Annual survey of India’s city-systems, 2016
Thiruvananthapuram, Pune and Kolkata have emerged as the top three cities in an annual survey of governance systems. The biggest gainer this year has been Bhubaneswar, which jumped eight ranks to the 10th spot, thanks to a slew of urban reforms initiated by the city. The Annual Survey of India's City Systems (ASICS) 2016, which examines city systems on the basis of 83 governance parameters, reveals that Indian cities fare very poorly compared to global benchmarks. The survey is conducted by Bengaluru-based non-governmental organisation Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. Indian cities scored between 2.1 and 4.4 on a scale of 10, compared to London and New York, which scored 9.3 and 9.8 respectively. The low scores, as per the survey, imply that Indian cities need to strengthen their city systems including quality of laws, policies and institutions to improve service delivery and thereby deliver a high quality of life to citizens.