India, Feb. 2 -- An urban challenge fund of Rs.1 lakh crore to transform cities into "growth hubs"; Rs.15,000 crore fund for SWAMIH 2.0 (special window for affordable and mid-income housing) to construct 100,000 "stuck" housing units; and enhanced bank loans and UPI-linked credit cards under the revamped PM SVANidhi (Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi) scheme -- these were the major announcements made for the urban sector by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on Saturday.

The finance minister said that urban development is among the six key areas where the budget aims at "transformative" reforms, along with taxation, the financial sector, the power sector, mining, and regulatory reforms. The budgetary allocation...