The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) program. CITIIS 2.0 is a program conceived by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). The program will run for a period of four years, from 2023 to 2027.
The program aims to support competitively selected projects that promote circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the state level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the national level.
The funding for CITIIS 2.0 would include a loan of Rs. 1,760 crore (EUR 200 million) from AFD and KfW (EUR 100 million each) and a technical assistance grant of Rs. 106 crore (EUR 12 million) from the EU.
CITIIS 2.0 aims to leverage and scale up the learnings and successes of CITIIS 1.0. CITIIS 1.0 was jointly launched in 2018 by MoHUA, AFD, EU, and NIUA, with a total outlay of ₹933 crore (EUR 106 million). CITIIS 1.0 consisted of three components:
Component 1: 12 city-level projects were selected through a competitive process.
Component 2: Capacity development activities in the State of Odisha.
Component 3: Promotion of integrated urban management at the national level through activities undertaken by NIUA, which served as the Program Management Unit (PMU) for CITIIS 1.0.
Technical assistance was made available under the program at all three levels through domestic experts, international experts, and transversal experts. It resulted in the mainstreaming of innovative, integrated, and sustainable urban development practices through a unique challenge-driven financing model based on the principles of competitive and cooperative federalism.
CITIIS 2.0: Key Objectives and Benefits
Technical assistance was provided through the program at different levels using domestic, international, and cross-functional experts. This assistance has led to the adoption of innovative, integrated, and sustainable urban development practices through a financing model that emphasizes competition and collaboration between federal entities.
Following the CITIIS 1.0 model, CITIIS 2.0 has three major components:
Component 1: Financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities. This will be done through the selection of competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management.
Component 2: All states and UTs will be eligible for support based on demand. The states will receive support to (a) set up or strengthen their existing state climate centers/climate cells/equivalents, (b) create state and city-level climate data observatories, (c) facilitate climate-data driven planning, and (d) build capacities of municipal functionaries. To achieve these objectives, the PMU at NIUA will coordinate the provision of technical assistance and strategic support to state governments.
Component 3: Interventions at all three levels – center, state, and city – to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination, partnerships, capacity building, research, and development. This will support scaling up across all states and cities.
Four values are at the core of the CITIIS program: sustainability, innovation, participation and relevance. Participation is particularly important as CITIIS is intended to be an inclusive program in which citizens contribute to the preparation of the projects.
Further, four urban themes have been selected for this program:
- Sustainable Mobility;
- Public Open Spaces;
- Urban E-Governance and ICTs;
- Social and Organizational Innovation in Low-Income Settlements
Funding of CITIIS 2.0
The funding for CITIIS 2.0 includes a loan of Rs. 1,760 crore (EUR 200 million) from AFD and KfW (EUR 100 million each), as well as a technical assistance grant of Rs. 106 crore (EUR 12 million) from the EU.
CITIIS 2.0: Vision
CITIIS 2.0 will complement the climate initiatives of the Government of India, including existing national programs such as the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, AMRUT 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, and Smart Cities Mission. It will also contribute positively to India’s commitments under the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and Conference of the Parties (COP26).
