What is in news : Recently, the Union Home Minister addressed the ‘Connect Karo 2021’ – Towards Equitable, Sustainable Indian Cities’ Event.

About:

• It is part of a global series of events that World Resources Institute (WRI) India organizes and hosts, to bring together Indian and global leaders, and other stakeholders committed towards designing inclusive, sustainable and climate forward Indian cities.
• WRI India is an independent charity, legally registered as the India Resources Trust.
• Connect Karo sees presenters from various fields — air pollution, electric mobility, urban planning, urban water resilience, climate mitigation, and public transit among others — sharing their insights and research findings.

Importance of Cities:

• Contribution to GDP:By 2030, almost 70% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will come from cities as rapid urbanisation facilitates efficiencies of agglomerations. The best-performing cities globally contribute five times more to national GDP than comparable Indian cities.
• Impact of Covid-19: By 2030, the urban population in India will almost double to 630 million and to facilitate this level of growth it is needed to upgrade the urban infrastructure considerably and the impact of Covid-19 on our cities has made this even more significant.
• Help in Fighting Climate Change: As the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report suggests, cities are the major contributors as well as worst affected from climate change, hence, cities will be the battlegrounds for the fight against climate change.
• Even Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11 includes investment in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in participatory and inclusive ways.