Connect Karo 2021

• 15 Sep 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Union Home Minister addressed the ‘Connect Karo 2021’ - Towards Equitable, Sustainable Indian Cities’ Event.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • It is part of a global series of events that World Resources Institute (WRI) India organizes and hosts, to bring together Indian and global leaders, and other stakeholders committed towards designing inclusive, sustainable and climate forward Indian cities.
    
    • WRI India is an independent charity, legally registered as the India Resources Trust.
  • Connect Karo sees presenters from various fields — air pollution, electric mobility, urban planning, urban water resilience, climate mitigation, and public transit among others — sharing their insights and research findings.
• Importance of Cities:
  
  • Contribution to GDP:
    
    • By 2030, almost 70% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will come from cities as rapid urbanisation facilitates efficiencies of agglomerations.
    • The best-performing cities globally contribute five times more to national GDP than comparable Indian cities.
  • Impact of Covid-19:
    
    • By 2030, the urban population in India will almost double to 630 million and to facilitate this level of growth it is needed to upgrade the urban infrastructure considerably and the impact of Covid-19 on our cities has made this even more significant.
  • Help in Fighting Climate Change:
    
    • As the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report suggests, cities are the major contributors as well as worst affected from climate change, hence, cities will be the battlegrounds for the fight against climate change.
      
      • Even Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11 includes investment in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in participatory and inclusive ways.
• Related Governments Initiatives:
  
  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): Launched in 2015, it intends to provide housing for all in urban areas by year 2022.
  • Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT Mission): Launched in 2015, it aims to provide basic civic amenities for all.
  • Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework: It is a step to adopt, implement, and disseminate the best practices adopted by our cities and further set standards in comparison to the international efforts towards the green, sustainable, and resilient urban habitats.
  • Urban Transport scheme: Under the scheme, public bus transport services will be augmented by deploying public-private partnerships to finance over 20,000 buses.
  • Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban): It will provide universal coverage of water supply to all households through functional taps in all statutory towns.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban): It was launched on 2^nd October 2014 which aims at making urban India free from open defecation and achieving 100% scientific management of municipal solid waste in the country.

Note

• UNESCO Creative Cities Network:
  
  • It was created in 2004 and aims towards a common objective of placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
  • The network covers seven creative fields: crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.
• World Cities Culture Forum:
  
  • It was established in London in 2012. It enables the policy makers of member cities to share research and intelligence, and explores the vital role of culture in their future prosperity.
  • No Indian city is part of this forum.

Source: PIB