Blogs

With the pandemic a state of all pervasive geographical immobility has prevailed for a while now. There has also been an increased dependence on delivery of essentials goods. The pandemic has adversely impacted the workforce, testing capacities of the existing systems. During this ongoing crisis, home delivery options have become the “new normal” in domains like healthcare, food, grocery, and logistics services delivery, and are expected to grow further in 2021. As per reports, online food and grocery retail...

This article first appeared in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on April 23, 2021.

Persistent issues in urban India’s water infrastructure have necessitated the rollout of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM-U), a comprehensive and holistic approach to achieve a water-resilient future for India.

Rapid urbanization in India poses extreme water risks, including scarcity and pollution, creating obstacles...

This is third in the ongoing series of blogs on Urban India Going Underwater. Read the first and second blogs here.

In the last few years many Indian cities have started working on interventions aimed at flood-proofing and stormwater management at various scales. Bhopal’s green-blue smart city plan, Delhi’s...

This is first in a series of blogs on Public Private Partnerships in city bus services in India.

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in city bus services in India have been prevalent for many years now, but they have gained momentum in the last two decades. The renewed adoption of PPPs started when several small and medium sized cities, that lacked technical and financial resources, initiated bus services for the first time. PPPs emerged as a way for these cities to combine public sector’s expertise in planning and managing a bus service with private sector’s capabilities to...

This is second in series of blogs on Public Private Partnerships in city bus services in India. Read the first one here.

Use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to introduce and scale bus services is becoming common in Indian cities. PPPs help combine public sector’s expertise in planning and managing bus services and private sector’s capabilities to access finance and introduce cost-effectiveness in bus operations and maintenance. As discussed in...

This blog was first published on Scroll.in on June 3.

Cycling must become an organic part of long-term urban development plans and be integrated with various modes of public transport.

Despite it being the most environment friendly, healthy and low-cost mode of travel, cycling, for many upper-class urban Indians, is merely another way to keep fit. However, for a sizeable number of people who employed in...

An improvement in the air quality was the only positive impact of the strict restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities, witnessed a 48% reduction in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions during the national lockdown, of which reduction in tail-pipe emissions were a major component. People across the nation avoided public transport due to the fear of contracting the virus. In a bid to...

Carbon markets are emerging as a popular choice for delivering cost-effective emissions reduction: 2021 witnessed the launch of national carbon markets in China and Britain. Trading in the British market opened last month at a carbon price of...

Climate related disasters and inequities may push more than 100 million people in developing countries below the poverty line by 2030. This makes mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaptation an absolute imperative for protecting ecological, social, and economic systems. Cities around the world are showing a growing interest in bringing nature to the urban commons, streets and public spaces, and towards protection and conservation of ecosystems at large.

Ecosystem...

This article was originally published on ET Insights.

By 2030, India’s urban population is expected to nearly double to 600 million. Cities have always attracted migrants who come to urban areas in search of better opportunities. However, this increased urbanization will put enormous pressure on infrastructure and increase pollution as well....