AUTHORS:

1. Edward Nicholas :- Syiah Kuala University, Indonesia.
2. Chia Jindal :- GGDSD College, Punjab University.
3. Rida Siddiqui :- MBA University of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
4. Syed Suheb :- St Joseph’s University, Bengaluru
5. Barron Madison Lau Jia Jie :- University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT

India’s urban centers are experiencing rapid economic growth alongside persistent inequality, infrastructural deficits, and environmental stress. Despite extensive literature on urban economic growth in India, few studies have empirically examined how structural challenges such as demographic pressures, labor market inefficiencies, and environmental degradation simultaneously affect urban productivity across major cities. This study addresses this critical gap by employing a descriptive quantitative approach and a robust panel econometric framework to analyze how population growth, unemployment, and air quality influence GDP per capita in New Delhi and Mumbai from 2017 to 2023. Unlike prior research that treats urban centers as homogeneous, this paper captures the contrasting urban trajectories of India’s political and financial capitals using FMOLS, GLS, and Robust Least Squares to model both long-run equilibrium and short-run dynamics, while correcting for endogeneity, heteroskedasticity, and cross-sectional dependence. The findings reveal a novel insight: while Mumbai gains from population-driven economic agglomeration, New Delhi suffers from growth-induced infrastructural strain. Unemployment remains a consistent drag on urban GDP in both cities, and, counterintuitively, higher pollution levels are linked with GDP growth, highlighting India’s continued reliance on emission-intensive industries. These differentiated outcomes expose the limits of one-size-fits-all urban policy models. The study contributes new evidence to urban sustainability literature and proposes a multidimensional SDG 11-aligned policy roadmap that integrates job creation, environmental resilience, and inclusive infrastructure planning to reshape India’s urban future.