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India’s next growth story will be written in its Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
This article is authored by Umesh Gautam, Mayor of Bareilly and Chancellor, Invertis University.
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For decades, moving to a metropolitan city was almost seen as a natural next step for an ambitious young Indian. Better universities, stronger professional networks, larger companies and greater exposure were concentrated in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Families in smaller cities grew accustomed to seeing their children leave for higher education and eventually build their careers elsewhere. But that pattern is beginning to change. Across Tier 2 and Tier 3 India, aspirations have grown much faster than many of us realise, and young people increasingly want access to the same opportunities without necessarily having to leave their hometowns to find them.
Having worked closely with both young people and the administration in Bareilly, I have seen this change from very close quarters. Students today are thinking about entrepreneurship, technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), sustainability and businesses that can reach consumers far beyond their immediate geography. They are far more aware of what is happening across India and the world than previous generations could have been at the same age. The challenge, therefore, is no longer to create ambition. The ambition already exists. The real task before us is to build the ecosystem that allows it to translate into opportunity.
This is important because for a long time, talent from smaller cities has largely flowed towards a handful of metropolitan centres. Migration itself is not a problem and will always remain an important part of economic mobility. Young people should travel, study elsewhere, experience different environments and pursue opportunities wherever they find them. But there is a fundamental difference between leaving your hometown because you want to and leaving because you believe you have no other option. Our aim should be to make that distinction increasingly meaningful.
When talented young people are able to build careers and businesses closer to home, the impact goes well beyond the individual. A successful local enterprise creates employment, works with other businesses, brings professional talent into the ecosystem and gives other young people something tangible to aspire to. One entrepreneur choosing to build a company in a smaller city can create opportunities for dozens of people around them. Over time, these individual successes begin to change the economic character of the city itself.
Higher education institutions have an important role to play in making this possible. Universities in smaller cities cannot see themselves only as institutions that award degrees and prepare students to apply for jobs. They need to become active participants in the economic development of the regions around them. Students should have access to industry, entrepreneurs, mentors and emerging technologies while they are still studying. They need opportunities to test ideas, understand how businesses actually work and learn from both success and failure.
We must certainly prepare young people to become employable, but that cannot be the only measure of a successful education system. We should also be creating an environment in which some of those students can become employers themselves. Entrepreneurship should not feel like something that happens only in Bengaluru, Gurugram or Mumbai. A student studying in Bareilly or any other smaller Indian city should be able to look around and see people building companies, creating products and generating employment from within their own region.
At the same time, we should resist the temptation to judge the progress of smaller cities by how closely they resemble metros. Bareilly does not need to become another Delhi, just as every Tier 2 or Tier 3 city does not need to become another Bengaluru. Each city has its own economic strengths, industries, educational institutions, cultural character and local advantages. The more sustainable approach is to understand those strengths and build around them rather than attempt to reproduce a metropolitan model everywhere.
Infrastructure will naturally remain central to this transformation. Better roads, airports, public transport and digital connectivity can dramatically improve the ability of businesses and people to operate from smaller cities. But physical infrastructure alone cannot create an economic centre. Businesses also need skilled people, educational institutions need industry connections, entrepreneurs need access to mentorship and capital, and citizens need reliable civic services. These pieces cannot be developed in isolation from one another.
Quality of life will become equally important as businesses and professionals begin looking beyond the largest cities. Affordable living, shorter commutes and closely connected communities already give many smaller cities an advantage. If these are combined with good healthcare, education, clean public spaces, reliable civic infrastructure and meaningful professional opportunities, there is little reason why such cities cannot attract and retain high-quality talent.
The real measure of progress, however, will not be the number of new buildings, roads or commercial developments that appear on a city’s skyline. It will be whether a young person growing up there genuinely believes that an ambitious future is possible without first having to leave. That is a much harder outcome to achieve because it requires education, governance, infrastructure, entrepreneurship and industry to move forward together.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Umesh Gautam, Mayor of Bareilly and Chancellor, Invertis University.
