South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure held in Delhi

South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure: New Approaches to Public and Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Municipal Finance Innovations, was held in New Delhi.

• It was organised by National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in partnership with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

About the South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure:

• The main objective of the two day conference was to discuss the key issues, perspectives and way forward in the Urban Infrastructure.
• It was aimed to review overall issues and assess sustainability of PPPs and urban finance in South Asia, specifically India and broadening knowledge base and engaging on international best practices.
• It is first of its kind conference which saw participation of leaders from government, industry, research organisations, academia, think tanks and civil society from across South Asian region.
• The main components of conference included keynote and breakout sessions, panel discussions, presentation and a variety of stakeholder consultations.

About National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog:

• NITI Aayog is the premier policy 'Think Tank' of the Union Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.
• It is essentially an advisory body that seeks to provide critical directional and strategic inputs across spectrum of key elements of policy to the centre.
• It was established in 2015 with aim to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and to enhance cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach.
• It had replaced the Planning Commission which followed a top-down model.
• Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of NITI Aayog.
• The permanent members of its Governing Council are all the state Chief Ministers, along with Chief Ministers of Delhi and Puducherry, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar, and Vice Chairman nominated by the Prime Minister.

Question:

Q. Who organized the South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure in New Delhi in partnership with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB)?
a. Ministry of Urban Development
b. NITI Aayog
c. Ministry of External Affairs
d. None of the above