NITI Aayog has launched a report on measures to ramp up urban planning capacity in India. The report, titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’, was released by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr. K. Rajeswara Rao. The report has been developed by NITI Aayog, in consultation with concerned ministries and eminent experts in the domain of urban and regional planning. The report presents a condensed outcome of the extensive deliberations and consultations conducted over a period of nine months.<br />”<br />”On the occasion, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar said, in the coming years, urban India will power the growth of the Indian economy. He added that urban challenges, including town planning, need greater policy attention in the country.<br />”<br />”NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant emphasized that urbanization is the driving force of the Indian economy and the country has reached a turning point in its transformation. It will be half urban in a couple of decades. He said, greater synergies among the public and private sectors and education institutions will provide a massive boost towards making Indian cities more liveable, competitive and sustainable.<br />”<br />”<span style="color: #000000;">The report has made several recommendations that can unblock bottlenecks in the value chain of urban planning capacity in India. Some of them include programmatic Intervention for Planning of Health, Re-engineering of Urban Governance, Revision of Town and Country Planning Acts.</span><br />