• Bengaluru and Shimla have topped the Ease of Living Index 2020, released by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri on March 04, 2021.

Key takeaways from the assessment :

• A total of 111 cities under the Smart Cities Program, participated in the assessment exercise that was conducted in 2020.
• The Ease of Living Index 2020 ranked cities in following two categories:

1. Million+ populated cities – those with a population of more than a million.
2. Less than Million populated cites – those with a population of less than a million.

• No city has been included from West Bengal because of “data challenge”.

Million+ category

• Bengaluru emerged as the top performer in this category.
• This was followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Indore, and Greater Mumbai respectively.

Less than Million category

• In this group , Shimla was ranked the highest in ease of living.
• This was followed by Bhubaneshwar, Silvassa, Kakinada, Salem, Vellore, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Davangere, and Tiruchirappalli.

Ease of Living Index (EoLI)

• The EoLI is an assessment tool by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs that evaluates the quality of life and the impact of various initiatives for urban development in the city.
• It provides a comprehensive understanding of participating cities across India based on quality of life, economic-ability of a city, and its sustainability and resilience.
• It also incorporates the residents’ view on the services provided by city administration through a Citizen Perception Survey.