The ''classification of Indian cities'' is a ranking system used by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
to allocate House Rent Allowance (HRA) to public servants employed in cities in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. HRA is also used by the
Indian Revenue Service
The Indian Revenue Service (IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is an Indian government agency that is primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct and indirect taxes. As a central civil service under Group A of the executiv ...
(IRS) to provide
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
exemptions. Cities are classified on the basis of their population, as recommended by the Sixth Central Pay Finance. Under the latest HRA city ranking scheme, most popular media and culture considers only Tier-X cities to be metropolitan in nature. These eight cities are considered India's "metros".
Current classification
Under the recommendation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, the CCA classification was abolished in 2008. The earlier HRA classification of cities was changed from A-1 to X; A, B-1, and B-2 to Y; and C and unclassified cities to Z.
X, Y, and Z are more commonly known as Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 cities, respectively. There are eight X cities and ninety seven Y cities.
On the basis of the 2011 census, two cities —
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
and
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
— were upgraded from Y to X and twenty one cities from Z to Y on 1 April 2014.
Historical classification
The cities were classified as follows before the Sixth Central Pay Commission's recommendations were followed in 2008.
This classification was initially based on the recommendations of the
Fifth Central Pay Commission of India in 1997.
Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai were classified as A-1 cities.
City statuses were later revised based on the results of the 2001
Census of India
The decennial Census of India has been conducted 16 times, as of 2021. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by ...
.
Hyderabad was upgraded from A to A-1 status on 31 August 2007, and the same with Bangalore on 21 September 2007.
The CCA classification was abolished in 2008.
Under the older HRA classification, most popular media and culture considered only A-1 cities to be metropolitan in nature, therefore India's "metros".
Population-based classification
The
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...
(RBI) classifies centres into six tiers based on population.
The tables below show the classification.
See also
*
List of cities in India
The following tables are the list of cities in India by population. Often cities are bifurcated into multiple regions (municipalities) which results in creation of cities within cities which may figure in the list. The entire work of this article ...
*
List of million-plus agglomerations in India
India is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area, seventh-largest country by geographical area, the List of countries by population, second-most populous country with Demographics of India, ...
References
{{reflist
Geographic classifications
Lists of cities in India
fr:Villes de l'Inde