On conservative estimates 379 mn people will be added to India's urban spaces over the next 40 years - more than the entire population of the US today. By understanding more fully the diversity among already established cities, we can better address the urbanization process ahead.

As a first step, in this analysis we identify twenty key cities to track. These cities together account for 10% of India's population, but generate 31% of disposable income. We estimate household income growth in these cities at 11.2%yoy between 2005-8, decelerating gradually to average 10.1% through 2016.

By 2016, more than half of households in the twenty cities will be middle class, while the high-income segment could more than triple. Meanwhile, the share of low-income households could halve, to 7% from 16 % today...............

Indian financial sector reforms have induced vibrant competition across banks. Incumbent public sector banks are now competing with the private banks setting higher benchmarks in the banking sector. In this competitive environment customer satisfaction assumes centre stage both from the view of banks and regulators. These concerns have led Reserve Bank of India to have assessment of customer satisfaction with respect to compliance of IBA citizen's charter, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. NCAER was assigned this task to bring out the status of implementation of various parameters of IBA citizens' charter. The study further attempts to identify determinants of customer satisfaction and undertakes Multi Utility Satisfaction Analysis (MUSA). The findings of the report are expected not only to improve the quality of banking services but also protect customer's interest by providing feed back to the policy makers.

The report of the High Powered Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Finance to suggest a roadmap for the development of Mumbai as an International Finance Centre (IFC) was the subject of an intensive discussion on Tuesday, August 21. To the participants at the NCAER-Ministry of Finance-MasterCard India workshop, the report served as a benchmark to examine larger questions centred around the financial sector reforms. In many ways, the report itself has set the agenda for a debate broader than the brick and mortar aspects of making Mumbai an IFC. For, in the most part, the distinguished experts on the Committee (most of whom were drawn from the private sector) left no ambiguity that holistic reforms should have absolute precedence. If Mumbai is to be an IFC, then India's credibility in the eyes of the global financial community is needed.

The social cost benefit analysis approach allows an assessment of the impact of a project on the national economy unlike financial analysis, which looks at the impact of the project on the finances of the investors. For a project to be economically viable, it must be financially sustainable, apart from being economically efficient. If a commercial project is not financially sustainable, economic benefits would not accrue. Therefore, essentially, the two complement each other. This report assesses the social yield of POSCO Steel Plant investments in the state of Orissa.