Indian cities need to switch to zero emission mobility systems: NITI Aayog

With India having 14 of the 20 most polluted cities of the world, the **NITI Aayog** on Thursday said there was a need to change the entire nature of Indian cities by switching to shared, connected and zero emission mobility systems. The government think tank is planning to hold a series of events as part of the “Mobility Week” from 31 August to 6 September, NITI Aayog vice-chairman **Rajiv Kumar** told the media in New Delhi. A total of 18 events in six days will take place in the run up to “MOVE: The Global Mobility Summit” on 7 and 8 September which will be attended by global and Indian leaders from across the mobility sector, he said. [caption id=“attachment_4227493” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] “By partnering with organisations working in the mobility space across the country and the globe, we’ll be better prepared to formulate India’s go-forward strategy on mobility. The summit will also enable India to learn from development in other countries”, Kumar said. He said the NITI Aayog held consultations with all states in the run-up to the event and that over 15 states had already shared their plans. Kumar said that it won’t be just a substantive event, but would lead to policy decisions. “The aim is to showcase that mobility is not an elite activity. It is possible to generate growth and employment through disruptive forms of mobility,” he said. The NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the summit will have events like workshops, seminars and hackathons, which will showcase the potential of India’s young generation and how the country is ready to harness it to move towards a “sustainable future that is shared, connected, and emission free”. The summit will see over 1,200 participants expected from across the world including leaders from the government, industry, research organisations, academia, think tanks and civil society, an official statement said.