of India with a growth rate of 11.93 & 18.05. Kolkata is having very less growth

rate among these.

Primacy at India Level

• Mumbai with a population of 183,94,912, it is the

second most populous city in the world.

• Mumbai has a deep natural harbour. It handles over

half of India's maritime cargo. Mumbai is the

commercial centre of India, generating 5% of India's

GDP and accounting for 25% of industrial output, 40%

of maritime trade, and 70% of capital transactions to

India's economy.

• Mumbai is one of the world's top ten centres of

commerce by global financial flow( RBI, BSE, NSE and

MNC’s.

• Mumbai's business opportunities, as well as its

potential to offer a better standard of living, attract

migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the

city a potpourri of many communities and cultures.

Mumbai

• Delhi with a total area of 42.7 km2,

serves as the seat of the Government

of India.

• Delhi (sometimes referred to as Dilli)

is the second-largest city of India and

the eighth largest metropolis in the

world by population.

• It is a federally administered union

territory officially known as the

National Capital Region (NCR).

Located on the banks of river Yamuna

in northern India.

Delhi

• The city was established in the 17th century by the British,

developed it into a major urban centre and naval base.

• By the 20th century, it had become an important

administrative centre, as the capital of Madras Presidency.

Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the

automobile, technology, hardware manufacturing, and

healthcare industries.

• The city is home to much of India's automobile industry

and is the country's second-largest exporter of software,

information technology (IT) and information-technology-

enabled services (ITES), behind Bangalore.

• Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP.

Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s

automotive exports and is sometimes referred to as "the

Detroit of India".

Chennai

• Calcutta served as the capital of India during the

British Raj until 1911. Once the centre of modern

education, industry, science, culture and politics in

India, Kolkata has witnessed intense political

violence, clashes and economic stagnation since

1954.

• Since the year 2000, economic rejuvenation has

spurred in the city's growth. Like other metropolitan

cities in India, Kolkata continues to struggle with the

problems of urbanisation: poverty, pollution and

traffic congestion.

• Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging

from the Indian struggle for independence to the

leftist and trade union movements.

Kolkata

Bangalore• Bangalore is India's third most populous city] and

fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.• Bangalore is home to some of the most well-

recognized colleges and research institutions in India.• Numerous public sector heavy industries, software

companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organisations are located in the city.

• Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India, A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic hub.

Hyderabad• Hyderabad is known for its rich history, culture and

architecture representing its unique character as a meeting point for North and South India, and also its multilingual culture, both geographically and culturally.

• Hyderabad is today one of the fast developing cities in the country and a modern hub of Information technology, ITES, and biotechnology.

Growth of Indian Cities

Absence of primacy in India • The large areal extent of India did not favour centralization of

infrastructure -economic, cultural and even social to bring about unitary growth at one-point.

• India was never a politically unified nation until 1947.• The colonial legacy of the past as well as the disintegration.• lack of true urban hierarchy and integration of the large rural population.• Regionalism and lot of confusion has been going on over sharing the

essential resources of water, energy, forests, etc. • India is not politically a unitary state. It is partially federal and partially

unitary. Each state of India is seeking the development of its own prime city.

Sources:• Relationship between Urban Primacy and Hierarchical System by S

Sharma Geography

• Census of India.

• Ministry of Urban development Authority

• City profiles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad.