Migration to larger cities is reducing poverty in India as the big towns hold the best prospects for the poor to improve their life chances, says a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on urban poverty.

?Poverty levels in small size towns are high, in the middle size towns poverty levels are lower and is the lowest for large towns. These results are not surprising,? the India: Urban Poverty Report 2009 says. ?It is the bigger towns, in fact, the metros or mega towns which have really acted as the engines of growth,? the report says while analysing the data on poverty trends.

Economic growth further accelerates the growth of these towns. The report also observed that large cities exhibit distinctly higher demographic growth, better infrastructural facilities and higher levels of education and lower poverty ratios. ?Quality of employment, productivity and returns to education are likely to be better in large cities than in small towns,? it says.

On income level and literacy, it says literacy does not appear to count for much in terms of educational achievements but is making a difference to urban life. ?Ability to read newspapers, bills and boards, titles and addresses, signs and indications can infuse a tremendous amount of confidence in a person, especially when compared to a person who is completely illiterate,? it observes.

However, the report states although urbanisation has helped lowering poverty in big cities, the poor in urban areas face acute problems relating to shelter and access to water, health, and sanitation services, and are under constant threat of losing their livelihood as a consequence of new developments and modernisation. The report says urban poverty is estimated to be around 25%. Despite job creations in urban centres, workers have been increasingly pushed into informal sectors even as the space for informal economic activities in the towns and cities are ?gradually shrinking?.

?Within the informal sector, the profile of the work in urban areas has also moved from casual employment (which is paid on a regular basis) to self employment (which carries its own uncertainties),? the report says.

The report assumes importance as it provides a baseline data and policy guidelines to the government developing effective and sustainable urban poverty reduction policies.

On flow of credit to poor population, the UNDP report says it has been concentrated in big cities and large credit brackets. ?It is therefore no surprise that state?s poverty alleviation approach through the provision of micro credit designed for the creation of income earning opportunities for the poor has failed to make any significant impact on the urban scene,? it says.

On the changing profile of urban workers, the report says mostly workers in a urban centres are street vendors, rickshaw pullers, rag pickers, cleaners, washers, watchmen, load carriers, domestic maids, plumbers, electricians or workers in a small urorganised industries, hotels, restaurants or construction sites, and their workspaces are often public spaces like footpaths, streets, vacant plots and parks.

?While blue collar workers contribute to the growth of cities, there is a growing trend to push the poor to the urban periphery as they are increasingly seen as encroachers,? the report, which gives an insight on the nature and extent of urban poverty in India, comments.

There has been uneven level of urbanisation across the states in the country. According to the report, Delhi (94%) and Goa (53%), Tamil Nadu (48%) are the most urbanised states while states like Himachal Pradesh (10%), Bihar (13%), Assam (13%) and Orissa (15%) are the least urbanised ones.

The report also says cities like Mumbai tops the list of metropolitan cities among the male workers in regular and salarised jobs, followed by the neighbouring district of Thane. Other cities which show higher employed males in regular and salarised jobs are Vadodra, Jaipur, Bangalore, Delhi and Howrah, where more than half the male migrants are regular workers.

Cities located in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar indicate a higher level of male workers in self-employment activities, it says.

However, the report also commends the government?s effort towards eradicating urban poverty through programmes such as Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission that has been launched in 63 cities.

The report also covers issues of basic services to urban poor, migration, urban economy and livelihoods, micro finance for urban poor, education and health, unorganised sector and livelihoods. The report has been prepared under the supervision of Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Amitabh Kundu and has been supported under the government of India-UNDP project titled National Strategy for Urban Poor.