Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Focuses on Resilient and Inclusive Cities for World Habitat Day
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | SDG 13: Climate Action | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals Institutions: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) observed World Habitat Day 2025 under the theme, ‘Urban Solutions to Crisis,’ emphasizing the critical need for Indian cities to become secure, resilient, and inclusive centers prepared to face challenges such as climate change, migration, and rapid urbanization. The Ministry asserted that cities must not only withstand crises but also emerge as powerful engines of growth that are dignified and opportunity-worthy for every citizen.
The new institutional focus officially frames urban crisis response not as a defensive measure, but as a proactive strategy for economic and social growth, necessitating a policy pivot toward mandating resilience standards in all future urban infrastructure projects.
MoHUA highlighted that flagship schemes like PMAY-Urban, AMRUT, PM SVANidhi, and Swachh Bharat Mission form an integrated, multi-pronged strategy to achieve this goal by combining infrastructure development with social inclusion and climate action. The Ministry underscored the importance of empowering local governments and harnessing the potential of Public-Private–People Partnerships (PPPP) to build a robust foundation for future growth aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
What is Urban Resilience in the context of urban planning? → Urban Resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and thrive, no matter what kinds of chronic stresses (like climate change, migration, or poverty) and acute shocks (like floods or pandemics) they experience. It integrates physical infrastructure planning with social and economic systems to ensure cities are secure and functional.
What are PMAY-Urban, AMRUT, PM SVANidhi, and Swachh Bharat Mission? → These four programs are the major flagship schemes of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and form the foundation of India’s current urban policy strategy. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) focuses on providing housing for the urban poor, while the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) ensures these homes and over 500 cities have basic essential services like water supply and sewerage. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) complements this by ensuring sanitation and clean environment in urban areas, and the PM SVANidhi scheme addresses the economic vulnerability of the urban population by offering micro-credit to street vendors, thereby integrating the informal economy into the formal system and ensuring their livelihood security within these upgraded urban spaces.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: Given the varied capacity of municipal bodies, how can MoHUA incentivize and fund Public-Private–People Partnerships (PPPP) at the city level to effectively drive resilience projects?
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