The criteria of urban generally comprise one or more indicators like civic status, size, density, percentage of non-agricultural workforce, urban characteristics like presence of paved roads, electricity, piped water, sewers, and availability of education and health services. India follows a definition that consists of a combination of municipal status and demographic criteria. There is a variety of municipal status in India, such as Municipal Corporation, Municipality, Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, Notified Area Committee and Cantonment Board. If a settlement has a municipal status, it is defined as urban. For rest of the settlements, criteria such as a population of at least 5,000, a density of 400 persons per sq. km and 75 per cent male work force in the non-agricultural sector are applied. A settlement not covered by municipal status must satisfy all three criteria to be declared as an urban centre. These prerequisites with some minor changes have been followed since 1961.
URL : https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/ICP/MPR/WMR-2015-Background-Paper-RBhagat.pdf