Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is advancing a collaborative approach to urban transformation through ANKUR (Atal Network for Knowledge, Urbanisation and Reform), a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening urban governance, building the institutional capacity of Urban Local Bodies and promoting sustainable, inclusive and citizen-centric urban development.
The ANKUR Partners’ Handbook was released during the Urban Mobility India Conference and the National Urban Conclave 2026 in Bhubaneswar, showcasing the initiative’s framework, strategic partnerships and interventions to address emerging urban challenges.
Conceptualised by Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department of Odisha government, ANKUR was formally launched by the state government on May 28, 2025.
Aligned with the visions of Viksit Odisha @2036 and Viksit Bharat @2047, the initiative connects government priorities with specialised knowledge, research, innovation and practical implementation support. Inspired by the ideals of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ANKUR rests on four key pillars: capacity building, knowledge and research, implementation support, and innovation.
ANKUR brings together government institutions, academic organisations, technical experts, civil society and private-sector partners to develop practical solutions to the evolving challenges of urbanisation. The initiative has brought together 11 strategic partner organisations with expertise in urban governance, municipal finance, digital services, livelihoods, environmental sustainability and urban planning. These include Tata Steel Foundation, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Urban Management Centre, eGov Foundation, Lighthouse Communities Foundation, UN-Habitat, Prosperiti, Air Pollution Action Group, Airawat Research Foundation, Socratus Foundation and WRI India.
Strengthening Municipal Governance and Institutional Capacity
Through this network, ANKUR is supporting a range of urban development interventions across Odisha. These include municipal finance and property tax reforms, digital governance through the SUJOG platform, youth skilling and livelihood promotion, sanitation worker welfare, improved urban planning regulations, air pollution mitigation and sustainable construction practices.
The initiative seeks to strengthen the capacity of ULBs to plan effectively, manage resources, improve service delivery and respond to local challenges. By combining technical expertise with implementation support, ANKUR helps translate policy priorities into practical interventions and encourages the adoption of solutions suited to the needs of individual cities.
In urban planning and regulatory reform, technical support from Prosperiti has contributed to changes in the Odisha Development Authorities Rules. These include rationalisation of building standards, reduction of industrial land footprint requirements and the introduction of a more flexible negative-list zoning framework.
Promoting Livelihoods and Social Inclusion
Expanding livelihood opportunities and strengthening social inclusion are important components of ANKUR. Lighthouse Centres have enrolled 9,703 young people in foundation courses, of whom 4,646 have secured employment. These interventions seek to improve access to skills, employment opportunities and economic participation among urban youth.
Convergence with the GARIMA scheme is also creating opportunities for skill development and livelihood support for core sanitation workers and their families. Through such initiatives, ANKUR seeks to connect urban development with the social and economic well-being of communities, particularly those requiring greater access to opportunities and public services.
Digital Transformation for Better Public Services
Digital transformation remains central to ANKUR’s approach to improving municipal administration and citizen services. The SUJOG platform is being strengthened as a unified digital backbone for urban service delivery, supporting more efficient municipal processes and improved administrative coordination.
Interventions under the initiative have helped reduce municipal employees’ reporting time by an average of 48 per cent, while supporting more transparent and efficient service delivery, including in faecal sludge and septage management. The next phase will focus on expanding the platform’s reach, improving data integrity and strengthening system reliability.
Community outreach initiatives SAHAJOG and SAHAJOG Plus are helping connect urban households with government welfare schemes and essential services. Together, these initiatives have reached 6.60 lakh households, facilitated more than 3.25 lakh applications for welfare schemes and helped unlock nearly Rs 10,000 crore in public welfare benefits.
They also support participatory planning in informal settlements, enabling community needs and local priorities to inform urban development. This approach recognises that effective urban governance requires not only efficient institutions but also meaningful engagement with citizens.
Innovation and Circular Economy Solutions
ANKUR is fostering an urban innovation ecosystem that enables new ideas and practical solutions to be tested, demonstrated and scaled to address emerging challenges. Its circular economy interventions explore the conversion of low-value plastics and industrial silica and foundry waste into composite bricks and structural panels.
With a targeted plastic recovery capacity of 50 tonnes per day, these efforts aim to reduce waste, promote resource recovery and encourage more sustainable construction practices. Improved Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste management and the reuse of materials are also important areas of intervention, supporting more resource-efficient urban development.
The approach allows solutions to be assessed under real-world conditions, refined through implementation experience and adapted for replication across ULBs wherever appropriate. By connecting local challenges with technical knowledge and innovation, ANKUR seeks to encourage practical, scalable responses to emerging urban needs.
Supporting Cleaner and Healthier Urban Environments
Under the Dispersed Sources Programme, ANKUR partners are working with urban authorities to identify and address local sources of air pollution, including open garbage dumping, unpaved roads and construction debris. This enables cities to focus on specific pollution sources and develop more targeted interventions to improve urban air quality.
The programme reflects ANKUR’s emphasis on locally relevant solutions, inter-institutional collaboration and evidence-based action. It also creates opportunities for urban authorities to learn from interventions undertaken in different locations and adapt effective approaches to their own circumstances.
2026–27: Scaling Reforms and Strengthening Systems
The 2026–27 reform agenda focuses on expanding successful interventions and embedding them within the institutional systems of urban governance. Key priorities include expanding SUJOG coverage from 115 to 140 Urban Local Bodies, strengthening data integrity and system reliability, improving property tax mapping and municipal revenue intelligence, and encouraging greater use of data-driven and artificial intelligence-enabled administrative processes.
The agenda also emphasises simpler citizen service journeys, stronger coordination across departments and more transparent, responsive public services. Continued capacity building, knowledge sharing and implementation support will help ULBs strengthen their systems and sustain the benefits of urban reforms.
Building Future-Ready Cities Through Collaboration
ANKUR represents an effort to institutionalise collaboration between government and specialised partner organisations to address the increasingly complex demands of urbanisation. It provides a platform through which a challenge identified by a city can be connected with relevant expertise, developed into a workable solution, tested on the ground and scaled for wider public benefit.
The release of the Partners’ Handbook during UMI–NUC 2026 provides an opportunity to showcase this framework and strengthen knowledge exchange among urban stakeholders. By bringing together government leadership, institutional expertise and practical innovation, ANKUR aims to build stronger municipal institutions and improve the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of urban services.
Through its focus on knowledge-led reforms, capacity building, social inclusion and sustainable innovation, ANKUR is contributing to the broader vision of cleaner, safer, more resilient and citizen-centric cities across Odisha. Its collaborative and outcome-oriented approach also offers a framework for sharing knowledge, adapting successful interventions and advancing urban governance reforms in the years ahead.
