New Delhi, May 15 -- The Indian government should increase its focus on programmes like the Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT to promote green infrastructure and improve urban ecological resilience, according to a research report by the State Bank of India (SBI).

These initiatives, the report said, are essential to managing urban growth while protecting the environment.

SBI said "more and more programmes like Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT are essential to integrate green infrastructure and enhance urban ecological resilience".

The report stated that these government programmes are helping integrate environmental sustainability with urban development, supporting what it called a "U-shaped hypothesis."

According to this idea, early stages...