Kochi ranks 45th in ease of living; Thiruvananthapuram at 71

Thiruvananthapuram: There was little for Kerala to boast about when the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on Monday came out with its Ease of Living Index. Among 111 Indian cities ranked based on ‘Ease of Living’ using 78 parameters, Kochi ranks at 45 and Thiruvananthapuram at 71.

The index ranks Pune as the best city,  while Navi Mumbai and Greater Mumbai are at the second and third positions. Rampur in Uttar Pradesh is 111th city. New Delhi, the country capital, is at 65th position.

Kochi’s rank is a poor 105 in safety and security category, while Thiruvananthapuram is no better at 99.

The cosmopolitan cities of Chennai and Bengaluru are at 14 and 58 positions in the overall ranking. Kolkata figures nowhere in the ranking because it reportedly did not take part in it.

Ease of Living was assessed based on 78 parameters categorised under four pillars—institutional framework; physical framework; social framework and economic framework. The physical infrastructure was given a greater weightage.

Kochi getting to be at the 6th position in institutional framework, judged based on governance, can be considered a silver lining. Thiruvananthapuram is at the 27th position on this count.