Honorable Minister, Shri Hardeep Puri

Secretary Joshi, Joint Secretary Kumar, Distinguished CEOs of Indian Smart Cities, My European colleagues, Ms Lise Breuil, Country Director of French AFD, Colleagues from German KfW and EU Member States in the audience, Ladies and Gentlemen,

NAMASTE !

• On behalf of the European Union, it is my great pleasure to be with you today at the CITIIS 2.0 Challenge launch along with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Team Europe partners from France and Germany: AFD and KfW as well as NIUA, which plays a central role in CITIIS.
• How appropriate that one of the flagship projects of EU-India cooperation is called CITIIS, supporting the development of India’s smart cities !!
• Think of it: India has been home to some of the oldest urban civilisations in the world and contributed greatly to human and urban development.
• Today India has become the most populous country in the world. And is also home to one of the fastest rural-to-urban transitions in human history.
• By 2050, the number of people living in urban centres in India will double to reach 900 million – this means an increase equivalent to the entire population of the European Union!
•  This is a staggering challenge for Indian municipal corporations in the provision of sustainable and quality public infrastructures and services.
•  The first phase of the “CITIIS” project which started in 2018 was an accelerator of change and adaptation for 12 smart cities across India. It supported a broad range of innovative actions from creating green open spaces, promoting electric mobility and non-motorised corridors, upgrading the municipal schools with latest ICT infrastructure, just to name a few. This first phase of city projects, will come to completion next year!
• Today we meet to kick start CITIIS Phase 2. Phase 2 is doubling down in every respect:
  •  It is twice bigger in terms of financing committed by EU MS Financing Institutions, 200 million Euro in loans (1760 Crores Rupees) and twice bigger in terms of technical assistance grant provided by  the European Union committing EUR 12 million (106 Crores Rupees).
  • It will almost double the number of cities involved,
  • CITIIS will also double down with its focus on sustainable urbanisation and waste management, true to the spirit of “Mindful and Deliberate Utilisation, instead of wasteful Consumption” as PM Modi described the LiFE Mission and of the Clean India and Circular Economy Missions.
• Team Europe, the EU together with its Member States, is fully committed to accompany India and support your Ministry, Honourable Minister, in addressing the challenge of waste management with CITIIS 2.0.
• Large-scale urbanisation will indeed test infrastructures and services with respect to basic water supply, wastewater treatment and solid waste management.
• It is estimated that the solid waste in Indian cities will almost triple in volume by 2030 (165 million tons per year as compared to 62 million tons per year today).
• The combined effect of urbanization and economic development will also change consumption patterns. Left unchecked, plastic production alone could increase by 40% in 10 years. If we don’t do anything about the plastic soup, oceans will carry more plastic than fish (by weight) by 2050. Batteries, construction, textile, e-waste, medical and organic waste also present specific and acute challenges.

Honourable Minister, dear guests,

• Problems have solutions. Challenges can be turned into opportunities. CITIIS 2.0, aims to provide Indian smart cities with both financial means and an Integrated Waste Management approach, acting on supply, on demand, on infrastructures and policies.
• Speaking from the EU own experience, we have come a long way to recognise the challenge of waste management and act upon it. We are well on track to reach our target of 90% reduction of biodegradable municipal waste between 1995 and 2040. To reduce landfill waste to 10% of total municipal waste and to recycle 65% of this total municipal waste by 2035.
• What we have learned is that we can do more with less; that economic growth and developing a thriving middle class can be achieved with less intensive use of resources. 
• This proves the point that ‘Low carbon, circular economy approaches’ can create significant economic value while avoiding adverse health and environmental impacts.
• This is what smart growth and smart cities are all about!
• CITIIS 2.0 is one of the building blocks of a wider EU-India partnership that seek to advance the green transition and sustainable development.
• The Ministries of Water, of Environment, Forests and Climate and the EU entered into a formal Partnership on Water, Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy. These will continue to complement and inform synergies between CITIES 2.0 and relevant Indian Missions, through sharing of experiences between all actors State, local governments, businesses as well as academia and research institutes on efficient use of resources.
• Acknowledging the huge investment gap, as a part of EU’s Global Gateway Strategy and the European Union Green Deal, the EU is working with Team Europe development partners like EIB, AFD, KfW and IFC ; for instance, to narrow the global investment gap and facilitate the uptake of sustainable, high quality projects in India, notably urban mobility and metros in ten Indian metropolis but also projects like CITIIS. Since 2021, as Team Europe, we have collectively invested around 4 Billion Euro in Urban development in India.
• Under the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) track 2, both sides aims to increase research efforts and market uptake of joint technological innovations regarding more affordable wastewater management or recycling of batteries from e-vehicles, inter alia.
• As part of the Mitigation Action Facility project on “Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India” Germany and the EU, provide debt guarantee to entrepreneurs in 4 important cities (Varanasi, Bengaluru, Tiruchirappalli, and Patna) and one state: Goa. I seize the opportunity to also thank MoHUA for your support in this project.
• The Action Plan under the EU-India Joint Working Group Meeting between the European Union and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs was last renewed in 2021 and has been extended to strengthen investment projects at city level with a strong focus on leveraging International Financing Institutions like EIB, KfW, AFD, WB, IFC, others; this in view of strengthening environment, social and governance aspects of infrastructure projects, as well as capacity development for urban local bodies, municipalities and city officials.
• And new opportunities are coming up! For example:
• the EU-funded ACSIIS (Accelerating Climate Smart & Inclusive Infrastructure) program for private sector investments including in the municipal infrastructure with a particular focus on solid waste management or for promoting the EDGE Green building standards, for more floor space to become certified and the intensity GHG abated (app 800,000 EUR). Green buildings represent an immense opportunity for the immense sustainable urbanisation challenge India is facing!
• My simple message today, to the Ministry, to NIUA and to municipalities during CITIIS implementation is to tap into these various Team Europe initiatives and resources, and making the best of it by “connecting the dots” and build the synergies.
• EU and India are working together to create cities of tomorrow – greener, cleaner, diverse, inclusive, well organized, more liveable and attractive. Smart cities for smart Indian urbanites! CITIIS 2.0 is an iconic and a centrepiece of this wider approach of India’s urban future, with Team Europe standing closely on its side!
• I wish Indian Smart cities a bright future and a successful engagement in CITIIS 2.0. Thank You Very Much for your attention.

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