TERI organised a conference on 'Capacity Building and Experience Sharing for Enhancing Sustainability in Urban India' on June 3, 2015 at Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre.

The conference marked the completion of TERI's capacity building program on 'Urban Climate Change Resilience in India' supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN). The programme was conducted in four states in India, namely Uttarakhand, Goa, Odisha and Maharashtra, targeting the elected representatives and municipal officials from various urban local bodies.

The key messages from the past experiences have gone beyond the theme of the training programme itself and posed bigger challenges related to training and capacity needs at the ULB level. This conference was thus organized to deliberate on the bigger issues such as the current scenario for skill building and capacity development in urban local bodies.

The welcome address was delivered by Dr Leena Srivastava, Acting Director General, TERI. Shri Sanjay Kothari, Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India delivered the inaugural address. He spoke about several planning-related problems and challenges related to capacity building from his field experience. A briefing paper prepared by TERI, titled 'Capacity Building for Building a Sustainable and Smart Urban India' was also released on this occasion. A background presentation on setting the context to the conference was delivered by Dr Divya Sharma, Fellow, Sustainable Habitat Division, TERI. Ms Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat Division delivered a vote of thanks for the inaugural session. Dr Taradatt, Director General, Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, Government of Odisha shared his experience and insights in a special session chaired by Dr S K Sarkar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI.

The conference was attended by practitioners, academicians, multilateral/bilateral organizations, stakeholders from state governments, peer organizations, and by professionals working in the field of urban development, climate change, and knowledge sharing among others.