This guidebook on integrating climate change into city development strategies (CDS) attempts to provide a modest input into the effort of unifying two key thematic areas, Climate Change and City Development Strategies.

Despite progress, South Asia has failed to capitalize on urbanization says the World Bank report released this week. Instead of using increasing urbanization as a vehicle to convey prosperity to a greater number of people, the countries of the region have “difficulty in dealing with the pressures that increased urban populations put on infrastructure, basic services, land, housing and the environment,” which in turn has fostered “messy and hidden” urbanization

The Government of India (GoI) initiated the ‘100 Smart Cities Mission’ in 2014. This has triggered deliberations across the country on the concept of smart cities, the need and the orientation of the Mission in the context of India’s present urbanisation scenario. The concept of a ‘Smart City’ is a relatively new phenomenon in India.

The State Government failed to avail Central assistance of 128.23 crore because of delay in execution and utilisation of funds for drinking water projects. Drinking water in adequate quantity was not supplied to all people in 95 out of 106 urban areas of the State.