The three major new initiatives are Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Housing for All initiative, now named as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Minister of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu will preside the meeting and address the participants outlining the paradigm changes made in the designing and execution of new urban missions and the importance of urban reforms to be implemented to improve urban governance and delivery of services.

 
The presentations and discussions will be held on 15 themes and issues including: PPP Model, Smart Solutions and City Challenge Competition and Role of Special Purpose Vehicle for Smart Cities development, City and State Level Planning for AMRUT, Devolution of resources to States and Urban Local Bodies by 14th Finance Commission, case studies relating to Local Area Planning in Ahmedabad, Redevelopment of Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai, Innovative Citizen Driven Solutions and Property Tax Collection Enhancement by Hyderabad, Development of New Town of Kolkata, Action Plan for Open Defecation Free cities of Chattisgarh, Promotion of Public Toilets in Tamil Nadu and Community Toilets in Pune, Water Supply scheme of Nagpur, Conversion of Waste to Compost in Karnataka, Waste to Energy and Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Plants of Delhi, Waste to Wealth conversion experiences of the US, Europe and China etc.


Union Cabinet has cleared Smart Cities Mission with a Central Outlay of Rs.48,000 cr for the next five years and AMRUT with an outlay of Rs.50,000 cr. The urban component of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana targeting construction of 2 crore houses for Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups has been approved with a substantially increased interest subvention of 6.50% for affordable housing loans. Central help under this scheme will range from Rs.one lakh to Rs.2.30 lakh per each house to be built over the next 7 years. 

500 cities and towns, with a population of one lakh and above each accounts for 73% of urban population of the country and are also the main focus of the Government under AMRUT to ensure basic infrastructure and for housing in the initial years of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. 

While AMRUT seeks to ensure basic infrastructure, PMAY enables the urban poor to own decent and affordable houses. These two components enable the present cities emerge as smart cities in due course. Under Smart Cities Mission, quality of life will be enhanced in 100 identified cities and towns by ensuring quality infrastructure, improving services through application of smart solutions and enabling a clean and sustainable environment.