Current urban data in India has marked a departure from the long established large city led urban growth to the small town driven urban growth at macro level. This has resulted in the rejuvenation of small towns in the arena of urban research in India. Based on the emerging body of literature and secondary data, the current study focuses on the nature of growth; economy; provision of basic services; governance; informality and the policy perspectives of the small towns. It indicates that more often than not evolution of small towns does not depend on large cities. Although there are regional and inter town variations, it is conspicuous that a large number of such towns across the country is growing by pulling people from surrounding areas and also by drawing ‘new’ economic activities. However, informality and weak local governance create a stumbling block to the management of changing socio-spatial reality and to meet the growing demand for basic services. In the circumstances, a strong policy intervention is required in favour of the small towns. But unfortunately, the Government is aloof in this regard and there is an increasing tendency to bypass the small towns from the nets of the urban development programmes. The study also identifies the agenda for further research related to small towns.