The Urban Mobility India ( UMI ) Conference cum Exhibition was initiated by the erstwhile Ministry of Urban Development now Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India in 2008 to provide a platform for churning out thoughts / ideas, promoting best practices across India and in different parts of the world to carve out the way forward for improving urban mobility in the country. So far, 17 events of this conference have been held successfully as given below :

The 17^th UMI Conference and Expo 2024 was held during 25^th to 27^th October, 2024 at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat with focus on the theme “Standardisation and Optimization of Urban Transport Solutions”. It was structured into one Plenary Session – one Mayoral Session, one Conclave, 8 Technical Sessions and 9 Round Table Discussions, besides Inaugural and Valedictory sessions. In addition, 8 sessions of Research Symposium were also organized for students and researchers. Day-wise theme based on specific urban transport issues were deliberated on Resilient Urban Mobility Systems, Collaborative Governance in urban transport and pathways towards digitization and energy transition. Discussion in the technical sessions emphasized on embedding resilience in urban transport systems, challenges in multi-modal integration, financial sustainability of mass transit projects, implementation of transit oriented development, scaling up E-buses, gender mainstreaming in urban mobility, future of mobility with digitalization and sustainable urban freight and logistics, etc. About 1,500 participants comprising high level officials from state and central governments, city and metro authorities, national and international experts from the field, academia and professional attended the 3 day conference and shared their experiences and best practices in the urban transport field in the cities across the world. All the sessions had presentations from eminent experts in the specific areas, which revolved around live case studies in India and across the world. Discussions in the conference were lively and interactive.

The exhibition is a special feature of the UMI conference to disseminate and showcase the latest development in urban transport technology, system and service, best transport projects and propagation of innovative ideas. The exhibition was inaugurated by Shri Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat. The latest technologies, urban transport start-ups, metro rail projects in operations, intelligent transport system, digital payment systems, foreign collaborators stalls were of special interest to the delegates and visitors. In all 76 exhibitors participated in the exhibition and put up 107 stalls to propagate their services and products. High level officers, company’s representatives, delegates and participants visited the exhibition. On the last day before Valedictory session Hon’ble Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Tokhan Sahu along with officers and delegates also visited the exhibition and appreciated the exhibits. A quiz contest was organised as a side event during tea/ coffee break on day 2 and 3 to keep the delegates engaged.

The Conference was inaugurated on 25.10.2024 by the Shri Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat in the presence of Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Hon’ble State Minister, Transport Department, Govt. of Gujarat, Shri Srinivas R. Katikithala, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Raj Kumar, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujrat, Shri Ashwani Kumar, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Govt. of Gujarat and Shri Jaideep, OSD (UT), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and other dignitaries.

In the inaugural session, a short video film and following publications were also released:

• SRTS- The Safe Routes to School.
• Living Lab Methodology Toolkit.
• Strengthening India Urban Sector
• Short Film on Standardisation and Optimisation of Urban Transport solutions.

The conference concluded with the valedictory session organized on 27.10.2024 in the presence of large number of dignitaries, delegates and award winners. Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Hon’ble Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India was the Chief Guest in the session who also delivered the Valedictory Address. Shri Tokhan Sahu Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India, Shri Harsh Sanghavi Hon’ble Minister Transport Department (Independent Charge) Govt. of Gujarat also graced the occasion. The highlight of the session was the awards given for 9 best practices/ excellence in Urban Transport to the best performing States/ UTs and cities in different categories recommended by a Committee constituted by MoHUA. Awards were also given to best exhibitors, innovation challenge as well as for best research papers. The conference concluded with launch of the 18th UMI Conference cum Exhibition – 2025 to be held from 7th to 9th November, 2025 in Hotel Hyatt Regency, Sector - 83, Gurugram, Haryana on the theme “Urban Development and Mobility Nexus” and vote of thanks by Shri Jaideep, OSD (UT) E.O. Joint Secretary, MoHUA and Acting Director General of IUT.

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