Delhi and Mumbai, the country’s two best cities, still have a lot of “catching up” to do when it comes to quality of living.
In the Worldwide Quality of Living survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, the two metros are ranked 150 — 29 positions behind Colombo (121) and even behind Senegalese capital Dakar (144).
Rival China fared far better, with Shanghai at 103rd position and at 80.1 index points. Beijing ranked 122 with 73.4 index points.
The main reasons for China's superior ranking are said to be greater international investment driven by the availability of lower cost of labour and manufacturing expertise.
The survey, conducted across more than 350 cities, took into account 39 criteria, including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety, health and housing.
The cities were ranked against New York as the benchmark city, which has an index score of 100. Based on these parameters, it is quiet evident why Delhi has lost out. The Capital certainly could be lagging behind because of high pollution levels, traffic congestion, medical and health considerations and housing problems to name a few.
While Indian cities still lag behind, they improved from last year's rankings. Delhi and Mumbai have moved up 61 index points up a notch from 151 last year, and Bangalore and Chennai have moved up 60.6 and 58.3 points from last year. “The ranking of some cities have improved from due to India's improved political relationships with neighbouring countries,” business leader, Mercer, Gangapriya Chakraverti said.
{{/usCountry}}While Indian cities still lag behind, they improved from last year's rankings. Delhi and Mumbai have moved up 61 index points up a notch from 151 last year, and Bangalore and Chennai have moved up 60.6 and 58.3 points from last year. “The ranking of some cities have improved from due to India's improved political relationships with neighbouring countries,” business leader, Mercer, Gangapriya Chakraverti said.
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