- Upto INR One Crore to be offered as grants to citizen groups to deliver localized neighbourhood improvement pilots
United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) today announced the launch of its sustainable urbanization project,
Citizens for the City (
www.citizensforthecity.in) by introducing India’s first ever Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership Challenge. UTC’s Citizens for the City project will aid planned urban growth by bringing stakeholders in sustainable urban planning together through research, reports, competitions and other initiatives.
The Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership Challenge (The Challenge) encourages citizens to come together to resolve civic issues in the areas of mobility, hygiene and sanitation, safety and energy conservation. The best projects, selected by an eminent jury panel, will share the Citizens for the City Grant, worth INR One crore. The Challenge, under the banner of Citizens for the City, is being implemented by the Centre for Public Problem Solving (CPPS), a division of Imagine Bangalore with support from EMBARQ India. CPPS is a think tank working towards a collaborative approach for problem solving of urban issues. The Challenge also brings together several organisations like BBMP and BPAC involved in solving the city’s civic and urban issues. UTC is funding this program through a leading non-profit organization, United Way of Bengaluru.
The campaigns surrounding The Challenge will include several on-the-ground and digital initiatives to encourage citizens to submit projects and execute them. A panel of jurists will evaluate these campaigns on the basis of the identified parameters including community building, innovative solutions, execution quotient and budget planning.
For more information on The Challenge, visit www.citizensforthecity.in. Announcing the initiative, Chris Rao, Vice President & Country Head, UTC Aerospace Systems, India, said, “Sustainable urbanization is no longer a buzzword; it is an imperative in urban planning and development. Our endeavor through UTC’s Citizens for the City Campaign is to identify exciting projects that touch urban lives, and make them a reality through technical, financial and logistical support. In many ways, The Challenge launched today urges citizens to think of utilizing existing resources in an optimal way for our immediate needs, keeping in mind needs of the future generation.”
“Each day, 800 people move to Bangalore. The resulting demands on public infrastructure, public services, and many other aspects of life in the city are high. The ability of government agencies to provide these services is increasingly stretched. The Challenge will begin to foster a culture of engagement and ownership in neighborhood improvement projects that are ideated by the people, for their community,” said Kalpana Kar, Founder Member, CPPS.
“Given UTC’s focus on sustainability and the energy challenges faced by the India, the Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership Challenge encourages innovative ideas to reduce the overall energy footprint of neighbourhoods, and it will address mobility, safety and sanitation issues. The purpose of this initiative is to empower the beneficiaries to become agents of change in society,” said Ashok Mirchandani, Managing Director, Carrier Transicold, Asia Pacific.
About United Technologies United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit the website at
www.utc.com or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.
Photo Caption: Chris Rao, Vice President & Country Head United Technologies Aerospace Systems (2nd from left), Kalpana Kar, Founder Member CPPS and Ashok Mirchandani, MD – Asia Pacific, Carrier Transcicold and Sudeept Maiti, EMBARQ India at the launch of Citizens For the City Initiative and Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership (NIP) Challenge. A grant of upto INR One Crore has been committed by United Technologies to citizen groups in Bengaluru for delivering localized neighbourhood improvement ideas. Resident groups can register at www.citizenforthecity.in to take part in the challenge. 
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