Naidu calls for greater cooperation among BRICS countries

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today called for greater cooperation and people-to-people contact among the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
After inaugurating BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave here, Naidu said, "A collaborative effort is needed by the five nations to fight social discrepancies and inequalities. They need to articulate their diplomatic and political joint interest. Less industrialised nations can learn a lot from the BRICS experience, both good and bad, and so steer their own urbanisation onto a more secure path."
The three-day programme is being organised by the Maharashtra and the Union governments, and involves top urban policy makers/planners from BRICS countries.

Irrespective of the socio-economic and political context, the nature and aspirations of the people in BRICS nations are the same, Naidu said. They seek advancement in their life term for themselves and for their children. These aspirations are the driving force of urbanisation across the country, he said.
The experiences of BRICS and newly industrialised countries including the big Asian economies have demonstrated the power of urbanisation as an engine of development, the minister stated.
These new missions entail a total investment of about

Rs 18 lakh crore by 2022 in urban areas in developing basic infrastructure in 500 cities with a population of above one lakh each, core infrastructure in 100 smart cities and construction of 2 crore houses for urban poor in all the 4,041 statutory cities and towns, he said.

"We have made substantial ground towards improving the ease of doing business in urban areas, promoting better land use planning, vertical construction through Transit Oriented Development, promoting efficient public transport, much desired green and open spaces in urban areas etc. In the next few years, every urban household will be provided with water supply and sewerage connections. Every poor urban household will be provided with a decent house promoting inclusivity," Naidu added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government had selected 10 cities in the state to be Smart Cities, which will have IT backbone and all basic infrastructure facilities. The first Smart City of the country will be launched in Navi Mumbai, he said.