National Urban Conclave 2026 Opens in Bhubaneswar

The second edition of the National Urban Conclave opened in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on 24 October 2026. Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu lit the ceremonial lamp at the inaugural session. The two-day meeting, running on 24 and 25 October, has been organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with support from the Odisha government. The National Institute of Urban Affairs is the knowledge partner, while HUDCO and NBCC are the principal sponsors. Its theme is 'Urban Rising – Rethinking Urban Systems, Solutions and Delivery', and more than 1,200 participants are at the venue, among them urban development ministers, mayors and representatives of urban local bodies, development authorities, academia and industry.

How fast India is urbanising

The Minister of State said the urban population has risen from about 377 million in 2011 to roughly 500 million, and is likely to touch 600 million by 2036; by the centenary of independence nearly one in every two Indians would live in a city. He named PMAY, AMRUT, the Swachh Bharat Mission, PM SVANidhi, DAY-NULM and the Smart Cities Mission as the base for the next phase of urban work. NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Anurag Jain, in the keynote address, said close to half the country's people are expected to be urban by 2047 and to produce around three-fourths of the gross domestic product, which calls for investment, institutional response and capacity building.

Money and reforms on the table

Satendra Singh, Secretary of the Department of Urban Development, set out the money now on offer: an Urban Challenge Fund of ₹1 lakh crore, a Credit Repayment Guarantee Scheme worth ₹5,000 crore, and an Urbanisation Premium Grant of ₹10,000 crore that the Sixteenth Finance Commission has suggested, besides reforms taken up under the SASCI scheme. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the state is working towards a 500 billion dollar economy by 2036 and pointed to the spread of Ama Bus services, electric buses and the Bhubaneswar–Kataka–Puri–Paradip Economic Region. Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the Drink from Tap initiative now covers 11 cities and piped drinking water reaches 114 urban areas.

Launches and sessions

The inaugural programme released HUDCO's Urban Invest Window journal, the Samarthya platform for CPHEEO, the ANKUR Handbook of achievements and reform priorities, Odisha's town planning handbooks, a framework on government and privately owned public spaces, the e-book Mera Ghar Mera Abhimaan on PMAY-Urban beneficiaries, the PMAY-U 2.0 mobile application, the standard operating procedure for the PMAY-U Awards 2027, an advisory on construction and demolition waste, and an outcome report on adequate housing. Seven thematic sessions filled the first day, covering the Right to Walk, water and resource efficiency, affordable housing, integrated infrastructure delivery, new ways of urban service delivery, model building bye-laws and a model municipal law.