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Updates from the Transport and Urban Development Circuit (News) |
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Transport and Urban Development Knowledge Hub (Other Publications)
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TUGD Conducts Thematic Tracks at the World Sustainable Development Summit, India Habitat Centre |
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Transport and Urban Governance Division (TUGD) conducted a thematic session on Accelerating India’s Pathways to Sustainable Transport and Emission Reductions through Transport-specific Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), on 5 March 2025. The discussion focussed on the importance of having transport-specific NDCs in India and highlighted actionable strategies involving road, rail, and urban mobility to enhance low-carbon mobility solutions by suitable policy framework, energy transition, technological interventions and adequate finance mechanisms.
Keynote address by Mr KRK Reddy, Additional Member (Traffic), Indian Railways at the WSDS
The session was addressed by Mr KRK Reddy, Additional Member (Traffic), Railway Board, Ministry of Railways, Dr Virinder Sharma, Member (Technical), Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, Mr Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, TERI. It was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Ms Jaya Varma Sinha, Former Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board, involving panellists—Mr Ajit Kumar Panda, Director (Projects and Services), Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR); Dr Pankaj Sharma, Additional Director Demand and Economic Studies, Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell, Mr Amit Bhatt, Managing Director (India), International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT); Ms Trupti Deshpande, Senior Programme Manager, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF); Mr Navaneeth Raghu, Corporate Sustainability, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), and Ms Neha Jain, Head, Electric Vehicle and Innovation Ecosystem, Jindal South West (JSW) Morris Garages (MG) Motor India.
Panel discussion at the WSDS
The session ended with a release of report titled Comprehensive Assessment of Job Impacts and Skill Gaps of Transitioning from ICE to Electric Trucks. The report aims at analysing the job impacts and skill gaps in the future due to transitioning to zero-emission trucks (ZETs) from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) trucks across four cities—Delhi/NCR, Chennai, Pune, and Bengaluru. It gives key insights on skill gap across unorganized service operators, workforce employed in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector and workforce engaged in the manufacturing process of ICE components due to expertise required in domains like sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Report release at the WSDS
TUGD also conducted another thematic session titled Beyond Blueprints: Reimagining Climate-resilient Cities through Living Labs and Digital Democracy on 5 March 2025, as part of the WSDS 2025. The discussion emphasized upon the need and urgency of data-driven, technology and participatory frameworks that enable adaptive, citizen-led climate action for building urban resilience. The session started with a welcome address from Mr Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, TERI with opening remarks from Dr Himanshu Shekhar, Associate Academic Officer, United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and a keynote address by Dr Alexander Fisher, Project Director, GIZ India. This was followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Mr Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, TERI. The panellists included Dr Himanshu Shekhar, Associate Academic Officer, UNU-EHS, Gaurav Godhwani, Executive Director and Co-founder at CivicDataLab, Ms R. Samhita, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Resilience Artificial Intelligence (AI), Dr K Swapna, Programme Officer, Sustainability and Resilience Unit (SRU), Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), Mr Anshul Abbasi, Lead (Policy and Planning), National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and Ms Dulari Parmar, Lead for Climate Justice, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA).
Panel discussion at the WSDS
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TERI Welcomes Chief Minister of Goa
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TETERI welcomed Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Dr Pramod Sawant, at its Headquarters, Delhi. He was felicitated by Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI. During this visit, CM Dr Sawant explored potential collaborations with TERI for sustainable initiatives to enable the vision of clean and green Goa, including electrification of transport system, and augmentation of public and non-motorized transport. This meeting was attended by Mr Sharif Qamar, Associate Director, TERI and Ms Shiren Pandita, Associate Fellow, TERI.
CM Dr Sawant at TERI
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| CONCOR and TERI Established a Centre of Excellence on Logistics |
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TERI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) to establish a CONCOR–TERI Centre of Excellence for Green and Sustainable Logistics at the WSDS on 7 March 2025. The MoU was signed in the presence of Mr Sanjay Swarup, Chairman and Managing Director, CONCOR and Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, and was formalized by Mr Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, TERI, and Mr Ahmed Wasi Khan, Group General Manager Projects and Services (P&S) CONCOR. It was signed in the august presence of Mr Shri Prakash, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, Mr Ajit Kumar Panda, Director Projects and Services (P&S) CONCOR, and esteemed participants of WSDS. The CONCOR–TERI Centre of Excellence for Green and Sustainable Logistics aims to decarbonize the freight transport system in India, by designing pathways for a modal shift to railways, deployment of zero-emission vehicles and equipment, establishing green warehousing rating system and creating sustainable logistics tools.
MoU signing for CONCOR–TERI Centre of Excellence for Green and Sustainable Logistics
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| Launch of PACT-Digi-PULSE Project |
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TERI participated in the launch event of a new partnership under UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) and Government of Tamil Nadu on 26 March 2025. The project—PACT-Digi-PULSE—focuses on Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu and will be implemented by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) - India, Cenex, and TERI. The event was graced by the presence of British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, Ms Halima Holland, Director, Climate, Energy and Environment, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Ms Debbie Palmer, and Ms Laura Aylett, Head of Climate and Energy, British High Commission, New Delhi where they shared their experiences and expectations from the projects. The event was also attended by Hon’ble Mayor Mr P Jegan and Mr L Madhubalan, Commissioner, Thoothukudi City Municipal Corporation. TERI was represented by Mr Sharif Qamar, Associate Director, TERI and Ms Ruchika Mattoo, Associate Fellow, TERI.
UK-PACT project launch event
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| TERI Conducts a Focus Group Discussion on EV Infrastructure and the Need for Skilling in Collaboration with MBRDI |
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TERI hosted a Focus Group Discussion on EV Infrastructure and the Need for Skilling at TERI's Southern Regional Centre (SRC) at Bengaluru on 28 March 2025, bringing together key stakeholders from the EV industry, Charge Point Operators (CPOs), training institutes, and automotive experts. This focus group discussion was jointly organized by the Knowledge Resource Centre, TERI and Transport and Urban Governance Division, TERI. The discussion revolved around challenges and opportunities in EV charging ecosystem and infrastructure with a special focus on skill gaps in the EV industry and the increasing role of private players in filling that gap.
TERI conducts an FGD in collaboration with MBRDI
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| TERI Organizes Jan Mela at Visakhapatnam |
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TERI’s Vizag Prajamukhi Urban Living Lab (VPULL) in collaboration with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), hosted the Awareness and Cleanliness Drive at Gnanapuram, Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation on 14 February 2025. It was aimed to enhance solid waste management practices and building climate resilience of the city. This event, under the Transformative Climate Action using Participatory Data-driven Decision-making Platforms (T-CAP) initiative is working to empower local communities and foster resilience against climate change through sustainable waste management practices.
The event gathered key stakeholders and community representatives to focus on climate action and the role of participatory decision-making in building sustainable urban environments. The event was inaugurated by distinguished guests—Shri R Somanarayana, Additional Commissioner, Public Health and Revenue, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and Dr ENV Naresh Kumar, Chief Medical Officer (CMOH) GVMC. The event saw active participation from over 200 community members and included activities like infographic wall art installation focussing upon key messages about climate change, flood management and sustainable waste management practices, followed by peer-learning sessions on rainwater harvesting and community plantation practices.
Jan Mela in Visakhapatnam under the T-CAP Project
TERI also formally introduced the upcoming V-PULL website, which will offer new avenues for community engagement in climate resilience efforts. This was followed by a ground-truthing exercise led by team ResilienceAI where community members validated the climate hotspots and area vulnerabilities.
TERI organizes Jan Mela
To know more about the project, visit TERI.
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State-level Policy Dialogue on Mainstreaming Climate-sensitive Urban Planning Organized in Chennai |
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TERI conducted a State-level Policy Dialogue on Mainstreaming Climate-sensitive Urban Planning in cities of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with Government of Tamil Nadu and GIZ India on 25 February 2025, at the Taj Clubhouse in Chennai. This dialogue is part of Urban-Act (Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low-Carbon and Resilient Cities) project, working towards stronger, climate-ready cities. The event brought together key stakeholders including state departments, municipal corporations, academia, and development organizations to explore how urban planning can drive climate resilience and low-carbon development in the cities of Tamil Nadu. The policy dialogue focussed on four themes for future-proofing urban planning—climate-sensitive approaches in urban spatial planning, importance of enabling institutional mechanisms and governance, need for community participation and financing mechanisms for climate-responsive urban development. The thematic sessions explored the importance of vulnerability assessments in urban planning, the need to strengthen institutional frameworks and improve coordination across states and urban local bodies, role and importance of local communities in ensuring success of climate resilient interventions and various financing mechanisms, such as public–private partnerships, climate finance, and innovative investment models to support sustainable infrastructure development in cities.
TERI at the State-level Policy Dialogue
To know more about the project, visit TERI.
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| TERI at Quarterly Technical Seminar of TATA Motors, Pune |
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TERI participated at Quarterly Technical Seminar (QTS) hosted by TATA Motors at its Pune facility on 11 February 2025, aligning with the International Day for Girls and Women in Science under the theme ImpactTech—Shaping the Future. Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, graced the event as the Chief Guest. She was accompanied by Mr Sharif Qamar, Associate Director, TERI and Mr Arun Kumar, Project Associate, TERI. Dr Dhawan delivered an inspiring keynote address on the importance of innovation and product design for shaping a sustainable future in the automotive industry, while reflecting on her own career journey at TERI. Mr Sharif Qamar also answered questions from the audience related to sustainability and innovation in the automotive industry.
Dr Dhawan delivering the keynote address
Thereafter, Dr Dhawan with TERI team visited the TATA Motors' car manufacturing facility and engaged with the team behind the All-Woman Assembly Line, responsible for rolling out TATA’s flagship model—Safari.
TERI at the TATA Motors' car manufacturing facility
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| TERI Participates in the Smart Freight Week 2025 |
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TERI participated in Smart Freight Week 2025, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Mr Sharif Qamar participated in a panel discussion on Technology Risks for ZET (zero-emission trucks) Transition in India: Mitigation Strategies for Scale where the panellists delved deeper on technological risks and challenges associated with adoption of ZETs, charging infrastructure and supply chain readiness. Mr Qamar highlighted the role of key stakeholders in addressing the technology barriers in deployment of ZETs in India and the policy interventions required to mitigate the same and futureproof investments in the ZET sector. The Freight Week was also attended by Mr Faiz Jamal, Associate Fellow, TERI and Mr Piyush Saxena, Research Associate, TERI.
TERI at Smart Freight Week 2025
TERI at Smart Freight Week 2025 Session 1
Mr Qamar participated in another panel discussion titled ZET Transition in India: Balancing Sustainability and Inclusivity which focussed on the need to balance sustainability goals by fostering inclusivity of key stakeholders like small fleet operators, drivers, and the informal sector. He spoke about the pragmatic strategies to ensure equitable access to technology, financing and infrastructure while highlighting the work which TERI is doing with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) for assessing skill gaps and capacity building of charge-point operators as part of the MBRDI's Sustainability Garage Initiative.
TERI at Smart Freight Week 2025
A major highlight was the launch of India-specific Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) Values, a collaboration between Smart Freight Centre India, TERI, and Transport Corporation of India (TCI) – Indian Institute of Management Bengaluru (IIM-B) Supply Chain Sustainability Lab, paving the way for standardized emissions accounting in India’s logistics sector. Emissions accounting is the process of measuring, tracking, and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from various sources, such as transport.
Launch of India-specific GLEC Values at Smart Freight Week 2025
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| TERI Participates in National Capacity Building Workshop on PCA for Indian Cities Organized by NIUA |
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TERI under the Transformative Climate Action using Participatory Data-Driven Decision-Making Platforms (T-CAP) project participated as the knowledge partner in the National Capacity Building Workshop on Participatory Climate Action (PCA) for Indian Cities organized by NIUA at India Habitat Centre on 20–21 February 2025. The two-day workshop focussed on the concept of PCA through interactive exercises curated for the attendees focussing on three main concepts of PCA—co-designing resilience strategies, community engagement and access to digital tools. Ms Shiren Pandita, Associate Fellow, TERI, conducted a training session on Learnings from Visakhapatnam, which discussed the concepts of the Urban Living Lab. She emphasized on the work undertaken in Visakhapatnam through the ongoing Vizag–Prajamukhi Urban Living Lab (V-PULL) which TERI conceptualized and executed under the T-CAP project.
TERI participates in National Capacity Building Workshop by NIUA
The two-day workshop concluded with Mr Seth’s remarks highlighting the overall impact of participatory approaches in climate action, followed by certificate distribution to the participating dignitaries.
TERI participates in National Capacity Building Workshop by NIUA
To know more about the project, visit TERI
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| TERI Participates in a National Workshop Organized by NITI Aayog |
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TERI participated in a national workshop on Scaling up Electric Mobility and Charging Infra: Role of States/UTs, organized by NITI Aayog at Vigyan Bhavan on 20 March 2025, under the State Support Mission. Shri Suman Bery, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, inaugurated the workshop, prompting states to spearhead the adoption of e-mobility in their regions. The workshop was attended by Mr I V Rao, Distinguished Fellow, TERI. The workshop focussed on sustainable farming by adoption of e-tractors and underscored the importance of charging infrastructure in scaling up electric mobility in India.
TERI participates in National Workshop by NITI Aayog
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| TERI Participates in Electric Vehicles Scale-up Consultation Organized by
NITI Aayog |
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TERI participated in an Electric Vehicles Scale-up Consultation organized by NITI Aayog on
4 February 2025, chaired by Shri BVR Subrahmanyam CEO, NITI Aayog. The consultation was attended by Mr I V Rao, Distinguished Fellow, TERI. This consultation saw active participation from industry players like Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ola, etc. and focussed on the opportunities and challenges faced by the EV industry in India and the policy and regulatory support required to scale up EV adoption.
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| TERI Participates in a Workshop and Round-table Discussion by CSE |
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TERI participated in a workshop and round-table discussion titled Upscaling Zero Emissions Mass Commuting and Enabling Zero Emissions Mandate in states: Joining the Dots for Action conducted by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) at India Habitat Centre on 7 March 2025. Mr I V Rao, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, participated in a round-table discussion titled Rationale and Opportunity for Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Sales in States, where he elaborated about the ZEV policies at the state level. The workshop emphasized the need for creating an enabling ecosystem by policy intervention, supporting financing mechanisms and encouraging regulatory frameworks to catalyse ZEV adoptions in states.
TERI participates in a workshop by CSE
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| TERI in Podcast with Raahgiri Foundation |
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TERI participated in a podcast titled Tackling Air Pollution: Insights from Top Experts with Raahgiri Foundation, where Mr Sharif Qamar, Associate Director at TERI, along with Ms Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director at the Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi, shared valuable insights. Mr Qamar spoke on the urgent need to decarbonize the transport sector by using efficient mode of transport like railways and metros. He highlighted that introducing alternative fuel options like biodiesel or the current mandate of 20% ethanol mixing in vehicular fuels is a viable solution aiding decarbonization. Furthermore, Mr Qamar highlighted the potential of EVs in decarbonizing the transport sector and how the consumers using EVs prefer EVs over ICE vehicles due to better driveability and ease of use. One key recommendation from Mr Qamar was to prioritize cycling/walking as the preferred commute option for short lead demand travel (travel less than 3–5 km) by building cycling corridors and inviting walkways.
Podcast link: youtube.com/watch?v=mavyFufV9LM
TERI in podcast with Raahgiri Foundation
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| TERI Participates in the Symposium on Transforming Public Transport for South Asia |
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Ms Viral Joshi, Associate Fellow at TERI, participated in the two-day symposium on Transforming Public Transport in South Asia, organized by University of New South Wales
(UNSW) and Sajha Yatayat on 24–25 March 2025 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Ms Joshi participated in the panel discussion titled Latest Innovations in Public Transport Technologies highlighting the Indian context in public transportation, focussing upon electric bus adoption, key government policies and incentives, different business models and user perceptions of private electric bus operators. The panel discussions also covered the implementation of online ticketing systems, the introduction of a common mobility card, and the necessity of driver training programmes. The symposium served as a valuable platform for experts, policymakers, and industry representatives to exchange insights and strategies for modernizing and decarbonizing public transport in South Asia.
TERI at symposium on Transforming Public Transport for South Asia
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