1. The initiative on developing a Sustainable Urban Livelihood Programme (SULP) was tentatively begun in 2020 by INHAF, in collaboration with Hazards Centre, after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns had sent lakhs of workers on their long trudge back home as work dried up in the cities and towns to which they had migrated in search of livelihoods. Many groups and individuals trying to provide relief to the workers also began thinking seriously about the need for some kind of employment guarantee programme for urban areas. In the first phase of the initiative a team of 23 researchers were on boarded to collect and analyse primary and secondary data on urban workers, wages, and employment guarantee schemes. The studies culminated in the preparation of the SULP report wherein the findings were compiled. 

2. The report highlights major gaps in India’s urban employment landscape and policy framework. It begins by noting that unreliable and inconsistent national data undermines informed policymaking, especially as women and youth face declining access to secure, remunerative urban work. Analysis of urban poverty and employment schemes shows weak links between program performance and actual need, with shifts toward contractual and self-employment failing to ensure stable livelihoods or reliable data, alongside broader labour market instability due to the move from manufacturing to services. State-level schemes are found to better reflect local and ecological realities, but similarly lack evidence of generating sustainable livelihoods, particularly for women’s groups and youth, despite improved funding through convergence. Non-governmental proposals offer more transparent and participatory models, emphasizing longer-term wage employment.