Ease of Living Index: 10 best cities to live in India; Bengaluru comes first, Pune second

Bengaluru has emerged as the top Indian city on the government's Ease of Living (EOL) Index 2020. As per the index released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday, March 4, Bengaluru, which is the centre of country's high-tech industry, bagged the top spot on the list of Indian cities with a population of over a million. The city is the best on ease of living parameters among 49 million-plus cities in 2020.

"Bengaluru emerged as the top performer in the Million+ category [in category of 'population more than million], followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Indore, and Greater Mumbai," the ministry said.

The EOL Index assesses the well-being of citizens in 111 cities, including cities identified under the government's Smart Cities Mission. Pune and Ahmedabad bagged the second and third ranking on the list.

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The EOL index was first launched in 2018 and relies on indicators encompassing 15 evaluation criteria, such as education, governance, economy, affordable housing, identity and culture, assured water supply, public open spaces, wastewater management, power, health, land use planning, safety and security, quality of environment, transportation and mobility, and solid waste management.

Top 10 cities: Category - Population more than a million

1. Bengaluru

2. Pune

3. Ahmedabad

4. Chennai

5. Surat

6. Navi Mumbai

7. Coimbatore

8. Vadodara

9. Indore

10. Greater Mumbai

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Top 10 cities: Category - Population less than a million

1. Shimla

2. Bhubaneshwar

3. Silvassa

4. Kakinada

5. Salem

6. Vellore

7. Gandhinagar

8. Gurugram

9. Davangere

10. Tiruchirapalli

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Municipal Performance Index (MPI)

Apart from the EOL 2020, the government also released the final rankings of the Municipal Performance Index (MPI). The New Delhi Municipal Council emerged as the winner in the "Municipal Performance Index" list in the "less than million population" category, followed by Tirupati and Gandhinagar.

Indore was ranked highest on the "Municipal Performance Index" list in the million-plus population category, followed by Surat and Bhopal.

"The MPI examined the sectoral performance of 111 municipalities (with Delhi being assessed separately for NDMC and the three Municipal Corporations) across five verticals which comprise of 20 sectors and 100 indicators in all totality. The five verticals under MPI are Services, Finance, Policy, Technology, and Governance," the ministry noted.