AI-Driven Oversight Key as India's Urban Population Nears 80 Crore by 2050

Addressing the National Urban & Real Estate Development Conclave organised by NAREDCO at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, Kuldip Narayan, Joint Secretary, MoHUA, said India's urban population is projected to grow from around 50 crore at present to nearly 80 crore by 2047-2050, and may even exceed that level.

"Whether we like it or not, our urban population will cross 80 crore by 2050. We have to adapt, and we have to carefully align our actions," he said, underscoring that more than half of the built-up space required by 2050 is yet to be constructed.

Over the next 20-25 years, India will have to significantly expand housing supply while simultaneously undertaking large-scale brownfield redevelopment, he said. However, housing cannot be treated in isolation. Urban planning, public transport and housing must function as an integrated framework.

"Talking about them separately is an urban policy error," he remarked, adding that resilient and sustainable urban services will be essential to support such population growth.

Narayan said efficient land markets are central to this transition. A substantial portion of urban land remains locked due to regulatory constraints, litigation and market inefficiencies. In several cities, land accounts for over 50 per cent of total project cost, making housing unaffordable and constraining supply.

"We need efficient land markets and a strong institutional regulatory framework that promotes development rather than merely controls it," he said.

Access to long-term capital will also be critical to finance large-scale housing and infrastructure creation. "If we want to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047, urban development and real estate must be structurally prepared. Society, government and the industry must move together," he said.

Within this broader transformation, Narayan emphasised that regulation must evolve technologically. Referring to the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA), he said the law marked a historic reform by institutionalising registration, escrow safeguards, and grievance redressal, but now requires further digitalisation.

He further noted that much of the available data is static and PDF-based, which limits its utility. He called for machine-readable quarterly progress reports and integration of project approvals, financial disclosures and compliance data so that regulatory systems can generate automated early-warning signals and real-time insights.

Regulatory platforms, he said, should adopt machine-to-machine communication similar to that seen in banking and taxation systems. Interoperability across state RERAs would allow authorities to track developers' activities across jurisdictions and improve supervisory effectiveness.

Importantly, such transparency must also benefit homebuyers. Project-level data, he said, should be presented in a simplified and intelligible format so that an ordinary buyer can assess compliance history and risk before making a purchase.

The two-day conclave was attended by Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs; Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Civil Aviation Minister; Tokhan Sahu, Minister of State for Housing; and RERA chiefs from several states.

Narayan said regulation and development must move in tandem if India is to sustain its next phase of urbanisation. Technology-driven transparency, efficient land markets and institutional coordination, he added, will form the backbone of the real estate sector's contribution to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

- ANI