India is a federal republic governed through a democratic parliamentary system. India's population is estimated to be almost 1.4 billion in 2022. It has a land area of 3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi). India is a federal union comprising 28 states, 8 union territories and over a quarter of a million local government bodies at city, town, block, district and village level. Major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru are ranked among world’s most congested cities. 

The Indian Government has attempted to introduce urban mobility planning approaches since 2006 when it published its first National Urban Transport Policy. The objectives of this Policy are to ensure safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access to jobs, education and recreation, especially for the marginal segments of the urban population. Entitled a "Transport" policy, it does in fact address urban mobility issues and adopts urban mobility planning approaches. It stresses the importance of public consultation and the need to learn by doing through pilot projects. It provides financing for cities to prepare Comprehensive Mobility Plans and it enables cities with over one million inhabitants to establish Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTA). It enables cities to access financial support for urban mobility infrastructure (especially mass transit systems) through the National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM) and it stresses the need for integrated urban mobility and spatial planning.