The Urban Quest series looks at Indian cities, one at a time, to assess whether they are future-ready to play their assigned role in 2047, when Bharat aspires to be a developed country — and, if not, what urgent measures are needed to bring them to that level. In this two-part edition, Urban Quest offers a comprehensive deep dive into the Silicon Valley of India and the country’s start-up capital as it exists today, and the promise it holds for the future.

In a nutshell, this edition examines where Bengaluru stands today and where — and how — it must reach quickly to meet the aspirations of the city, the state, and the country by 2047, when Bharat aims to become a viksit nation.

Looking Back

Bengaluru’s history spans millennia, with settlements existing for over 2,000 years. The modern city, however, was founded in 1537 by Kempe Gowda I as a mud fort under the Vijayanagara Empire, strategically developing it as a trading hub with planned streets. It then passed through the hands of the Deccan Sultanates, the Marathas (Shahaji Bhosle ruled from here), the Mughals, and the Mysore Kingdom (Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan), eventually becoming a British stronghold and, later, post-Independence, Bharat’s renowned “Silicon Valley" due to its IT boom — and now the start-up capital of the country.

The Reach

In 1951, Bangalore city (now Bengaluru) comprised the core Pete area and the cantonment, covering roughly 69 square kilometres under early municipal limits.

By 2025, the BMR spans about 8,005 square kilometres across Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, and Ramanagara districts, managed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) since 1986.

In the decades ahead, with more areas of the BMR likely to be assimilated into the Bengaluru city limits, the footprint of the city is expected to expand further.

The Count

As per the first census after Independence (the 1951 Census), Bengaluru was a small, compact city with a population of less than one million — 778,977 to be precise. In the 2001 Census, the city crossed the five-million mark (5,101,000), and in the 2011 Census, more than eight million (8,443,675). As per UN World Urbanisation Prospects, Bengaluru’s 2025 population is estimated at 14.40 million.

The Third Most Populous

According to the Revised Master Plan 2031 published by the Bangalore Development Authority, Bengaluru will have 20.3 million residents by 2031, next only to Delhi and Mumbai.

These estimates mean the city’s population will grow by 124.4 per cent from the 2011 Census figure of 90.45 lakh in just two decades (2011–2031).

Though the BDA opted for a middle path in its projections — eschewing both unbridled expansion and containment scenarios —........

© News18