Janaagraha is a non-profit working to transform quality of life in India’s cities and towns. For over two decades, the organisation has strengthened the city-systems that enable urban India to plan, design, govern, fund, and manage itself.
The organisation’s work focuses on three foundational city-systems: Planning and Design, Decentralised Participatory Governance, and State Capacities. Through these, it advances outcomes across climate, health, and equity — addressing the urgent challenges India’s cities face.
Janaagraha is driven by a fundamental conviction: how well India urbanises will determine how well India develops. The organisation champions sustainable urban development through systemic reforms, partnering with constitutional bodies, union and state governments, and civil society organisations. Its engagements span the XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI Finance Commissions, State Finance Commissions, Second Administrative Reforms Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, NITI Aayog, MoHUA, and state governments including Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Janaagraha conceived JnNURM, India’s largest urban renewal mission. Its flagship report, Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) provides a comprehensive assessment of urban governance across all states and union territories, creating a common frame of reference for diverse stakeholders to converge on transformative reforms. CityFinance.in, conceived and managed by Janaagraha for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has institutionalized financial transparency—over 95% of India’s 4,300+ urban local governments now publish audited accounts through this platform. The City Data and Analytics Platform with NITI Aayog enables data-driven urban governance at scale. Tender S.U.R.E., India’s first comprehensive urban road guidelines, has been adopted across 400 km in 37 cities, demonstrating 150% increased pedestrian usage and significantly improved walkability.
