There is an opportunity to accelerate the process of making cities more liveable, PM Modi said

india offers exciting opportunities in mobility and innovation, and offers a huge market, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, inviting investors to spend on urbanisation projects in the country.

Speaking at the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum today via video conferencing, the Prime Minister pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic had provided an opportunity to develop new protocols in every field.

It had also provided an opportunity to accelerate the process of making cities more liveable for people, he said.

“This opportunity should be grabbed by the world if we want to develop resilient systems for the future. We should think about post COVID requirements of the world. A good starting point would be the rejuvenation of our urban centers”, Prime Minister Modi told the gathering.

Pointing out that the world was looking at a future where a major chunk of education, healthcare, shopping, food experiences may happen online, the Prime Minister said, "Our cities need to be ready for the convergence of the physical and digital worlds".

Referring to ongoing projects in India's urban areas, Prime Minister Modi said 100 Smart Cities selected through a two-stage process had prepared projects worth almost Rs 2 lakh crore rupees or USD 30 billion.

He also informed the forum about the recent initiatives for revitalizing the Indian urban landscape such as Digital India, Startup India, affordable housing, Real Estate (Regulation) Act and Metro Rail in 27 cities.

"Projects worth almost one lakh forty thousand crore rupees or 20 billion dollars have been completed or nearing completion,” he pointed out. Work was on track to deliver nearly 1,000 kms of Metro rail system in the country by 2022, he added.

Arguing that the post COVID-19 world would need a restart, he said this will not be possible without a reset. "A reset of mindset. A reset of processes and a reset of practices," PM Modi noted.

Terming people as the biggest resources and the communities as the biggest building block, the Prime Minister said, “The pandemic has re-emphasised that our biggest resource, as societies and as businesses, is our people. The post-Covid world has to be built by nurturing this key and fundamental resource.”

“It has been our endeavour in India to build urban centres, which have the amenities of a city but the spirit of a village,” PM Modi said