Singapore and India. Partnering for Livable and Sustainable Cities

The year 2015 was a milestone in India-Singapore relations. As the two countries celebrated 50 years of diplomatic ties, a historic joint statement was inked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that November, which elevated the relationship to a Strategic Partnership. The strategic agreement committed the two countries to cooperating in several areas including urban planning and development. Prime Minister Modi had assumed office at a critical turn in India’s developmental story. While cities are home to 33% of India’s population and contribute to more than half of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they face the challenge of having to house an additional 300 million urban residents by 2050. The existing urban infrastructure is already under severe strain. Prime Minister Modi recognised this challenge and made sustainable and equitable urbanisation one of his key policy thrusts. Targeted programmes launched under his premiership such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Atal Mission for Urban Regeneration and Transformation (AMRUT), and the Smart Cities Mission address, respectively, issues of urban cleanliness and sanitation, equitable urban rejuvenation, and the harnessing of technology for urbanisation. Struck by Singapore’s rapid success in overcoming its spatial and resource constraints and transforming itself from a third world to a highly liveable first world city-state today, Prime Minister Modi sought to tap the country’s urban planning experience. During a visit to Singapore in March 2015, he consulted with Singapore’s Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on the possibility of collaborating in the area of urban development. Prime Minister Modi’s request was then formalised in the strategic agreement, with Singapore committing itself to train up to 100 Indian officials in urban governance and integrated planning. Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs thus partnered with the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), under Singapore’s Ministry of National Development, to curate and deliver a capability development programme drawing on the lessons from Singapore’s urban development for the past five decades This programme, the “Urban Governance and Planning Programme”, was delivered in partnership with the Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO), the planning arm of India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

source :

https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/books/singapore-india-partnering-for-liveable-and-sustainable-cities.pdf?sfvrsn=4bad0c62_4