Indian Economy News

Cabinet has approved City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) from 2023 to 2027

The City Investments to Innovate, Integrate, and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) has been approved by the Union Cabinet, which is presided over by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. In collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) developed the CITIIS 2.0 programme. The programme will run for a period of four years, starting from 2023 till 2027.

With a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-focused reform initiatives at the state level, institutional improvement, and knowledge dissemination at the national level, the programme aims to fund projects that promote the circular economy.

A loan of US$ 214 million (Rs. 1,760 crore) from AFD and KfW US$ 106.8 million (EUR 100 million each) and a technical assistance grant of US$ 12.9 million (Rs. 106 crore) from the EU would be used to support CITIIS 2.0.

There were three components in CITIIS 1.0. Component 1 included 12 city-level projects selected through a competitive process, Component 2 included capacity-development activities in the State of Odisha, and Component 3 included the promotion of integrated urban management at the national level through activities undertaken by NIUA, which was the Program Management Unit (PMU) for CITIIS 1.0.

Through domestic experts, foreign experts, and transversal experts, the programme provided technical help at all three levels. Through a distinctive challenge-driven financing model founded on the ideas of competitive and cooperative federalism, it has led to the mainstreaming of innovative, integrated, and sustainable urban development practices.

Furthermore, in accordance with the CITIIS 1.0 model, CITIIS 2.0 also has three major components. Component 1 includes financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities through the selection of competitively selected projects promoting the circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management. Component 2 says that all States and UTs will be eligible for support on-demand basis. The States will be provided support to set up/strengthen their existing State climate centres/climate cells/equivalents, create State and city-level Climate Data Observatories, facilitate climate-data-driven planning, develop climate action plans, and build capacities of municipal functionaries. Lastly, Component 3 includes interventions at all three levels- Centre, State, and City to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination, partnerships, building capacity, research, and development to support scale-up across all States and Cities.

Through its ongoing national programmes (National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, AMRUT 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, and Smart Cities Mission), CITIIS 2.0 will support the government of India's climate actions. It will also positively impact India's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and Conference of the Parties (COP26) commitments.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.