In order to reach the goal of becoming a developed country, four cities have been chosen to be developed under the Growth Hub programme: Mumbai, Varanasi, Surat, and Visakhapatnam.
By 2047, Viksit Bharat wants India’s economy to grow to $30 trillion. Cities are crucial growth engines for the advancement of every economy.
These four cities have been selected by NITI Aayog as a trial group for the Growth Hub initiative.
In order to reach the economic goal by 2047, city regions are to be prepared for development under the Growth Hub programme.
Its goals are to create a model for planning economic growth strategies for specific metropolitan regions around the nation and to create a road map for doing so that involves, among other things, identifying the main growth drivers, enablers, and interventions.
The cities were chosen according to scale, size, and geographic distribution criteria.A collection of districts that are connected, interdependent, or neighbouring from an economic and social standpoint is referred to as a city area.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Varanasi, Surat, and Visakhapatnam are the four city regions that were chosen as a trial basis.The districts of Varanasi, Prayagraj, Azamgarh, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Mau, Ballia, Bhadohi, and Ghazipur are all included in the Varanasi city region.
East Godavari, Kakinada, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam, Anakapalle, Vizianagram, Srikakulam, and Visakhapatnam are among the districts that make up the city region.
NITI Aayog’s CEO, a National Steering Committee of officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and subject matter experts, has been established as an institutional structure due to the project’s magnitude.
Furthermore, a steering council for strategic interventions and general oversight has been established in each of the four states (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh) and is chaired by the Chief Secretary. For operational issues, states have also established specialised cells.
To date, concerned district collectors and state government representatives have already been consulted in meetings. The schedule for the upcoming actions has been decided upon.
NITI Aayog, the Institute of Sustainability, Employment and Growth (ISEG) Foundation, and World Resources Institute (WRI) India have inked a Statement of Intent for the project.
A plan for targeted funding, a suggested governance structure, a list of the short-listed development drivers’ execution milestones, organisational and financial unlocks, and implementation strategies are all included in the template for an economic growth strategy for chosen city regions.
