ITANAGAR, 7 Sep: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently signed between the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi and the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI), Sikkim, for a term of two years, to establish and promote strategic and cooperative relationship.
The NIUA plays a crucial role as an associate of the ministry of housing & urban affairs, and works closely with the state governments and city administrations. “As a hub for generation and dissemination of cutting edge research in the urban sector, the NIUA seeks to provide innovative solutions to address the challenges of the fast urbanising India and pave the way for more inclusive and sustainable cities of the future,” the NIUA informed in a release.
The IMI is a civil society led network platform with the mission to mainstream concerns of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and its people in the development dialogue of India. It functions as a platform to integrate the knowledge and experiences of multiple stakeholders working across the IHR, and uses this to inform and influence policy at the national and state levels.
By signing the MoU, the NIUA and the IMI have agreed to connect their respective networks to achieve their shared goal, aiming at establishing change agendas on key themes for sustainable urbanisation and improved WASH service delivery, especially in small and medium towns in India.
As part of the undertaking, the NIUA and the IMI will also be collaborating on ‘Parvat Manthan’, a forum conceptualised since July 2022.
