City Finance Blog: How financially independent are India’s cities?
The latest Fiscal Autonomy Primer on CityFinance.in explores Own Source Revenue (OSR) a key indicator of municipal financial health, and how it varies across cities.
How much does your city actually earn on its own?
A city earns revenue from its citizens in many ways, from taxes and rent from municipal properties to services and other charges.
This edition, part of a multi-part series on CityFinance.in an initiative by Janaagraha focuses on understanding how cities finance themselves through OSR.
The data shows a clear pattern:
- OSR contributes ~50% of total ULG revenue (FY 2021–22)
- But larger cities consistently outperform smaller ones in generating their own revenue
The variation across cities highlights how urbanisation, economic base, and administrative capacity shape fiscal strength in India.
The analysis also looks at municipal bonds and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as tools to strengthen fiscal autonomy. However, only 22 ULGs have issued municipal bonds since 2015 (Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines), showing how underutilized this instrument remains.
This points to a larger gap improving fiscal autonomy will require stronger systems, capacity building, and better use of existing financial tools.
Read the full CityFinance.in blog and explore the data here: Link
Link to the LinkedIn Post: Link
Media Coverage: Cities for women: Turning local budgets into India’s gender engine| Feature in “The Week”
In a recent piece for The Week, Bhanita Boro and Nandhikeswari Ramaraju, who are our Public Finance Management fellows - Janaagraha, highlight a critical gap in urban governance.
Women make up nearly 46% of elected councillors in India’s cities, yet urban systems continue to overlook the realities shaping women’s everyday lives.
Cities must move beyond representation and embed gender responsiveness into budgeting, procurement, and public finance systems.
As Urban Local Governments prepare to receive significantly greater funding, this opens a critical opportunity to make city budgets a real tool for women’s empowerment, not just inclusion on paper.
Read the full Article here: Link
Media Coverage: Uttar Pradesh’s Urban Expansion Story | Feature in “Swarajya”
In a recent piece for Swarajya, Mehak Shrivastava, Senior Assosiate and Snigdha Vatsa, Assosiate – Janaagraha, highlight Uttar Pradesh’s urban expansion story.
Uttar Pradesh created 110 new Urban Local Bodies between 2017 and 2024 a remarkable pace for urban expansion.
But behind the numbers lies a quieter reality.
Many of these newly created cities are still functioning without adequate finances, staff, and systems needed for effective governance.
When new cities are created without corresponding investments in governance, service delivery and planning can struggle to keep pace with growth.
The article examines why urban transition requires more than reclassification.
Read the full Article here: Link