Archive · 13 Nov 2025
Dun & Bradstreet Index Shows India's Urban Growth Decentralizing
Imagine India is like a big playground with many cities.
Dun & Bradstreet made a special report, like a game score, called the City Vitality Index to see which cities are growing the fastest.
Bengaluru, a big city famous for computers, is still number one among the big cities.
But a smaller city called Ahmednagar, known for farming and milk, is now the top-growing smaller city!
This means that cities all over India are becoming more active, not just the biggest ones.
Some smaller cities are growing really fast because of farming or tourism.
The report uses special eye-in-the-sky technology to watch the cities.
It helps leaders and businesses understand where new jobs and opportunities are popping up across the country.
It shows that India's growth is spreading out, like ripples in water.
Dun & Bradstreet's City Vitality Index uses satellite data to track real-time economic activity across over 700 Indian districts.
Bengaluru leads among metropolitan cities, while Ahmednagar tops the list of emerging cities.
The index highlights a trend of decentralized urban growth, with smaller cities showing resilience and metros focusing on innovation and services.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal show strong representation with multiple cities ranking high in the index.
The City Vitality Index shows an 84% correlation with nominal GDP, making it a valuable tool for identifying economic shifts and emerging opportunities.
- Who
- Dun & Bradstreet
- What
- Released the City Vitality Index – Q4 2025, tracking India's urban economic activity.
- When
- November 13, 2025 (release date); data reflects Q4 2025 projections and Jun-Sep quarter economic moderation.
- Where
- India, focusing on over 700 districts and both metropolitan and non-metropolitan hubs.
- Why
- To provide a granular view of India's evolving urban economy, highlighting decentralized growth and emerging economic frontiers.
Established Metros
Emerging Cities
Economic Leadership
Established Metros
Metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Pune continue to show strength, with Bengaluru retaining the top spot due to its tech leadership.
Emerging Cities
Emerging cities, led by Ahmednagar, are showing significant growth, indicating a decentralized economic momentum driven by sectors like agro-industry and tourism.
Drivers of Growth
Established Metros
Metros consolidate their roles as innovation and service hubs, with manufacturing, Special Economic Zone activity, IT, and pharma expansion contributing to their growth.
Emerging Cities
Emerging cities' growth is fueled by specific regional strengths such as sugarcane farming, dairy cooperatives, agro-processing, cultural tourism, infrastructure upgrades, port-led growth, and mineral exports.
- Index Name
- City Vitality Index – Q4 2025
- Data Source
- Satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) data
- Scope
- 700+ districts in India
- Top Metropolitan City
- Bengaluru
- Top Emerging City
- Ahmednagar (MH)
- Index Correlation with Nominal GDP
- 84%