India’s cities produce most of its wealth, yet they are so woefully underfunded (even accounting for leakages and swindling by muncipal authorities) Municipal revenue as a share of GDP: India: 0.9% Poland: 4.5% South Africa: 6% Brazil: 7.4% UK: 13.9% Norway: 14.2% The funding gap has lasted for years. Over the past decade, Centre and state tax revenue rose from 16% to 18% of GDP, while municipal revenue still stays less that measlu 1%. Property tax shows the same problem. It brings in about 1% of GDP across the OECD. In India it brings in 0.15%. Cities are responsible for the basics we depend on every day: water, sewage, garbage, buses, footpaths and clean air. These are the services where public spending pays off most directly for citizens, and they are funded the least. A realistic target is municipal revenue of 3–4% of GDP. Getting there would mean collecting property tax properly, fixing land records, and giving cities both money and the authority to deliver. India cannot reach developed-country standards with cities this underfunded. (Prachi Mishra, Ashoka University, via @timesofindia #UrbanIndia #Cities #Governance #ViksitBharat