Sports Minister U Stalin and cricketer R Ashwin with other dignitaries at the launch of the initiative

R. Ashwin to Provide Cricket Lessons to Chennai School Students under CITIIS

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)

The Greater Chennai Corporation will provide cricket and football training to students from GCC schools under the CITIIS program. A contingent of 30 selected school students – both male and female – will receive training under Indian cricketer R Ashwin’s academy, Gen Next Cricket Institute. 

For football, a team will be formed under the guidance of the Great Goals Foundation. The initiative was inaugurated in Chennai by Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Health Minister Ma Subramanian, Mayor Priya Rajan, GCC Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi and French Consul General in Chennai Lise Talbot Barré, among others. At the event, Ashwin expressed his wish for students, trained under the CITIIS program, to represent the country and teams in the Indian Premier League.

Roundtable discussion with key stakeholders on EPIC project in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

NIUA and BMC Undertake Survey to Map Urban Flooding & Water Wastage

Water & Environment (W&E)

The W&E vertical at NIUA and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) have undertaken a 15-day survey in Bhubaneswar to identify problems relating to urban flooding and water wastage, and propose corrective measures to the government to address the issues. This is part of the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) project funded by the International Union For Conservation Of Nature. The project titled, Proliferating Ecosystem-based Adaptation Practices in Indian Cities or EPIC, seeks to address two core challenges that are faced by most cities in the face of climate change i.e., urban flooding and water scarcity. 

The overall vision of this project is to create an enabling environment for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaption (EbA) in the water management strategy of a city. Additionally, it will inspire other cities to adopt this approach. Uday Bhonde, Jyoti Verma, Nikita Madan and Banibrata Chaudhary from the W&E vertical visited Bhubaneswar, the pilot city for the project from 17-20 April 2023 to have a preliminary understanding of the existing situation in the city regarding water flooding and water security.

Second issue of the ICC magazine launched by NIUA Director, Hitesh Vaidya

Second Issue of the 'Exclusively Inclusive' Magazine Launched!

Inclusive Cities Centre (ICC)

The second issue of the biannual magazine of the ICC Exclusively Inclusive was launched and unveiled by Director NIUA, Hitesh Vaidya on 19 April 2023. The magazine is a knowledge resource curated to promote adoption of participatory processes as the core indicator for inclusive city development in Indian cities. 

The magazine is a collection of programmes and initiatives for urban regeneration that have evolved, been planned and delivered through multi stakeholder partnerships in India. It captures the current practices and the constraints experienced in such processes, and the conditions required to enhance the ‘inclusiveness’ in urban regeneration.

NIUA Director Hitesh Vaidya addressing the participants to deliberate on Inclusive Sanitation

Strategising Inclusive Sanitation: Consultation on ‘Creating Inclusive Public Toilets’ Organised

Building Accessible, Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities (BASIIC)

A round table consultation on Creating Inclusive Public Toilets was organised by BASIIC and SCBP Programme of NIUA on 19 April 2023. The consultation presented and exchanged ideas on making public sanitation inclusive and accessible for a diverse range of users including persons with disabilities and gender minorities. 

Presentations were made on accessible toilets (by BASIIC), menstruation practices (by Jindal School of Architecture), and WASH facilities in Ladakh and Karnataka (by BORDA South Asia). The event included discussion on issues related to service delivery, identifying best practice and designing future interventions for creating inclusive toilets. 

Key highlights:

1. Importance of community participation
2. Recognising the diverse user groups
3. Bringing behavioural shifts and stringent monitoring

Speakers from VSCL setting the context of the dissemination workshop

Disseminating Learnings from the GUIDE Project

Building Accessible, Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities (BASIIC)

BASIIC Programme in collaboration with UNESCO New Delhi and the Varanasi Smart City Ltd (VSCL) organised a Learning Dissemination Workshop on 23 April 2023. The workshop focused on discussing the findings from the primary data collection on issues related to disability, under the Good Governance for Urban Inclusion through Data & Empowerment of Persons with Disability (GUIDE) project.

Through GUIDE, 107 households were surveyed in the Shivpur ward of Varanasi as a pilot to enhance the involvement of persons with disabilities in the collection, compilation, and analysis of data on issues that affect them within cities. The findings from the study showed an urgent need to incorporate universal design features in public buildings to improve persons with disabilities’ access to basic and essential services, along with sensitisation of the service delivery system and local communities.
During the workshop, ‘Disability Inclusive City Profiles (#DICP)’ of eight urban services were presented along with the ‘City Disability Inclusion Progress scorecard (#C-DIP)’.

Participants conducting the audit of Rudraksha International Cooperation and Convention Centre, Varanasi

Capacity Building of Varanasi City Officials on ABLE India Framework

Building Accessible, Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities (BASIIC)

BASIIC in collaboration with Varanasi Smart City Ltd (VSCL) conducted a two day training and capacity-building workshop for Varanasi administration officials on 28 -29 April 2023 on Accessibility Assessment for Built Environment in India (ABLE India) Framework, a Certification framework for accessing public buildings. The training provided a comprehensive understanding of the framework for assessing universal accessibility features of public buildings, its use and application. 

The training was followed by a demonstration by the participants through audits of Rudraksha International Cooperation and Convention Centre and Varanasi Nagar Nigam. The participants included the technical staff from the Varanasi Municipal Corporation, Varanasi Development Authority, Varanasi Smart City Ltd, architecture firms involved in designing public buildings, and professors and students of architecture and planning from IIT-BHU.

Training agencies trained as part of ToT conducted under the ITCN Capacity Building Programme

Presentation held for Training Agencies trained as part of ToT by ITCN

ITCN Organises ToT on the Implementation Course for Government Officials

Infant, Toddler and Caregiver-Friendly Neighbourhoods (ITCN)

The ITCN Capacity Building Programme at NIUA, with Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), organised a Training of Trainers (ToT) for government officials. The ToT was developed and facilitated by School of Planning & Architecture Delhi for four modules under the Implementation level of course. It is meant to capacitate the trainers from the five training delivery agencies on: 

1. Creating Accessible Parks and Play Spaces
2.  ITCN Planning and Implementation
3. Integrating Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in ITCN Projects
4. Stakeholders Consultations and Community engagement, and their importance in making positive behaviour change towards young children

The modules are based on the knowledge products developed under the partnership programme of NIUA and BvLF. The training will help the trainers on various aspects of planning and implementation of the ITC-centric projects, which will assist them to provide handholding support to city officials in on-ground implementation of ITC-focused projects in their respective cities.

Participants at the EGM Forum

C-Cube’s Anshul Abbasi as panelist at the EGM Forum

C-Cube Representatives Highlights Climate Change Initiatives at EGM on CEE Rating, Bangkok

Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube)

Anshul Abbasi of C-Cube was one of the experts at the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on City Enabling Environment (CEE) Rating held in Bangkok on 31 March 2023. The event was part of the Urban-Act Project implementation, organised by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), in collaboration with UNESCAP, GIZ Bangkok. The main objective of EGM was to discuss the revision of indicators, especially criteria 11 on the environment and climate change.  

Mr. Abbasi highlighted the initiatives in India for Vertical Integration on Climate Change and presented various 360-degree climate approach followed by MoHUA to mainstream climate action planning in India. The focus of the talk was on the policy instruments, frameworks, institutional mechanism and fund allocation at national, state and local level.

C-Cube’s Punit Gandhi at the GCoM Regional Workshop

Participants at the GCoM Regional Workshop

C-Cube Initiatives Introduced at GCoM Regional Workshop, Bangkok

Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube)

Anshul Abbasi and Punit Gandhi represented C-Cube at the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) Regional Workshop held on 30-31 March at Bangkok. They introduced the various initiatives at C-Cube for mainstreaming climate action in India. 

ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) and CLAP NOW game were introduced to the participants that received a great response from cities across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia etc.

C-Cube’s Pallavi Thool at the ‘Climate-Resilient Cities-Action on Climate Change’ session

Momento being presented to Pallavi Thool

Panellists at the 6th South Asian Cities Summit 2023

C-Cube Representative Highlights Climate Resilient Cities at 6th South Asian Cities Summit 2023

Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube)

Pallavi Thool of C-Cube was a speaker in a session on Climate-Resilient Cities-Action on Climate Change at the 6th Asian Cities Summit 2023 held on 7 April 2023, where she presented on ‘Practicing the Best to Become Climate Resilient Cities’. 

The session discussed the challenges faced by the world and India, including the heat map, and the initiatives taken by MoHUA to address the impact of climate change. C-Cube programme was presented, which offers capacity-building programs for city officials, academia, and research organisations. Indian cities can access C-Cube knowledge products to understand their performance in terms of climate resilience, including good practices of interventions at the international and national levels. Following initiatives were introduced:

1. CSCAF- which assists cities in identifying and prioritising climate actions
2. CLAP Now game- a systematic approach to stakeholder engagement

The French Consul General delivering the keynote address at the Urban Climate Film Festival inauguration in Mumbai

Urban Climate Film Festival Travels to Mumbai

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)

After the launch and success of the Urban Climate Film Festival in Delhi in March 2023, the second instalment of the festival was organised in Mumbai from 27-29 April 2023. The three-day festival included an inaugural ceremony, film screenings and discussions with filmmakers at Alliance Française de Bombay.16 films from eight countries were screened at the festival to showcase the impact of climate change, with a focus on life in cities.

The inaugural event was graced by the French Consul General in Mumbai H.E. Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet and former Additional DG, Doordarshan and Director General, Films Division, Mukesh Sharma. The inaugural addresses were delivered by Arabella Seebaluck (Regional Communications Manager, AFD-South Asia), Stéphane Doutrelant (Executive Director, Alliance Française de Bombay), Naim Keruwala (Program Director-CITIIS, NIUA), and Sabyesachi Bharti (Deputy Director, CMS Vatavaran and festival curator).

A panel discussion with Arabella Seebaluck and filmmakers Teena Kaur Pasricha and Simit Bhagat was held on 28 April 2023, where they spoke about the merits of story-driven documentary filmmaking in strengthening the call for climate action. 

Puducherry CM at the bhoomi pujan ceremony

CM Attends Bhoomi Pujan for CITIIS Project in Puducherry

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)

A bhoomi poojan ceremony was conducted for works under the CITIIS project in Chennai on 27 April 2023. The project aims to provide residents in low-income settlements with wider access to affordable housing and better public spaces. The ceremony was held to mark the start of developments under the CITIIS project to provide cement roads and drainage facilities in Jeevananthapuramand Nesavalar Nagar in the Lawspet constituency. 

The event was attended by the Hon’ble CM of Puducherry, N. Rangasamy, Lawspet MLA M. Vaithyanathan, the Commissioner, Executive Engineer, Assistant Engineer, and other officials. Read more about the project here.

Ishleen Kaur of C-Cube holding a Masterclass on NbS in Bengaluru

Masterclass on NbS at U20’s ‘Mainstreaming Climate Action in Cities’ Conference

Water & Environment (W&E)

Ishleen Kaur of C-Cube took a Masterclass on Nature-based solutions (NbS) at U20’s Mainstreaming Climate Action in Cities Conference held on 21 April 2023 in Bengaluru.

She highlighted the importance of nature-based solutions for conserving urban water bodies and discussed the strategies to address this critical issue with a focus on blue-green infrastructure.

Participants from 12 hill states and UT at the webinar

Presentation by Ms Swati Sambhyal, UN-Habitat

Presentation by representative from Leh Municipality

Webinar on Legacy Waste Management Organised by NIUA

Sanitation Capacity Building Platform (SCBP)

A webinar on Legacy Waste Management (LWM) was conducted by NIUA in partnership with Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association - South Asia (BORDA-SA) on 12 April 2023 under the ambit of Forum for Inclusive and Resilient Water and Sanitation in Hill Cities. It broadly focussed on the emerging issue of legacy waste in most of the urban areas, intensified in hilly regions because of the plight of terrain, climate, inaccessibility etc. 

The speakers Snehit Prakash, Swati Singh Sambhyal, Jeevan Roy and Leh Municipality representative highlighted:

• The need of LWM in the urban areas
• Key national  policies and guidelines
• Operationalisation of LWM  at state level
• The success story of Leh

The webinar was attended by approximately 60 participants including SBM directors, Senior Engineers, Department Heads from 11 Himalayan states and 1 UT, namely Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Nagaland.

Live course on 'Co-treatment of Faecal Sludge and Septage with Sewage at STP'

Live courses on Integrated Government Online Training Platform (iGOT)

Three e-Courses by SCBP Live on Karmayogi Bharat Website

Sanitation Capacity Building Platform (SCBP)

Moving from face-to-face learning to digital platforms, SCBP and NFSSMA partners recently developed and uploaded three e-Courses on Karmayogi Bharat portal (e-learning platform) for a better and wider reach. This is expected to help the decision makers learn about the concepts of Faecal Sludge and Septage Management, and Co-treatment at STPs. 

These self-paced courses have interactive sessions along with an assessment and certification. The three courses are now live on the Karmayogi Bharat portal as: 

1. Orientation on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management 
2. Planning: Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (Part A and B) 
3. Co-treatment of Faecal Sludge and Septage with Sewage at STP

CapaCITIES II workshop on Climate Action Plans for ULBs

Workshop for engineers from 18 ULBs

Workshop for ULBs on Preparing Climate Action Plans

Capacity‌ ‌Building‌ ‌for‌ ‌Low-carbon‌ ‌and‌ ‌Climate‌ ‌Resilient‌ City‌ ‌Development‌ (CapaCITIES)

A training workshop on Climate Action Planning and Financing was organised for engineers from 18 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration, Tamil Nadu (TN), on 5 April 2023 under the CapaCITIES phase II project, which is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The workshop, inaugurated by Vishnu Chandran, Joint Commissioner of Municipal Administration, TN, was the first in a series of capacity-building trainings for ULBs. It was organised by ICLEI South Asia, in collaboration with South Pole and econcept AG. 

1. Nikhil Kolsepatil, Senior Manager, ICLEI South Asia, presented the processes involved in creating a Climate Action Plan
2. Mehul Patwari, Director of Sustainable Infrastructure Finance, South Pole, conducted a hands-on session on calculating the financial viability of solar power projects

The training served as a sensitisation programme that would help ULBs to prepare Climate Action Plans as part of the TN Climate Resilient Urban Development Programme (TNCRUDP).

Participants attending the session on eDCR as a service in the online building plan approval module

Best Practices for 'Online Urban Service Delivery' Session Organised by NIUA with eGov

National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM)

The third session in the series of best practices for online delivery of urban services - Electronic Development Control Regulations (eDCR) as a Service in the Online Building Plan Approval Module was organised by NIUA and the eGovernments Foundation on 12 April 2023. 

Over 95 urban department officials from all States/UTs participated and learned about the merits of microservice-architecture based e-DCR. The session included a technical demonstration of the workflow and customisation options in the e-DCR service.

Course contents on GIS based Property Tax Toolkit

New Course on GIS Based Property Tax Toolkit Hosted on NULP

National Urban Learning Platform (NULP)

NULP launched a new course Essentials of GIS-based Property Tax system for Municipal Corporations  developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). Property tax is the largest source of revenue for municipalities, and GIS has been identified as a catalyst in increasing the tax net. This course is designed to help cities understand the importance of GIS for property surveys and ways to develop a complete system. With four learning modules, this course is now available for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across India to access. 

NULP is a value-driven platform that offers accessible and convenient learning medium, and enable peer learning. Developed in collaboration with various content partners, NULP provides a wide range of knowledge products in various urban domains. The platform is frequently updated with new courses and learning resources to ensure that learners stay up-to-date with the latest urban trends.

Update of entries & registration in the 'Urban Learnathon’

NULP's 'Urban Learnathon' Extends Deadline to 15 May 2023 for more ULB Participation

National Urban Learning Platform (NULP)

The Urban Learnathon organised by NULP has garnered enthusiastic entries from 16 States/UTs, with 153 entries received across more than 10 domains in India. A total of 291 registrations were received from 27 states/UTs. The top five domain of entries include social aspects, mobility & accessibility, sewerage & sanitation, environment & climate and urban management & e-governance. 

There has been an overwhelming response from ULBs across the country so far. With the extension of the deadline, more entries are expected to be received from municipal employees, smart city employees, state employees and other urban development bodies. There are cash prizes of up to Rs. 3,00,000 to be won. The urban innovations and ideas can be showcased by registering on the link here.

JS- MoHUA, Kunal Kumar addressing the Smart Cities officials

Abhishek Upperwal giving the demonstration of 'Data Quality Peer Review Platform'

Demonstration of ‘Data Quality Peer Review Platform’ Held at CEO’s Conference

Urban Outcome Framework (UOF)

The demonstration of the Data Quality Peer Review Platform was held at the CEOs’ Conference on Data and Technology on 28 April 2023, in Chandigarh. The platform developed by NIUA enables the onboarded cities to review their performance and quality of data under the four frameworks encompassed by the UOF – Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework, and Data Maturity Assessment Framework. The cities will be able to peer review and provide suggestions on the data given by other cities, leading to the creation of a robust and comprehensive database. 

The session introduction was given by JS, MoHUA, Kunal Kumar. Abhishek Upperwal of NIUA gave a presentation to the Smart Cities officials with a detailed demonstration on how to use the platform.

Report on 'India, Germany and Europe: A Spatial Perspective at SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth'

BBSR-Analysen KOMPAKT Series’ Report Released

Spatial Structures and Trends: Europe and India

A report titled India, Germany and Europe: A Spatial Perspective at SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth was released under BBSR-Analysen KOMPAKT series which is a joint venture of Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) and NIUA. The report is a result of the fourth year of the collaboration. 

Given the relevance of decent work and economic growth for balanced urban and rural societies, SDG 8 covers, amongst others: Gross Domestic Product, Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, Employment and (youth) unemployment. 

6th South Asian Cities Summit 2023 on 'Inclusive and Resilient Cities' organised by AIILSG

'Mainstreaming Climate Action for Cities' organised by C40 in Bangalore

Session on 'Enhancing G20 Collaborations: Role of Engagement Groups' as part of G20 National Conference in Jammu

U20 Manthan on Championing 'Local' Identity

Urban 20 (U20)

U20

NIUA is the technical secretariat of Urban 20 (U20). List of activities organised by Urban 20 in April 2023:

1. U20 Manthan on Championing 'Local' Identity’ - The U20 team at NIUA organised the third U20 Manthan on Championing Local Identity on 29 April 2023, with panellists from the University of Turin, Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative, Dastkar, and Artha Global. The panellists spoke about recognising and supporting India's rich crafts tradition and local identity
2. Mainstreaming Climate Action for Cities - The U20 team participated in an event on Mainstreaming Climate Action for Cities organised by C40 in Bangalore on 21April 2023
3. Enhancing G20 Collaborations: Role of Engagement Groups' as part of the G20 National Conference in Jammu - Harsh Shah, member of the U20 Technical Secretariat, participated as a panel member in the session on Enhancing G20 Collaborations: Role of Engagement Groups as part of G20 National Conference in Jammu (University Connect event). He discussed U20's role under G20 and how 'Urban' as a cross-cutting theme is leveraged to ensure convergence with nine G20 groups across Sherpa Track, Finance Track, and Engagement Groups.

4. 6th South Asian Cities Summit 2023 on Inclusive and Resilient Cities - Kanak Tiwari from NIUA participated in a panel discussion at the 6th South Asian Cities Summit 2023 on Inclusive and Resilient Cities organised by AIILSG on 6th April 2023. She presented an overview of the Urban 20 engagement group in the session moderated by Nilesh Rajadhyaksha.

Before and after cool roof painting at the Elamakkara Government School

Nature-based sewage treatment plant at the Elamakkara Government School

Nature-based sewage treatment plant at the Elamakkara Government School

Solar PV installations at a household in the pilot location

Sustainable Neighbourhood Pilot Project Implemented

Morgenstadt Global Smart Cities Initiative (MGSCI)

The implementation work of the Sustainable Neighbourhood Pilot under MGSCI is complete.

1. Five solar PV installation done at residential homes at Elamakkara Ward
2. Green Infrastructure and Nature-based Sewage Treatment Plant installed at the Elamakkara Government Higher Secondary School of Puthukalavattom ward