Question

Study the given table carefully and answer the questions that follow:

India - Trends of Urbanisation 1961 - 2011
Year	Number of Towns/UAs	Urban Population (in Thousands)	% of Total population	Decennial Growth (%)
1961	2,365	78,936.6	17.97	-
1971	2,590	1,09,114	19.91	38.23
1981	3,378	1,59,463	23.34	46.14
1991	4,689	2,17,611	25.71	36.47
2001	5,161	2,85,355	27.78	31.13
2011	6,171	3,77,000	31.16	31.08

1. During which decade, the net increase in number of towns/UAs is the lowest?
2. Mention the net increase in number of towns/UAs during 1981-91.
3. Explain the decennial growth rate of urban population.

Answer 1

1. The net increase was lowest during the decade 1961-71.
2. The net increase during 1981-91 was 1,311. 
3. The decennial growth rate represents the percentage increase in urban population over a ten-year period. In this table, it reached at 46.14% between 1971 and 1981 and has steadily declined since then, reaching 31.08% in the 2011 census. This demonstrates that, while the urban population continues to rise, the “rate” of expansion has reduced in recent decades.