Ministry has to work with and support all Urban Local bodies to deliver on the promise of serving all citizens: Hardeep Singh Puri

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that the National Urban Digital Mission will create the ideal space to harness immense synergies from the domain of urban and technology towards creating a citizen-centric governance. 

Speaking at the launch of National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) and other initiatives in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Puri said that the Ministry has to work with and support all Urban Local bodies to deliver on the promise of serving all citizens.

 

Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad, who graced the event with virtual presence, said that the cities will become smarter only if digital technology is properly leveraged. He added that an important message of this launch is that convergence is integral to good governance through a digital mode. 

Mr Prasad added that this convergence will not be among beneficiaries of the scheme but those departments who are responsible for convergence. He further said that the goal of Digital



India can be achieved through technology which is homegrown, developmental, low cost and inclusive.

 

On the occasion, several other digital initiatives of the Ministry including India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX), SmartCode, Smart Cities 2.0 website and Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS) were also launched. These initiatives are among the ongoing efforts of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Electronics and IT to realise the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, by making cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of citizens.

 

The National Urban Digital Mission will institutionalise a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in 2022 cities by 2022 and across all cities and towns in the country by 2024. Smart Code is a platform that enables all ecosystem stakeholders to contribute to a repository of open-source code for various solutions and applications for urban governance.