Shri Hardeep Singh Puri
Hon'ble Minister, Housing and Urban Affairs
This decade will be definitively urban, where every two seconds, one of our fellow citizens moves to a city in search of a better life. To make these lives fulfilling and enriching, we must ensure that our cities can generate sustainable livelihoods – which is our steadfast commitment to ensuring Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business for one and all. The new Centre for Digital Governance instituted at the National Institute for Urban Affairs will deliver the vision of the Ministry in building capacity across the stakeholders, and the promise of digital transformation for 4400 young Indian cities. I wish the CDG the best of luck in its course to unite the various policies of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and act as a single point of contact for the urban ecosystem.
Shri Manoj Joshi
Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
We at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs believe that a thriving ecosystem of citizens, entrepreneurs, civil society organisations and governments, is critical to driving urban transformation and unlocking India’s growth potential. The National Urban Digital Mission will unlock this potential, and make use of information technology for data driven governance, through our various programs such as the India Urban Data Exchange, India Urban Connect, SmartProcure, SmartCode and now the Citizen Centric Smart Governance as well.
I congratulate NIUA on the launch of the Centre for Digital Governance on working with the Ministry on a path-breaking new initiative. This new Centre will leverage NIUA’s wealth of experience in urban policy and engagement with the quadruple helix in the urban ecosystem, and lead the way in the implementation of digital initiatives.
Shri Kunal Kumar
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
In 2019, MoHUA launched the National Urban Innovation Stack to support the creation of an open, accessible digital ecosystem for all Indians. In order to operationalise this Stack, MoHUA has launched the National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) in February 2021. The NUDM will bring citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven digital transformation to all our cities. This vision for NUDM will be activated through the Centre for Digital Governance at the National Institute for Urban Affairs. The Centre for Digital Governance's flagship programs - National Urban Learning Platform and Citizen-Centric Smart Governance have already been launched towards these goals. We hope that the CDG will consolidate the resources of the urban ecosystem to draw out the best of the talent that India’s research institutions, MSMEs, start-ups, industry and civil society have to offer.
Shri Hitesh Vaidya
Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs
NIUA is pleased to anchor the Centre for Digital Governance. This new Centre will translate the vision of the National Urban Digital Mission through the power of ecosystem partnerships and digital infrastructure as the trusted partner for distributed governance. As India’s premier think-tank on urban development, NIUA has already led the way for the conceptualisation of smart cities, sustainable development, urban conservation and the mainstreaming of gender & disability in policy frameworks. With this new Centre, NIUA looks forward to championing inclusive and swift urban development in the future as well.