Delhi was the largest city in terms of number of inhabitants in India in 2023.The capital city was estimated to house nearly 33 million people, with Mumbai ranking second that year. India's population estimate was 1.4 billion, ahead of China that same year.

The road network in the city of Ahmedabad in India extends to 2,600 kilometers. In fiscal year 2007, the city had a total of around 1.5 million registered vehicles, which increased to more than twice its initial value in 2020. The city used to have more four-wheelers in the early years, but since the mid-2000s, the number of two-wheelers saw a tremendous growth in the city. In 2020, more than 70 percent of the registered vehicles across the city, are two-wheelers.

Domestic automotive market

The automotive industry across the nation is one of the largest across Asia. In 2019, India had around 296 million registered vehicles. Production wise, the market has been dominated by two-wheelers. With mercilessly congested roads still a problem across metros and larger cities, the affection towards two-wheelers in an increasing vehicle population with sluggish infrastructure growth comes as no surprise.

Two-wheels will prevail

Even though two-wheelers contributed the most to the number of road accidents in 2018, they are likely to continue in grow in number, due to their maneuverability through traffic jams, including resorting to riding the footpaths, and ease in finding parking spots.

As of 2024, Mumbai had a gross domestic product of 368 billion U.S. dollars, the highest among other major cities in India. It was followed by Delhi with a GDP of around 167 billion U.S. dollars. India’s megacities also boast the highest GDP among other cities in the country. What drives the GDP of India’s megacities? Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, and its GDP growth is primarily fueled by the financial services sector, port-based trade, and the Hindi film industry or Bollywood. Delhi in addition to being the political hub hosts a significant services sector. The satellite cities of Noida and Gurugram amplify the city's economic status. The southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai have emerged as IT and manufacturing hubs respectively. Hyderabad is a significant player in the pharma and IT industries. Lastly, the western city of Ahmedabad, in addition to its strategic location and ports, is powered by the textile, chemicals, and machinery sectors. Does GDP equal to quality of life? Cities propelling economic growth and generating a major share of GDP is a global phenomenon, as in the case of Tokyo, Shanghai, New York, and others. However, the GDP, which measures the market value of all final goods and services produced in a region, does not always translate to a rise in quality of life. Five of India’s megacities featured in the Global Livability Index, with low ranks among global peers. The Index was based on indicators such as healthcare, political stability, environment and culture, infrastructure, and others.

The gender distribution of internet users according to a survey across Indian metropolitan cities showed males having higher shares of internet usage in 2019. Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat, showed the lowest share of women internet user compared to other metropolitan areas.