The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has put a clear digital stamp on its urban reform agenda, rolling out a set of online platforms for water reuse, municipal finance, project funding and public works monitoring as the second National Urban Conclave concluded in Bhubaneswar on 25 October 2026.
Held over two days under the theme “Urban Rising – Rethinking Urban Systems, Solutions and Delivery”, the Conclave was organised by MoHUA with support from the Government of Odisha, with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) as knowledge partner. It brought together more than 1,200 participants, including urban development ministers, mayors, urban local bodies (ULBs), development authorities, academia and industry.
Digital platforms at the centre
Several of the launches are built to give cities and the Centre better data and more transparent processes:
- Used Water Marketplace (AMRUT 2.0): An online platform where ULBs can list the quantity and quality of treated used water they have available, so industries, institutions and private buyers can find and procure it. The aim is to turn treated wastewater into a tradeable resource and a revenue stream for cities.
- UCF Portal: A common digital interface for the Urban Challenge Fund that lets states, Union Territories, ULBs and implementing agencies submit, track, appraise and monitor projects in one place.
- Online Interactive Municipal Finance Data Hub: A portal that will make real-time data on ULB revenue and expenditure available, support reforms to raise municipal revenue, and host discussion forums for municipal finance practitioners.
- CPWD Nirman: A web and mobile application for monitoring Central Public Works Department projects from start to finish, with real-time progress and milestone tracking and inter-agency coordination.
- CPWDway: A digital learning platform of short instructional videos and assessments on CPWD specifications, construction practices and building services for government engineers.
Other announcements included the formal start of 18 Street Food Hubs under PM SVANidhi with the release of the first tranche of funds, a CPWD internship scheme for engineering and architecture students via AICTE’s National Internship Portal, and an MoU between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) on circular use of treated water.
Recommendations lean on digital governance
The seven technical sessions repeatedly pointed to technology as an enabler of better city services. The session on urban service delivery called for a shift from asset creation to outcome-based services, with stronger digital monitoring and citizen feedback systems. The Model Building Bye-Laws session recommended simplifying approvals through integrated digital platforms with risk-based scrutiny and self-certification, while the infrastructure session urged shared GIS-based databases to align spatial and infrastructure planning across agencies.
The Model Municipal Law session recommended five-year tenures and defined executive powers for mayors, greater devolution and fiscal autonomy for ULBs, and a revision of the Model Municipal Law, 2003, through state-level consultations.
Leadership view
In his closing remarks, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal highlighted progress under AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban and PM SVANidhi, and noted that more than half of the country’s legacy waste has been remediated. Satendra Singh, Secretary, Department of Urban Development, said success should be judged by the quality of services rather than project completion alone. NITI Aayog Member Rajiv Gauba called for empowering smaller cities and urban local bodies, observing that cities cannot be run from state capitals.
Why it matters
For India’s cities, the new platforms move key urban functions, from water reuse and project funding to municipal accounts and public works, onto shared digital systems. If states and ULBs adopt them widely, they could improve transparency, speed up decisions and give policymakers far better data on how cities raise and spend money. The Conclave’s recommendations are expected to shape the next phase of urban reforms towards Viksit Bharat 2047.