A 'livable' city is one that directly benefits the people who live and work in it, along with those who visit it. It refers to the environmental and social quality of an area, which includes local environment conditions, presence of quality education and health institutions, infrastructure, spending power administered by its consumers, safety of the population and recreational avenues. Live ability Index 2011, published by the Institute for Competitiveness, has come out with the ranking of top 50 cities in India. According to the Institute, the index takes into consideration the various associated and crucial dimensions of livability criteria for 50 cities and sums up nearly 300 indicators. Let us have a look at the top 30 cities based on the Index ranking. Note: Goa has been added to this list, despite it being a state.

1. New Delhi

Financial: 70.3
Physical: 95.45
Communication: 73.43
Administration: 59.99
Human capacity: 71.25
Innovation: 62.97
Overall score: 78.02

2. Mumbai

Financial: 83.38
Physical: 63.77
Communication: 71.19
Administration: 63.53
Human capacity: 68.19
Innovation: 70.64
Overall score: 72.93

3. Bengaluru

Financial: 62.15
Physical: 64.46
Communication: 67.53
Administration: 62.76
Human capacity: 64.04
Innovation: 59.99
Overall score: 65.28

4. Pune

Financial: 54.50
Physical: 62.03
Communication: 61.86
Administration: 54.25
Human capacity: 68.51
Innovation: 64.21
Overall score: 64.27

5. Chennai

Financial: 65.90
Physical: 62.37
Communication: 58.63
Administration: 56.20
Human capacity: 64.35
Innovation: 67.45
Overall score: 62.75

6. Gurgaon

Financial: 65.29
Physical: 57.94
Communication: 68.65
Administration: 69.51
Human capacity: 61.32
Innovation: 62.63
Overall score: 62.30

7. Kolkata

Financial: 66.64
Physical: 64.02
Communication: 56.28
Administration: 57.93
Human capacity: 63.29
Innovation: 59.61
Overall score: 61.99

8. Hyderabad

Financial: 67.16
Physical: 62.55
Communication: 61.36
Administration: 56.51
Human capacity: 60.56
Innovation: 64.86
Overall score: 61.76

9. Ahmedabad

Financial: 61.56
Physical: 58.18
Communication: 54.64
Administration: 54.77
Human capacity: 63.13
Innovation: 57.81
Overall score: 50.86

10. Jaipur

Financial: 60.02
Physical: 57.21
Communication: 65.37
Administration: 58.74
Human capacity: 52.53
Innovation: 52.53
Overall score: 59.72

11. Noida

Financial: 56.17
Physical: 56.57
Communication: 65.37
Administration: 58.10
Human capacity: 78.52
Innovation: 57.98
Overall score: 59.33

12. Surat

Financial: 56.73
Physical: 57.55
Communication: 53.87
Administration: 51.15
Human capacity: 60.50
Innovation: 57.92
Overall score: 58.85

13. Nagpur

Financial: 56.83
Physical: 50.05
Communication: 63.91
Administration: 55.99
Human capacity: 59.56
Innovation: 58.91
Overall score: 58.48

14. Kochi

Financial: 58.45
Physical: 61.57
Communication: 47.85
Administration: 53.85
Human capacity: 61.61
Innovation: 64.51
Overall score: 58.06

15. Chandigarh

Financial: 60.90
Physical: 56.89
Communication: 61.68
Administration: 61.38
Human capacity: 60.94
Innovation: 65.64
Overall score: 58.01