Urban Development Minister Shri Kamal Nath has said that cities of the future have to be inclusive, sustainable and smart. For creating efficient and smart infrastructure in cities, smart technologies that have potential to deliver innovative solutions are crucial. Speaking at the opening ceremony of Metropolitan Solutions 2012 at Hannover Messe on monday, Shri Nath stated that much of the global urbanisation is taking place in the developing countries. Asia is in the midst of a decisive transition from a predominantly rural to an urban society. Within Asia, India is urbanising rapidly and the urban population is expected to increase from 400 million in 2011 to over 600 million by 2030.

To address the challenges of urbanisation in India, the government has in principle agreed to the next phase of the urban renewable programme with an allocation of about USD 38 billion over the next 5 years.

The Minister stated that Government of India encourages introduction of all types of proven public transport technologies which have successfully worked across the world, be it rail based MRTS, high capacity bus systems on dedicated lanes, modern ITS buses for city transport or other techno-economically viable modes of transport.

He complimented Deutsche Messe, the organisers of the Fair for introducing an exclusive forum on urban infrastructure. “This forum places the challenges of urbanisation at the forefront of discussions amongst policy makers, professionals and business leaders and offers solutions and technologies to mitigate them” he said.

Shri Kamal Nath invited the business leaders to view the pace of urbanisation in India and the associated challenges as an opportunity to partner with India in developing sustainable, equitable and peaceful cities.

Shri Nath is in Hannover to participate in Hannover Messe 2012 which is well recognised as the world’s leading Industrial Fair that showcases latest innovations and technology solutions. The Fair was inaugurated by Dr Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and Mr Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of China on Sunday.

24 April 2012