Urban
Conclave
2026

Brought together 315 participants including elected representatives, senior bureaucrats, civil society organisations, multi-lateral organisations, private sector, academia and media.

This eighth edition delved into what is shaping and constraining India’s cities today.

Key takeaways that emerged were:

City challenges are systemic, not isolated.
Issues like mobility, housing, and climate are interconnected and need integrated solutions.

The gap is not in intent, but in execution.
From planning to financing to implementation, systems often fail to translate into improved economic and liveability outcomes on the ground.

Poor liveability affects all, but impacts some far more.
Women and the urban poor are the worst affected, and households and businesses increasingly rely on private solutions — often at a higher cost.

Strengthening city-systems is critical to better outcomes.
Better planning, governance, and financing are key to building cities that are more resilient, equitable, and liveable.

FROM THE SPEAKERS:

“Urban transformation and rejuvenation are a pressing need. It is crucial for India to realise PM’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. Our cities need massive upgradation in terms of infrastructure, in terms of quality and services, affordable housing, in their thinking, on spatial planning, in their resource mobilisation efforts, and above all, in restructuring governance.”

Rajiv Gauba

Member, NITI Aayog

“While cities contribute to individual and national economic growth – in the case of Karnataka, 60% GDP comes from the city of Bengaluru. Yet, as a city, the revenue the city can generate is limited. Whether it is innovations in municipal bonds or the new urban challenge fund or new methodologies for raising funds, unless more effort is made to strengthen our cities commensurate to the value they add to the GDP, we will not be able to strengthen our city.”

Tejasvi Surya

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

“Urban citizens are concerned when water doesn't come from their tap. However, they don’t participate in city governance every day, they don’t have the time. So, we must innovatively bring them on board. Can we create another layer between people and the government?”

D Thara

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

“The urban poor are always in conflict and negotiation with city-systems. We need to explicitly define and include migrants and marginal groups in planning. City Action Plans can become units of transformation only if and when they are inclusive and meaningful.”

Amita Bhide

Professor, CUPG, School of Habitat Studies, TISS Mumbai

“Nobody can stop the city from developing. Everybody loves cities because of their glory, prestige, and pride. But glory, prestige, and pride must not be just for show. They need to take care of their poor, vulnerable communities. The job of the city is to provide for peoples’ basic needs. When those needs are ignored, development doesn’t improve liveability.”

Shaik Salauddin

Co-founder and General Secretary, Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers

“Women keep being added on to city and master plans as an afterthought, decorative stitching on someone else’s fabric. The goal is for women to bake the cake, not be the embroidery on it.”

Tara Krishnaswamy

Independent Policy Researcher

THE URBAN CONCLAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER
POLICYMAKERS, PRACTITIONERS, RESEARCHERS, BUSINESS LEADERS,
AND CIVIL SOCIETY TO DIVE INTO TWO QUESTIONS:

How do we build cities that work for everyone?

Panellists:

Tejasvi Surya - Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Surinder Chauhan - Mayor, Shimla Municipal Corporation
Sarada Muraleedharan - Former Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala
D Thara - Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Praveen Pardeshi - Chief Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister, and Chief Executive Officer of the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA)
Moderator: Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO, Janaagraha

What would it take to drive inclusive economic growth in India’s cities?

Panellists:

Manish Sabharwal - Vice Chairman, TeamLease Services, and Advisory Board Member, CAG of India, and Former Director, Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.
Shaik Salauddin - Co-founder and General Secretary, Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers
Kesavan Srinivasan - Former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, Govt. of India, and Senior Adviser, Janaagraha
Moderator: Anita Kumar - Director, Policy and Insights, Janaagraha

Report Launch

The Conclave also marked the launch of Shaping Urban India — By Design, Not by Default. This report examines how growth and liveability in cities are deeply interconnected — and that strong city-systems are essential to achieving both.

The report outlines five key shifts needed to drive this transformation: investing in walkability and public transport, implementing City Action Plans, adopting differentiated governance models, building city-level data systems, and recognising Urban Local Governments as empowered governments of the city.

Download your copy

About Janaagraha

Janaagraha is a non-profit working to transform quality of life in India's cities and towns. For over two decades, the organisation has strengthened the city-systems that enable urban India to plan, design, govern, fund, and manage itself.

The organisation's work focuses on three foundational city-systems: Planning and Design, Decentralised Participatory Governance, and State Capacities. Through these, it advances outcomes across climate, health, and equity — addressing the urgent challenges India's cities face.

Janaagraha is driven by a fundamental conviction: how well India urbanises will determine how well India develops. The organisation champions sustainable urban development through systemic reforms, partnering with constitutional bodies, union and state governments, and civil society organisations. Its engagements span the XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI Finance Commissions, State Finance Commissions, Second Administrative Reforms Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, NITI Aayog, MoHUA, and state governments including Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

The Urban Conclave builds on this deep institutional experience and is part of our sustained effort to advance city-systems reform in India.

Event Details

The Urban Conclave is organised by Janaagraha in collaboration with the Jana Urban Space Foundation.

For queries, please contact:
urbanconclave@janaagraha.org

Past Editions

50+ national and global leaders have shaped this conversation over the years. Previous editions of the Urban Conclave have featured distinguished leaders including: