Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launches “City Innovation Exchange(CiX)”

What is the News?

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launches the City Innovation exchange(CiX) platform.

About City Innovation exchange(CiX) Platform:

• The platform aims to connect cities to innovators. It will help to design innovative solutions for pressing urban challenges.
• The platform is built on the philosophy of ‘everyone is an innovator’.
• The Smart Cities Mission will partner and effectively collaborate with Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, AGNIi, and other initiatives in the Indian Innovation ecosystem.
• Currently, the platform has more than 400 start-ups, 100 smart cities, more than 150 challenges statements, and over 215 solutions.

Significance of the platform:

• The platform brings together Citizens-Organisations -Academic Businesses-Government to co-create solutions for the future of Urban India.
• The platform will help cities in adopting solutions that will enhance the quality of life for their residents. Moreover, it will significantly improve the Ease of Doing Business.
• It will also be a significant addition to the growing innovation ecosystem of India as it focuses on fostering innovative practices in cities.

AGNIi – Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations

• Nodal Agency: It is a program of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and a Mission under the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council(PM-STIAC).
• Purpose: It helps commercialize Indian technological innovations. It supports technology initiatives by connecting owners of innovative and new solutions with the market.
• Implementation: It is executed at Invest India, India’s National Investment Promotion Agency.

Source: PIB

[Answered]In the coming decade, India’s cities need to focus on governance and sustainable development. In light of this, discuss various reasons for the poor performance of urban local bodies in India. What should be done to improve urban local governance?