Ministry of Culture help generate indirect employment for people associated with Indian Art, Literature and Culture

The mandate of the Ministry of Culture is preservation & conservation of cultural heritage, protection, development & promotion of literature, music, dance, visual arts and drama. However, the activities carried out through various organizations under the Ministry generate indirect employment for a large number of people associated with Indian Art, Literature and Culture. There are several academic, fellowships, scholarships and training programmes organized by the autonomous bodies of the Ministry of Culture which help the artists to find an employment in their field of expertise.

Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), another autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, is running a scholarship scheme called “Award of Scholarships to Young Artistes (SYA) in different cultural fields (18-25 Years)”.

Kalakshetra Foundation (autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture) has a unit named Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts where training is imparted in the different classical art forms of South India like Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music and fine arts. This helps students to establish themselves in the respective fields.

Lalit Kala Akademi provides scholarships to 40 young artists every year. All these academic programs help the youth to find employment in their area of interest. Government of India organizes several programs to promote women in the field of art, culture and literature. Women are engaged as writers, translators and resource persons in various events.

The preservation of ancient and medieval literature of the country in Indian languages attracts the youth of the country. This is evident in the academic programs on ancient and medieval literature of Kalakshetra Foundation, wherein the youth are enrolled.

Sahitya Akademi carries a number of programs for youth and confers several awards to promote literature, local dialects among the young generation. Some of the awards are: Sahitya Akademi Award, Yuva Puruskar, Bal Sahitya Puruskar, Translation Prize, and Bhasha Samman. Sahitya Akademi also runs programs titled, Yuva Sahiti & Avishkar, to encourage young writers writing in different Indian languages. The Akademi offers travel grants to young writers for traveling to other states to get acquainted with literary ambience of another language. These programs attract youth in large numbers.

40 ancient temples have been rediscovered, restored and beautified

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on 13-14 December. At around 1 PM on 13 December, Prime Minister will visit Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple and offer prayers, after which he will inaugurate phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores.

It was the vision of the Prime Minister for a long time, to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practiced the age-old custom of taking dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple. To realise this vision, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham was conceptualised as a project to create an easily accessible pathway to connect Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the banks of the River Ganga. To kickstart the work for this pious endeavour, the foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister on 8th March 2019.

Prime Minister took a keen and active interest at all stages of the project. Regular briefings, reviews and monitoring was done by the Prime Minister himself, and he constantly gave inputs and insights to improve the project and make it more accessible for pilgrims, including for the disabled. The project was designed to provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with provision of ramps, escalators, and other modern facilities.

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.

The project involved purchase and acquisitions of more than 300 properties around Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Prime Minister’s vision to take everyone along was the principle based on which mutual negotiations were done for these acquisitions. In this endeavour, the rehabilitation of around 1400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were done amicably. The testimony of the success is the fact that there is no litigation pending in any court of the country regarding acquisitions or rehabilitation related to the development of the project.

Prime Minister’s vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of development of the project. This foresight came handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. These temples have been restored and beautified, while ensuring that there is no change in the original structure.

The scale of the project was such that the project is now spread over a massive area of about 5 lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises was limited to just around 3000 square feet. Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project has been completed as per the planned schedule.

During the visit to Varanasi, the Prime Minister will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple at around 12 noon and witness Ganga Aarti while on board a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 PM on 13 December. On 14 December, at around 3:30 PM, Prime Minister will attend the 98th anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi. During the two-day visit, Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland. The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of furthering team India spirit.

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Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences launches eOffice

The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), the largest Research Council under the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India has initiated the use of eOffice for its official purposes. The Council in its quest for becoming a paperless organisation, has launched the application developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on 3rd January, 2022.

In the presence of higher officials and staff of the Council, Dr. N. Srikanth, Director General, CCRAS processed an e-file through the application to formally launch the platform for the Council. While addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Director General emphasized the need and advantages of using electronic platforms for office work. He also urged the officers and staff to utilize the application to its full potential as it aids all spheres of office procedures. He also informed that the Council has already been taking many IT based initiatives including the NAMASTE Portal, Ayush Research Portal and many other for the welfare and use of Ayush stakeholders.

The eOffice platform is a digital workplace solution comprising a suite of products and features that support efficient and transparent governance by streamlining all workflow and making all procedures paperless. While appraising the Director General, CCRAS and gathering of officials and staff about the development, Dr. Radhe Krishan, In Charge, IT Cell at CCRAS mentioned that the Council has implemented and initiated the use of eOffice for employees and staff. He also informed that with the integrated software SPARROW (Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window), the concerned officials will be able to process their annual performance reports online.

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"Management solutions emerge when we hear and listen to all the views with honest intentions"

The Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today exhorted the youth to “dream big and aim high.” Addressing a group of university students affiliated to Vadodara based ‘Chhatra Sansad’ who are on the ‘Intern Nation Leadership Tour 2022’, a ten-day Good Governance tour, Shri Goyal said youth are the agents of positive change.

Citing their role in the Independence Movement and the Fight Against Emergency, Shri Goyal said, “Mass movements are created on the back of the youth of the times.”

“Students bring energy that brings great changes. We need to give up on ‘Chalta hai’ (Let It Go) attitude to ‘Kuchh karna hai’ (Let’s do It). The Josh and excitement that youth bring to the table is vital to achieve great results. Please dream big…Don’t think in terms of small aims,” said Shri Goyal, in his address during the video conference. “Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahin hoti,” he quipped.

“When we aspired for $400 billion exports, people would laugh away at us But now here we are at $300 bn in the first nine months (of the current Financial Year.),” said Shri Goyal, adding, “Even in the pandemic we dreamt big about exports and making India vibrant with bound less business opportunities.”

Shri Goyal said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is an inspirational leader for the nation’s youth, who has brought about sweeping changes in India’s history such as ‘Swachh Bharat’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ by involving all the people with his motto of “Sabka Prayas.”

Shri Goyal said we are having the world’s biggest Food Security programme, – NFSA, and food grains are being given to almost 80cr people to ensure no one goes hungry.

Shri Goyal said the civil society should not only work on improving social conditions but also work towards improving political processes as well which encourages honesty in Governance.

“Integrity, transparency and honesty is the need of the hour which the civil society is now beginning to see from initiatives of Government. Civil society should always be proactive and bring dignity to vulnerable sections of society. We must decide about the positive outcomes and go all out with full force about it,” he said.

Responding to a question by one of the participants about how he manages to arrive at good management solutions, Shri Goyal said it’s important to hear and listen to all the views with honest intentions without getting biased and prejudiced about anything. “Solutions emerge when such an approach is implemented,” he said. The Minister gave the example of implementation of the jewellery hallmarking which was stuck for many years for the lack of deeper insights.

Shri Goyal said the Indian Youth has made a great impact on the global scale. International organizations now look up to India and Indian youth to make changes and bring growth.

“We are celebrating 75 years of Freedom, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, and it’s time the nation achieve the global status it rightly deserves,” said Shri Goyal.

Pointing out that India has started leaving its mark on the global stage including the Olympics and Paralympics, Shri Goyal said, “Today no international organisation or event is possible to be conceived without India.”

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MetroLite and MetroNeo projects to ease the Mobility Problems in smaller cities

The standard specifications of Light Urban Rail Transit System named “MetroLite” and rubber-tyred electric coach powered by overhead traction system running on a road slab with an exclusive right of way named “MetroNeo”, suitable for smaller cities or areas of cities with less projection of ridership were issued in July, 2019 and November, 2020 respectively. MetroLite and MetroNeo are the low cost mobility solutions with reduced system requirements and same experience, ease of travel in terms of comfort, convenience, affordability, safety, punctuality, reliability and environment- friendliness as that of conventional metro rail system. The low capital cost of these new transit modes than that of high capacity metro rail is due to light civil structure, lesser axle load, smaller stations, low power rated electrical equipment, low operation and maintenance cost etc. These systems can also be used as feeder system to conventional metro rail.

Urban transport, which is an integral part of urban development, is a state subject. Hence, respective State Government/ Union Territories(UTs) is responsible for initiating and developing urban transport infrastructure including rail based mass transit modes viz. Metro Rail/MetroLite/MetroNeo/Regional Rapid Transit System(RRTS) etc. As per Metro Rail Policy-2017, the Central Government considers financial assistance for such projects in cities or urban agglomerates, based on feasibility of the proposal and availability of resources, as and when posed by the concerned State Government/ Union Territories (UTs). The details of MetroLite and MetroNeo proposals received from various State Governments/Union Territories (UTs) for central financial assistance, State and City-wise, are as under:

Sr No	State/UT	City	Name of Project
1	Delhi	Delhi	Rithala-Narela MetroLite Corridor in the remaining 03 corridors of Delhi Metro Phase-IV
2	Maharashtra	Nashik	Nashik MetroNeo
3	Jammu and Kashmir	Jammu	Jammu MetroLite
4	Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar	Srinagar MetroLite
5	Uttar Pradesh	Gorakhpur	Gorakhpur MetroLite

Swachh Technology Challenge launched to Create an Innovations’ Ecosystem in Waste Management

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0), under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), today launched the Swachh Technology Challenge. The Challenge seeks to harness the entrepreneurial potential of the waste management sector in India and promote an enabling environment for enterprise developmentunder Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0. In line with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion call for an “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, there is a need for identifying indigenous, cost effective technologies that are easy to replicate and scale-up, andcan be put to use by ULBs to implement various components of SBM-U 2.0 on the ground.

Over the years, SBM-U has been encouraging innovations and best practices particularly through Swachh Survekshan, the annual cleanliness survey conducted by MoHUA. This trend has been rising over the years with over 4,000 innovations and best practices having been identified since 2018. Swachh Technology Challenge,scheduled to run from 6th December 2021 to 15th January 2021, will particularly seek solutions in four thematic categories, viz.(i) social inclusion, (ii) zero dump (solid waste management), (iii)plastic waste management and (iv)transparency through digital enablement. The details and modalities of the Challenge were elaborated in a presentation by Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary and National Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, MoHUA. Designed as a sub-component of the ‘Citizen Engagement’ component under Swachh Survekshan 2022, the Challenge endeavours to invite solutions not just from start-ups but also individual entrepreneurs, educational institutions, local businesses, research and development organisations,NGOs, and other citizen groups to help city administration efficiently manage Mission operations.The active participation of cities in the Challenge will have a direct bearing on their performance in the ‘Citizen Engagement’ component of Swachh Survekshan 2022 and thus their overall ranking in the survey. The top three solutions in each of the four thematic categories from across the country will be felicitated at the Swachh Survekshan award ceremony hosted by MoHUA. As an additional incentive, top three state level solutions will be rewarded with a cash prize by respective State governments.

To further incentivize the start-up ecosystem, MoHUA will also launch a Swachhata Start-Up Challenge as an extension to the Swachh Technology Challenge in January 2022. Winning solutions from start-ups under Swachh Technology Challenge will be eligible to participate in the Swachhata Start-Up Challenge to be run in collaboration with AgenceFrançaise de Développement (AFD). Winning entries under the Challenge will be rewarded with seed funding of ₹25 lakhs per project along with one year of dedicated incubation support from French Tech, the French government’s initiative to promote start-ups.

Speaking at the launch occasion, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA said, “Technology has played a key role in the transformation of the urban landscape of India. Technology has the potential to bring about affordable, scalable and replicable innovations that can not only bring the Mission closer to citizens but also help us achieve our collective goal of Garbage Free Cities in a time-bound and efficient manner. Today, with the launch of the Swachh Technology Challenge, I appeal to all States and cities to participate wholeheartedly in the Challenge by engaging proactively with stakeholders across the spectrum to drive sanitation and waste management outcomes under SBM-U 2.0”. Also present on the occasion was Mr. Augustin Delisle, Deputy Director, AFD. The event was attended virtually by senior government representatives including Principal Secretaries, Mission Directors and Municipal Commissioners from States and cities.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, launched on 1stOctober, 2021, aims to achieve the vision of ‘Garbage Free Cities’ over the next five years through remediation of legacy dumpsites, construction and demolition waste and plastic waste management. Additionally, sustainable sanitation through faecal sludge and used water management will be a key focus under SBM-U 2.0. Technology has played a critical role in achieving the outcomes under SBM-U’s journey in the last seven years with several key initiatives such as Swachhata App, SBM Toilets on Google Maps, etc. Recently, the integrated SBM-Urban MIS portal Swachhatam and the state-of-art GIS platform were launched under SBM-U 2.0which will not only take the Mission closer to citizens but will also enable smart data driven decision making, transparency and robustness in Mission implementation. The Swachh Technology Challenge is another step towards ensuring smart governance in SBM-U 2.0 by incentivizing the innovations’ ecosystem to help realize the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Garbage Free Cities’.

AMRUT 2.0 envisages to make cities ‘water secure’ through circular economy of water

The Government has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) scheme on 01 October, 2021 for the period of 05 years i.e. from the financial year 2021-22 to the financial year 2025-26. AMRUT 2.0 is designed to provide universal coverage of water supply to all households through functional taps in all statutory towns and coverage of sewerage/septage management in 500 AMRUT cities. Making the cities ‘water secure’ and thereby enhancing ease of living of citizens is major objective of the Mission. AMRUT 2.0 will promote circular economy of water through development of city water balance plan for each city focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation. It will help cities to identify scope for projects focusing on universal coverage of functional water tap connections, water source conservation, rejuvenation of water bodies and wells, recycle/reuse of treated used water, and rainwater harvesting. Based on the projects identified in City Water Balance Plans, Mission envisages to make cities ‘water secure’ through circular economy of water.

Mission also has a reform agenda on ease of living of citizens through reduction of non-revenue water, recycle of treated used water, rejuvenation of water bodies, augmenting double entry accounting system, urban planning, strengthening urban finance etc.

Other components of AMRUT 2.0 are:

1. Pey Jal Survekshan to ascertain equitable distribution of water, reuse of wastewater, mapping of water bodies and promote healthy competition among the cities /towns.

1. Technology Sub-Mission for water to leverage latest global technologies in the field of water.

1. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign to spread awareness among masses about conservation of water.

The total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹2,99,000 crore including Central share of ₹76,760 crore for five years. This outlay includes funding of ₹22,000 crore (₹10,000 crore as Central Assistance) for ongoing projects of AMRUT till March 2023.

Model Tenancy Act to promote rental housing

Union Cabinet approved Model Tenancy Act (MTA) on 2nd June, 2021 and the same was circulated to all States / Union Territories (UTs) on 7th June, 2021 for adoption for future tenancies by way of either enacting a fresh legislation or amending existing rental laws suitably.

Model Tenancy Act aims to promote rental housing by balancing and protecting the rights and interests of both the tenants and landlords by regulating renting of premises in an efficient and transparent manner. It will also help in overhauling the legal framework with respect to rental markets across the country by providing speedier dispute resolution mechanism framework and is expected to give a fillip to private participation in rental housing.

All States and UTs were consulted while finalising Model Tenancy Act. Views / comments / suggestions of States and UTs on draft Act were duly analysed and suitably incorporated in the final draft.MTA is applicable in both urban and rural areas of the States and UTs.

Land and Colonization are State subjects. Tenancies in States/ Union Territories are governed by their respective rental laws. States and UTs have been advised to adopt MTA by way of eitherenacting a fresh legislation or amending their existing rental laws suitably on lines of MTA in their respective jurisdictions.

"Main Bhi Digital 3.0" campaign aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors

Digital onboarding and training of Street Vendors (SVs) is an integral part of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.Lending Institutions (LIs) have been instructed to issue a durable QR Code & UPI ID at the time of disbursement and train the beneficiaries in conduct of digital transactions.

In order to give further impetus to the digital onboarding and training of beneficiaries, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) jointly launched ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’from September 9 to November 30, 2021, to complement the efforts of LIs in adoption of digital transactions by the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.

“Main Bhi Digital 3.0” campaign is aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors (SVs)who have already been provided loans under PM SVANidhi Scheme.

An Integrated IT Platform has been developed for implementation of this Scheme. The application process is fully online. SVs can apply for loan directly through PM SVANidhiPortal. The application can also be submitted at Municipal Offices and Common Service Centres (CSCs). In addition, the SVs can approach municipal functionaries or representatives of Lending Institutions to apply through PM SVANidhi mobile App.

PM SVANidhi Scheme is available to all street vendors across the country, including those from Dahod tribal area, who are engaged in vending in urban areas on or before March 24, 2020. InDahod Municipality of Gujarat, out of 868 beneficiaries of the scheme, 337 are from Scheduled Tribes Category.

Regional Rapid Transit System corridors to connect various important towns of NCR

National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) prepared a ‘Functional Plan on Transport for National Capital Region(NCR)-2032’ which recommended eight Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors to connect various important towns of NCR with high speed rail based commuter transit system viz. (i) Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari-Alwar (ii) Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut (iii) Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat (iv) Delhi-Faridabad-Ballabhgarh-Palwal (v) Delhi-Bahadurgarh-Rohtak (vi) Delhi-Shahdara-Baraut (vii) Ghaziabad-Khurja and (viii) Ghaziabad-Hapur. Out of these, the Task Force constituted by the then Planning Commission prioritized three corridors namely, (i) Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut (ii) Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar and (iii) Delhi-Panipat. From the above, Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor has been approved and the construction work is underway.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) after the Feasibility Study has been received from National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for Delhi-Gurugram-SNB Urban Complex RRTS Corridor in December, 2018 and for SNB Urban Complex to Sotanala RRTS Corridor in June, 2020; which are part of Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar RRTS Project.The DPR of Delhi-Panipat corridor has been received from NCRTC in June 2020. Approval of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) with financial commitment on DPRs of Delhi-Gurugram-SNB RRTS corridor and Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridor has not been received.

The RRTS projects are cost intensive projects which require extensive inter-ministerial consultations and their approval depends on feasibility of projects and availability of resources. The allocation/release of funds and construction activity of project is undertaken once the project is approved.

Technical Conference cum Exhibition on 24×7 Water Supply Systems

In order to disseminate knowledge on the planning, design, implementation,Operation and Maintenance of 24x7water supply systems, a “Technical Conference cum Exhibition on 24×7 Water Supply Systems”was organized by held today in New Delhi. The event was organized by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs. ThePrime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched on October 1st, 2021 AMRUT 2.0,with a vision to make all cities water secure and provide universal coverage of water supply services in all the urban areas of the country.Cities are mandated to undertake reforms such as water conservation, reducing non-revenue water to below 20%, recycle of treated used water to meet at least 20% of total city water demand & 40% for industrial water demand, PPP projects, community involvement etc.

The Inaugural session was chaired by Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA. While addressing the session, he emphasized the need for integrated water resource management with water conservation through recycling of used water, control of NRW and rejuvenation of water bodies and also to take up 24×7 water supply projects at least in one ward/DMA in 500 AMRUT cities under AMRUT 2.0.

Shri Mishra said that 24×7 water supply projects will ensure prevention of water contamination, control of NRW, equitable water supply and bring efficiency in terms of financial sustainability by attracting PPP funding and institutional financing.

The cities that are implementing 24×7 water supply projects showcased their best practices and technological solutions such as water meters, valves, GIS mapping, hydraulic modelling, Operational Zones (OZ), District metered Areas (DMA’s),SCADA, SMART water management solutions for monitoring & sustainability etc. in the exhibition. About 600 participants participated in the conference.

The Guidelines for Planning, Design and Implementation of 24×7 Water Supply Systems were released in the Conference. The present status of the Manual on Water Supply & Treatment which is under revision incorporating the latest technological developments was briefed. Thedraft National Urban Water Supply and Management Policy 2020-30 wasalso presented in the conference.A case-study of 24×7 Water Supply in Puri city, “Drink from Tap Mission” and case studies ofPune and Coimbatore 24×7 water supply projects and other draft Advisories were presented for better understanding among the Engineering community.

Detailed discussions & deliberations among experts, engineers, technology providers and other relevant stakeholders on 24×7 water supply systemsfor better understanding of the meritsand to bridge the existing knowledge gap were held in the conference.

The conference was attended by Technical Heads, Chief Engineers, City Engineers& senior engineers dealing with water supply in all the 500 AMRUT cities, PHEDs/Corporations/Boards/Jal Nigams, Experts, PPP partners, manufacturing firms, consultants.

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Meeting of the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs held

The meeting of the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs was held today in the Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi. The Agenda item of the meeting was “Smart Cities Mission”. Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri HardeepPuri chaired the meeting.

Briefing about the Smart Cities Mission, Shri Puri said that the main objective of the Mission, launched on 25th June, 2021, is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘Smart Solutions”. The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city. 100 cities have been selected to be developed as smart cities through a two-stage National competition.

Smart Cities Mission is a centrally sponsoredscheme under which the Central Government will provide financial support to the extent of ₹48000 crores over 5 years i.e. on anaverage ₹100 crores per city per year and an equal amount of matching basis is to be provided by the State/ULB. Emphasis has been given on the participation of private sector through public private partnerships. Aggregating at national level, these proposals contained more than 5000 projects worth over ₹2,00,000 crores. Mission has a two-pronged strategy consisting of Pan-city and Area-Based development project. Implementation at the city level is being done by Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV) created for the purpose. There is no template or universally accepted definition of the Smart City. Therefore conceptualization of Smart City depends on the level of development,willingness to change and reform resources and aspirations of the city residents.

The overall progress of the Mission as on 12 November, 2021 shows great momentum in execution. Over 6452 projects worth ₹184,998 crores have been tendered. Of this, work orders have been issued for close to 5809 projects worth ₹156571 crores of which 3131 projects worth around ₹53,175

crore have been completed. Since the launch of the Mission, a total of ₹. 27,234 crores have been released by the Government of India to 100 cities under the Mission. The progress of the Mission inthese cities is done on a regular basis by State level High Powered Steering Committee.

The Mission has launched several initiatives that will not only ensure integrated development across variousaspects of urban development but also help lay long-term foundationfor good quality urbanization in the country. Some of the initiatives are:

Ease of the Living Index
Municipal Performance Index
City GDP Framework
Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework
Data Maturity Assessment Framework
ICCC Maturity Assessment Framework
Data City Strategy
India Urban Observatory
India Urban Data Exchange
Smart Cities Open Data Initiative
National Urban Innovation Stack
National Urban Digital Mission
ICT standards
India Cycles4Change (IC4C) Challenge
Streets4people Challenge
Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge
Transport 4 all (T4All) Challenge
EatSmart Cities Challenge
City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) Challenge
Climate Centre for Cities
Climate Smart Cities Alliance
India Smart Cities Fellowship Program
The urban Learning Internship Program

The Minister also informed that smart cities have played important role in managing the crises during Covid-19. With Integrated Command and Control Centres being usedas Covid-19 War Room, they have helped in the area of information, communication, management and preparedness.

Hon’ble MPs made many valuable suggestions during the meeting.

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Compendium on Indigenous Innovative Building Materials and Construction Technologies

Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Shri Durga Shanker Mishra chaired the 57th meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) held on 23rd December 2021 in New Delhi. Project proposals for 1.07 lakh houses were approved for construction from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Uttarakhand under various verticals of PMAY(U). Secretary, MoHUA, also reviewed the progress of implementation of PMAY(U) in other States.

Presiding over the meeting, Secretary, MoHUA, discussed the issues pertaining to grounding and construction of houses in the States/UTs. He directed the State/UT officials to expedite construction of houses in their respective areas. He said that grounding should be the first responsibility of the States/UTs, followed by focus on 100% completion of grounded houses. States/UTs should also declare saturation of demand city by city.

A group of people sitting at a tableDescription automatically generated with low confidence

Secretary, MoHUA also urged the LHP States to promote LHP technologies for their further replication in Indian context. He also directed the State officials to encourage students, professionals and other stakeholders to enrol as Technograhis so that more people could learn the use of these technologies. He requested all States/UTs to visit the LHP sites and study about it. Engineers, urban planners should be trained through the Technograhi module.

Total number of sanctioned houses under the Mission is now 1.14 crore; of which around 91 lakh have been grounded for construction and more than 53 lakh have been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries. The total investment under the Mission is ₹ 7.52 lakh crore, with Central Assistance of ₹ 1.85 lakh crore. So far, Central Assistance amounting to ₹ 1.14 lakh crore has already been released.

At the CSMC meeting, approval for construction of Demonstration Housing Projects (DHPs) at Dimapur in Nagaland and Kot Bhalwal in Jammu was also accorded. Both the projects will be built using new/alternate technologies under Technology Sub-Mission component of PMAY(U). DHPs are model housing projects that showcase field level application of the technology and are also used as a platform to impart on-site orientation, training to practitioners and students in the housing sector. So far, six DHPs have been completed and four are being constructed in different parts of the country.

The upcoming DHP in Dimapur will be used as working women’s hostel while the one in Kot Bhawal will serve as a sports hostel on rental basis with other infrastructure facilities and provisions.

The CSMC also approved a proposal for incubation support under ASHA-India for low cost Bamboo Housing Project submitted by IIT Kharagpur.

On this occasion, a Compendium on Indigenous Innovative Building Materials and Construction Technologies was also released by Secretary, MoHUA. It provides details about 84 technologies showcased during Indian Housing Technology Mela (IHTM) in Lucknow from 5th to 7th October 2021. It will serve as useful resource for dissemination of technologies for field level application, replication across the country. The compendium will help policymakers, public/private construction agencies, other stakeholders to select and adopt materials, technologies in future housing projects.

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While releasing the Compendium, Secretary, MoHUA, asked the States/UTs to share it widely with construction agencies, engineers, architects for utilising these technologies for construction for the benefit of the housing sector.

Secretary, MoHUA, also reviewed the progress of Light House Projects (LHPs) in Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). He directed the officials to complete the construction work within the stipulated time period.

Roadmap to make Urban India ‘Garbage Free’

On the eve of “Good Governance Day”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India today launched the ‘Azadi@75 Star Rating Protocol of Garbage Free Cities- Toolkit 2022′, the most important governance tool of waste management – the Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities.

On 1st October 2021, the Hon’ble Prime Minister launched Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, with the overall vision of creating “Garbage Free Cities” (GFC), thereby placing India on a new trajectory of growth towards an ecosystem of holistic sanitation and waste management. For achieving this vision, a key objective under SBM-U 2.0 is to make every urban local body at least 3-star Garbage Free as per the Star Rating protocol.

In the recently concluded certification exercise for GFC, nearly 50% of ULBs (i.e., 2,238 cities) participated in the certification exercise, of which a total of 299 cities have been certified – 9 cities rated as 5-star, 143 cities rated as 3-star and 147 cities as 1-star.

Seeing the impact Star Rating certification has made to improve on-ground waste management scenario of the cities to become ‘Garbage Free Cities’, release of Government of India funds has been made conditional, subject to a ULB achieving at least 1-star certification. Hence, there is a need to ensure that every ULB participates in and get itself GFC certified, to avail Central funds and to achieve the intended objectives under SBM-U 2.0. To do this, it was felt necessary to revamp the existing GFC protocol and make the assessment process simpler, while retaining its robustness, so that every ULB is motivated to apply for the GFC certification.

Key revisions in the protocol are:

i. the earlier 25 components/ indicators have now been reduced to 24, of which only 16 indicators are mandatory for 1-star and 3-star levels. The remaining 8 indicators are aspirational in nature, and will be relevant for 5-star and 7-star aspirants;

ii. the multi-step calculation of the previous GFC protocol has now been changed to a single step marking, which will help ULB to easily self-assess themselves for applying;

iii. the revised protocol is aligned with SBM-U 2.0 priorities, with higher weightages (50%) allotted to Door-to-Door Collection, Source Segregation, Waste processing & Dumpsite remediation;

iv. the entire process of applying for certification and subsequent assessment have been simplified and made completely digital, paperless; for example, digital declarations, geo-tagged waste-processing facilities, end-to-end digital monitoring of progress;

v. new components pertaining to IEC, capacity building, revenue from sale of waste by-products have been added to encourage cities to build an ecosystem to strengthen the waste management system.

vi. continuous assessment throughout the year to help cities plan assessment

Speaking at the event, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra said that the objective of coming out with the toolkit is to make things simple and easy to understand, while retaining the stringency of criteria. He called upon all the cities to participate in the rating process, with full preparations. Shri Mishra said that simplification of the toolkit will propel all the cities to attain at least 3-star rating, and many of them will try to get higher rating. He said that MoHUA will handhold the cities needing any guidance and training. The Secretary also called upon the City administrators and public representatives to involve people in large number in this mission, and intensify the IEC activities, particularly in the local languages and dialects. He said that achieving the Prime Minister’s vision of making the cities neat and clean will not only increase the land value and investments in the city, but will also make the people proud of their habitats. He said that the Indian cities with high ratings will be comparable to the best in the world.

Elaborating on the Star Rating Certification, the Mission Director Ms Roopa Mishra said that there has been upward and forward movement in the process but many ULBs have to do some catch-up, and this toolkit will facilitate the process.

With the vision of making cities ‘Garbage Free’, SBM-U 2.0 is focused on achieving 100% waste processing along with remediation of legacy dumpsites, construction and demolition waste and plastic waste management. The new protocol combined with the continuous assessment through-out the year will further encourage cities to participate and realise the vision of “Garbage Free Cities”

‘J&K Real Estate Summit- 2021-Unlocking Opportunities’

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri today said that Real Estate being the second largest employer in the country, with the multiplier effect will create innumerable opportunities in J&K in terms of employment, investment and hence economic growth. The Minister said this while addressing the first ever ‘Real Estate Summit- 2021’ at Convention Centre, Jammu.

The Real Estate Summit- 2021 is organized by the Department of Housing & Urban Development Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

Sh. Hardeep Singh Puri in his address said that the natural endowments in the UT of J&K & resilience of its people are second to none in the world which is now needed to be translated into economic development, prosperity and ease of living. The Minister further said that this first ever Real Estate Summit will rectify the past and will have a multiplier effect in J&K in the coming years.

Sh. Puri also said that the demand for real estate construction in J&K is not only in housing but also in tourism, hospitality, warehousing, which is at least 2.5 to 3.0 lakh units. The Minister further said that J&K has land and ready demand & this summit today will accelerate that process in due course of time.

Sh. Puri expressed satisfaction that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act (RERA) and the Tenancy Act have been implemented in J&K which will help in the ease of doing business here. Sh. Puri also said that the Metro Railway Project in J&K is in the final stages of approval.

Sh. Puri also said that the implementation of the flagship schemes like AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart City Mission, PMAY etc. in J&K are much appreciated and the figures of implementation are very encouraging. Sh. Puri emphasized that a Davos like platform must be created in J&K having nice topography for which the J&K Government will be fully supported by MoHUA.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh in his address during the summit said that J&K is now entering the mainstream journey of PM Modi’s New India & the first ever ‘Real Estate Summit’ today is one of its important links to connect it to the mainstream India.

Dr. Singh said that the investment proposals in J&K will reach Rupees one lakh crore in the coming years. As envisaged by PM Sh. Narendra Modi, Dr. Singh said that J&K should be at par in terms of economic development with the other states and UTs of the country in various sectors.

Dr. Singh also said that all the Central Laws- be that the Prevention of Corruption Act, RTI Act, CVC Act etc. are now applicable to the UT of J&K like other states and UTs in the country. He further said that all the erstwhile laws in J&K which were the impediments in the progress and development of J&K have been either repealed or amended.

Dr. Singh also said that the important development projects that were earlier stalled were taken care of after 2019 like the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project. The Minister further said that a new dawn of development has emerged in J&K after 2019 like the establishment of two AIIMS, eight medical colleges, IIT, IIM, IIMC, North India’s First Biotechnology Park, National Highway Projects etc.

Dr. Singh also said that if J&K wants to be part of global India as India being a part of global world, it has to follow all the parameters followed by the rest of the country to seek all the benefits which are made available by the government.

Dr. Singh reiterated that soon after PM Sh. Narendra Modi took oath as the PM of India on 26th May, 2014, one of his earliest declarations of intent was that his government would resolve to bring those regions of the country on the path of development which have missed the development journey of the rest of India so as to make them at par with the developed regions of the country.

Lieutenant Governor J&K, Sh. Manoj Sinha in his address said that this first ever Real Estate Summit in J&K will have a multiplier effect on J&K in terms of investment, employment, GDP etc. LG further said that the erstwhile laws have been amended after 2019 and all the Central Laws have been applied for the welfare of the people of J&K as the erstwhile laws were the real hurdles in the development of the UT. LG emphasized that with the opening of plethora of avenues in J&K after abrogation of Article 370, the time will come that it would become Davos of New India.

Secretary MoHUA, Sh. Durga Shanker Mishra said that a paradigm shift in terms of development has been witnessed in every sector in J&K after 2019. He further impressed that the UT has now become the real paradise on earth with the opening of many development sectors like real estate creating plethora of opportunities for the people in terms of employment, investment etc.

During the summit, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri e-launched ‘Auction of Assets Portal’, Affordable Rental Housing Complexes Scheme at Sunjwan, Jammu, J&K RERA portal, Housing Schemes and J&K Housing Mission Portal.

During the summit, many MoUs were exchanged between NAREDCO National & NAREDCO J&K Chapter, NAREDCO & LEAD, NAREDCO & NAR, NAREDCO & J&K Housing and Urban Development Department, JK Industry & Commerce Department and Haldiram and JK Housing Board &Central Government Employees Welfare Housing Organization.

Chief Secretary J&K, Sh. Arun Kumar Mehta, Vice Chairman NAREDCO, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, President NAREDCO, Sh. Rajan Bandelkar, Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department JK, Sh. Dheeraj Gupta, Mayor Jammu, Sh. Chander Mohan Gupta, Mayor Srinagar, Sh. Junaid Matoo besides senior officers of UT and Central Government & delegates from many states were also present in the summit.

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