Previous Year Question
As per Census 2001, the class I cities of India claim a share of the total urban population of
44.40%
56.50%
65.20%
62.32%
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
The correct answer is 62.32%.
According to Census 2001, 62.32% of India's total urban population lived in Class-I cities/towns.
The meaning of a Class-I city is important. Under the Census population-size classification, a town having a population of 1,00,000 or more is classified as a Class-I Town/City.
Urban centres are classified by population size as follows:
Class-I → 1,00,000 and above
Class-II → 50,000–99,999
Class-III → 20,000–49,999
Class-IV → 10,000–19,999
Class-V → 5,000–9,999
Class-VI → Below 5,000.
Thus, Class-I does not indicate an administrative status; it is essentially a population-size classification. Consequently, although Class-I cities constituted only a portion of all towns, they contained a very large share of India's urban population.
The official 2001 tables separately record the share of total urban population living in Class-I, Class-II, Class-III and Class IV–VI towns.