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.

As of 2024, Mumbai had a gross domestic product of *** billion U.S. dollars, the highest among other major cities in India. It was followed by Delhi with a GDP of around *** 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.

Registered Motor Vehicles: City: Chennai data was reported at 6,351.729 Unit th in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,996.624 Unit th for 2019. Registered Motor Vehicles: City: Chennai data is updated yearly, averaging 3,455.789 Unit th from Mar 2002 (Median) to 2020, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,351.729 Unit th in 2020 and a record low of 1,355.550 Unit th in 2002. Registered Motor Vehicles: City: Chennai data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Automobile Sector – Table IN.RAE001: Number of Registered Motor Vehicles: by Cities.

In a survey conducted in 2022 among respondents from megacities of India, Surat emerged on the top in terms of clean mobility with a score of ****, among all megacities of India. It was closely followed by Chennai and Pune-Pimpri-Chinwad. The parameter of clean mobility includes impact of air pollution, clean mobility focused policies, willingness to adopt electric mobility, among others. Megacities are defined as the cities with a population of over ************ as per the survey. The Ease of Moving Index is a composite index comprising **** parameters across ** indicators. The parameters include seamless, inclusive, clean, efficient and shared mobility and investment in the city among others.

In a country with the third-largest road network in the world, the total number of vehicles in fiscal year 2022 stood at 354 million. Road travel seemed to be the preferred choice in India with around 60 percent of the population who used personal or shared vehicles for commute. Not only public commute, the industrial movement of goods through roads has also been on the rise with nearly 2.9 billion metric tons per kilometer of freight transported through roads in the financial year 2020. Demographics The youth in the capital city of Delhi prefer to use public transport, and it is known to be one of the best public transport networks in the country. In the southern cities of Hyderabad and Chennai, however, personal two-wheelers were vehicles of choice for the young generation. This affection towards the easily navigable two-wheelers was reflected in the sales volume, with an approximate 18 million two-wheelers sold in the country in financial year 2024. Road accidents With the increase of motor bike sales in India, there was also a rise in the risks involved with them. With over 32.9 thousand road accidents by two-wheelers in 2022, each year, about three to five percent of the GDP of the country was invested in road accidents. Despite the downside, the number of motorcycles was likely to increase to make travelling within a mercilessly congested and not easily accessible network of roads within the large cities. Moreover, with continued urbanization and a consumer sector that continues to burgeon, the development of the automotive industry was expected to see continued growth.