COVID-19 showed us that cities are vulnerable: PM Modi at Bloomberg New Economy Forum

New Delhi: Addressing the 3rd Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic showed the world that cities, which are also growth engines, are the most vulnerable.

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LIVE: PM Shri @narendramodi addresses Bloomberg New Economic Forum. https://t.co/BlJG9n3wVG

— BJP (@BJP4India) November 17, 2020

The Bloomberg New Economy Forum was established in 2018 by Mr. Michael Bloomberg. It seeks to build a community of leaders to engage in real conversations leading to actionable solutions about the critical challenges facing a world economy in the throes of a historic transition.

HIGHLIGHTS:

# To unleash the full potential of technology, integrated command and control centres have been setup in many cities. These setups are currently also serving as war-rooms to manage the COVID situation in various cities: PM Modi

# Our cities need to be ready for convergence of physical and digital worlds. Our programmes  Digital India and Start-Up India Missions – are helping create capacities towards this. It was a nation-wide competition, upholding the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.

# Our ‘Make In India’ push had led to development of tremendous indigenous capacity for production of transportation systems. It is going to help us push our sustainable transport goals in a big way: PM Modi

# Looking at conditions created by the pandemic, we introduced an affordable rental housing initiative. We created the Real Estate Regulation Act. This has transformed the dynamics of the Real Estate sector. Also, this has made it more customer-oriented and transparent: PM Modi

# In today’s age, empowering people to work from anywhere, to live anywhere, to plug into global supply chains from anywhere is an absolute necessity. That is why we’ve announced simplified guidelines for technology and knowledge-enabled service sector: PM Modi

# During the lockdown, many cities showed cleaner lakes, rivers and air. So many of us heard the chirping of birds. Can we not build sustainable cities where these features are norm, and not the exception? – PM Modi

# The post-COVID world has to be built by nurturing this key and fundamental resource. Cities are vibrant engines of growth. They hold the power to drive the much needed change. People migrate because new cities give them work: PM Modi

# I want to share a positive side of Indian cities which have presented an extraordinary example during these tough times. There were worldwide incidents of resistance against the lockdown. However, Indian cities meticulously followed this preventive measures: PM Modi

# We should think on post-COVID requirements of the world. A good starting point would be rejuvenation of our urban centres: PM Modi

# Post the world wars, the entire world worked on a new world order and new protocols were developed, resulting in the world changing itself. COVID has given us a similar opportunity: PM Modi

# The pandemic has shown us that cities that were our growth engines are also vulnerable zones. Several cities around the world declared themselves on the brink of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression: PM Modi

# The restart will not be possible without a reset. A reset of mindset, processes and practices. I think the historic reconstruction efforts after the two world wars can give us several lessons: PM Narendra Modi

# Things like community gatherings, sports activities, education & recreations are not the same as before. The biggest question before the entire world is how to restart: PM Narendra Modi

PM Narendra Modi (file photo) to deliver an address at the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum today. This year, the forum will witness discussions centered on refueling the economy and charting a course for the future, in the wake of #COVID19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/cxe7MW7KKp

— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2020

The inaugural Forum was held in Singapore, and the second annual Forum was hosted in Beijing. These covered a range of topics, including global economic management, trade and investment, technology, urbanization, capital markets, climate change, and inclusion.

This year, as the world economy is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, the forum will witness discussions centered on refuelling the economy and charting a course for the future.