Archive · 3 Dec 2025
15 Cities Driving India's Growth Amid East-West Divide
Amitabh Kant, a former leader, said 15 big cities in India are very important for the country's future growth.
These cities help make a lot of money for India and can help the country reach a big money goal by 2047.
But Sanjeev Sanyal, an economist, said that only one city from the eastern part of India is on the list, and that city, Kolkata, hasn't been doing well.
He thinks more cities in the east need to grow and do better.
He also said that southern states have grown a lot since the 1990s, but eastern states like West Bengal and Bihar have not.
He believes Kolkata could be a big help for the east if it gets better.
Amitabh Kant identified 15 cities as key drivers of India's economic growth, contributing 30% of the country's GDP.
Kant emphasized the importance of good municipal governance in these cities to boost economic growth by 1.5% annually.
Sanjeev Sanyal criticized the list for lacking representation from eastern India, with only Kolkata included.
Sanyal highlighted the East-West economic divide, noting the underperformance of eastern states like West Bengal and Bihar.
He argued that Kolkata, with its historical infrastructure, could serve as a growth anchor for eastern India.
- Who
- Amitabh Kant (former Niti Aayog CEO), Sanjeev Sanyal (economist)
- What
- Identification of 15 key cities driving India's economic growth and concerns about eastern city representation
- When
- December 3, 2025
- Where
- India
- Why
- To highlight the importance of these cities in achieving India's $30 trillion economy goal by 2047 and address regional economic disparities
- Cities Named
- Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Coimbatore, Noida/Greater Noida, Kochi, Gurugram, Vishakhapatnam, Nagpur
- GDP Contribution
- 30% of India's GDP
- Economic Growth Boost
- 1.5% annually
- Eastern City Representation
- Kolkata (only one)