Government of India IndiaUSP 2007 was by far India’s largest event on cities. The event successfully brought together over 1000 delegates from all over the country and abroad – technical experts, local elected representatives, party members, commissioners, urban administrators, city engineers and officials, academicians, private sector representatives, civil society institutions and citizens. The event had multiple components and there were stellar moments throughout the 4 days. |
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INAUGURATION |
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The event was inaugurated on 27th September 2007 by Shri Jaipal Reddy, Hon’ble Union Minister for Urban Development, and Shri M Ramachandran, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development. Inaugurating the exposition, a visibly excited Mr Reddy said “An exhibition like this is not only unprecedented in terms of scale, but also shows how future can be shaped. This kind of Expo serves a huge purpose because the urban sector is relatively a new sector. It has far greater potential than has so far been realized. I am very happy with the response”. Speaking at the inaugural function attended by over 600 delegates from all over the country, Mr Reddy said that he had to throw away his prepared speech because nothing could have prepared him for the unprecedented event that was IndiaUSP. Mr Reddy complemented the India Urban Space Foundation for providing this platform for city representatives, private sector and leading experts to interact on wide range of urban planning and project implementation issues. Addressing the gathering, Secretary MoUD, Shri M Ramachandran, said that this was a timely initiative and the event itself is a good example of Public Private Partnership, not for building infrastructure projects, but as an event that forges partnerships for exchange of ideas, solutions and knowledge. He urged all city administrators and officials to make the fullest use of this opportunity. Speaking on this occasion, Swati Ramanathan, Chairperson of India Urban Space, said “We have examples of urban conferences on specific aspects in – water, street lights, biowaste treatment plants, sewage, governance, but the problem is just that: that they are isolated programmes, and not integrated. If cities are about bringing multiple energies into a vibrant social and economic fabric, then we need an urban event that can also bring multiple energies together - to share, to learn, and most importantly, to implement.” She later emphasized that “IndiaUSP is only a catalyst to bring the real agents of change together: the mayors and commissioners, the private sector players and the NGOs, the communities and the researchers. We hope to celebrate them, to challenge them into thinking differently about urban issues, to inspire them, and finally to spur them to go out and make us proud of our cities.” Mr Hari Shankaran, MD of IL&FS Ltd. expressed his joy at being able to support a much needed platform for exchange of ideas and experiences between urban stakeholders in India. IL&FS Ltd was the Platinum Sponsor for the event. India Urban Space 2007 was characterized by the palpable enthusiasm of all its visitors, participants and partners. Never before had Indian cities put up such a splendid exhibition of their capabilities and flagship urban infrastructure projects. Never before had such a wide spectrum of urban stakeholders, decision makers and experts congregated at one venue to exchange ideas, solutions, experiences and learn from each other. The end result was the grand success of an ambitious initiative which now fills an important gap in India’s urban landscape and at the same time provides a clear roadmap for future such events. |
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THE EVENT India Urban Space 2007 comprised of four main components – Urban Marketplace, Knowledge Exchange, Policy Dialogue and Awards and Recognitions. |
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Urban Marketplace
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Policy Dialogue The MoUD – IndiaUSP Policy Programme on “Guaranteed Urban Land Title” brought together experts from different parts of the world, who shared generously the successes and challenges of providing robust records and security of tenure from other countries. Secretary MoUD, Mr. Ramachandran, firmly directed the six participating states towards the “HOW” of implementation rather than the “WHY”, by stating that implementing guaranteed tile was one of the reforms required by JNNURM. It was a rich discussion that exposed the leading states to the work done by others. Joint Secretary, MoUD, Mr. Rajamani, in his closing remarks complimented each of the states and urged them to move forward on the reform proactively but by adopting the right approach. Recommendations by working groups will form part of the report that will be brought out by the Ministry and IndiaUSP. |
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Entries were invited from states and cities across the country, covering diverse sectors such as urban water supply, solid waste management, affordable housing, spatial planning, IT Governance etc. A total of 30 entries were received and assessed by an independent expert group at the MoUD. The entries were judged on the basis of excellence or innovation in aspects of technical design and engineering, procurement and contracting, project management and project financing. The awards were given away by Honourable Minister of Urban Development, Shri Jaipal Reddy to the 3 winning entries from Suryapet Municipality, Indore Municipal Corporation and U.P. Jal Nigam. As a part of the award, 2 nominees from each of the winning agencies were sponsored for a 3 day foreign exposure trip to learn modern urban management practices and study landmark urban development initiatives abroad. They participated at the World Cities Summit 2008 (WCS 2008) and Singapore International Water Week 2008 (SIWW 2008) held at Singapore from 23 -26 June, 2008. SPONSORS AND SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS Sponsors and partners who supported the idea of IndiaUSP 2007 with spontaneous generosity - IL&FS, HCC, IDFC, GMR, Feedback Ventures, SAP, ABM, GE Water, ESRI, ACC, TATA Structurals, Ultratech Cement, Godrej, and many others - assured us that the event was everything and more than they had expected. We are delighted that we were able to deliver on the faith they reposed on an untried and untested concept. IndiaUSP has a stellar Advisory Board who brought in high commitment and strategic value, while demanding excellence. |
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