Classification of Indian cities facts for kids

The classification of Indian cities is a special way the Government of India sorts cities. This system helps decide how much House Rent Allowance (HRA) government workers get. HRA is money given to help pay for rent. It also helps with income tax exemptions, which means people pay less tax. Cities are sorted based on how many people live there. The biggest cities, called "metros," are usually the ones in the highest group.

How Cities Are Classified Now

Since 2008, cities have been put into three main groups: X, Y, and Z. These are also known as Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 cities.

• X Cities (Tier-1): These are the biggest and most important cities. There are eight X cities in India.
• Y Cities (Tier-2): These are large cities, but not as big as X cities. There are ninety-seven Y cities.
• Z Cities (Tier-3): This group includes all other smaller cities and towns.

In 2014, based on the 2011 population count, some cities moved up a group. For example, Pune and Ahmedabad became X cities. Also, twenty-one cities moved from the Z group to the Y group.

List of X, Y, and Z Cities

Here's a look at some cities in each group:

How Cities Were Classified Before

Before 2008, there was an older system for classifying cities. This system was based on recommendations from 1997. The biggest cities were called A-1 cities.

• Initially, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai were A-1 cities.
• Later, Hyderabad and Bengaluru also became A-1 cities in 2007.

Under this older system, only the A-1 cities were considered India's "metros" by most people. This old system was changed in 2008 to the X, Y, Z system we use today.

City Classification by Population

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also sorts cities into six tiers based on how many people live there. This helps them understand different types of areas.

RBI's Population Tiers

RBI's Centre Classification

The RBI also uses these groups to describe different types of areas: