On November 9, 2020, the 13th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference 2020 was held virtually on the theme “Emerging Trends in Urban Mobility” from New Delhi which was inaugurated by Minister of State-MoS (Independent Charge-IC) Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). This was the first virtual UMI conference amid COVID 19 and was also held for a day as against the usual format of three days without any exhibition.
- The 14th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo 2021 will be held on October 29-31, 2021 in Kochi, Kerala.
AIM of UMI: To disseminate information to the cities in order to keep them up-to-date with best urban transport practices. Also it provides an interaction platform to all national and international participants from Urban Transport to discuss key issues relevant to the sector and suggest measures to address them.
Focus of 2020 Theme: To take innovative measures at national and international level to address the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic to provide accessible and convenient transport to the people.
MoHUA Issued Detailed Advisory:
During the Conference, MoHUA issued a detailed advisory regarding urban mobility amid COVID times which is based on the following three pillars:
- Promotion of public transport system
- Leveraging technological advancements
- Penetration of Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) in the urban transport paradigm.
Awards for Excellence in Urban Transport:
During the Conference, Awards for innovations in Urban Transport during Covid-19 were also announced. Following are the key ones:
 Award of Commendable Initiative– Bihar, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (Haryana), Surat Municipal Corporation (Gujarat), Rajkot Municipal Corporation (Gujarat) and Emakilam Jolla Autorickshaw Drivers Cooperative Society (Kochi, Kerala).
- Rajkot was given ”Award of Commendable Initiative”, implemented a smooth transition to technology driven ITMS system during COVID-19 for their city bus system while Surat operated buses as ”Dhanvantri Rath” (mobile medical teams), ambulances and mobile sample collection units.
Award of Excellence– Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and Agartala Smart City Limited (ASCL), Tripura
- CRUT converted bus stops into vegetable vending zones and provided ”Grocery on Wheels”.
- ASCL prioritized pedestrianisation and cycling during the pandemic, and constructed a 5 kilometers pedestrian walkway.
Bhubaneswar and Agartala have emerged as the best cities in the country for innovation in urban transport during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Point to be noted:
In accordance to various studies, about 16-57% of Indian urban commuters are pedestrian and about 30-40% of commuters use bicycles depending on the size of the city.
Non-motorised transport will occupy the prime, non-negotiable, position in every form of urban mobility discourse and intervention.
About Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference:
Since 2008, it is being held annually along with Expo and Research Symposium, under the aegis of MoHUA to showcase the latest developments in urban transport technology and systems, and the implementation of best transport projects.
Other Participants:
Prof. Jan Gehl, Founder and Senior Advisor, M/s Gehl, Mr Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate for Transport, Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Government of France, Dr. Claudia Warning, Director-General GIZ, Shri D S Mishra, Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs attended the Conference. Besides, senior Officers of the Ministry were also present at the Conference.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 14, 2020, a webinar was conducted at the launch of Affordable Rental Housing Complex (ARHC) portal (http://arhc.mohua.gov.in/) and for the releasing of guidelines and guidebook, from New Delhi which was addressed Hardeep Singh Puri. He also launched a National Report on ANGIKAAR.
ii.On October 5, 2020, MoHUA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Swiggy, a food ordering and delivery platform in India, to onboard street food vendors on its ecommerce platform, a first of its kind initiative.
About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA):
Secretary– Durga Shanker Mishra
