Metropolitan restructuring in post-liberalized India: Separating the global and the local

This study examines the process of restructuring taking place in metropolitan cities in India. The opening up of the Indian economy since 1991 has brought much change in large cities. Both local and global agencies have played a role but with considerable variation in different states of the country. Taking the case of Bangalore (Karnataka) and Kolkata (West Bengal), the objective of this paper is to examine these agencies and their impacts on the cities’ growth policies. As an early leader of the reform process, Karnataka state and Bangalore, its capital, provide a contrast to West Bengal and its capital, Kolkata. The sub-national comparative study undertaken here could have wider applicability to other large developing countries.