HUDCO's HSMI is recognised as a bleeding research and training institution in the housing and urban development sector and is involved with capacity building both at the regional National and international level for more than 35 years. HSMI has organised more than 1789 training programs benefiting about 54000 professionals. Among these the institute has also conducted 47 numbers of customised training programs for the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation plan (ITEC) and online training programs under eITEC to train international professionals from 162 countries in Asia, Africa East Europe Latin America the Caribbean Pacific and small island countries. 1100 overseas professionals have been trained on themes related to urban development, infrastructure management, sustainable cities, smart cities, informal settlements, environmental management, urban governance and right to housing.
Since inception in 1985 to 2009-2010, during these 25 years HUDCO’s HSMI with its emphasis on human settlements management approach has benefitted 31418 professionals through 1256 training programmes in the field of housing and different aspects of creation and development of municipal infrastructure.
During the first five years HSMI conducted a number of Training programmes and developed as a self- reliant Institute. In the 1990s , HSMI made efforts to develop innovative training programmes to service the capacity building needs in the field of infrastructure finance, planning and development. The new areas identified were Project formulation for Basic Services, Settlement Upgradation and Economic Support Schemes, Action Planning and Programme Development, Urban Infrastructure Management, City Level Information Systems, Environmental Management and Women in Human Settlement Management.
To extend the outreach of the Institute at local and regional levels, HSMI organized training programmes outside Delhi. The training programmes conducted were on Housing and Settlement Design with Jadhavpur University in Calcutta, in collaboration with Government of Assam and the Assam Housing Board in Northeastern states; training programmes on Urban Development Management with Regional Centre for Urbanand Environmental Studies (RCUES), Osmania University Hyderabad; training programmes in the field of infrastructure project formulation and Action planning with Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Mysore, Karnataka; in the field of housing project formulation with MHADA’s Professional Development Centre (PDC).
In 1993 HSMI conducted its first Training- of- Trainers (TOT) program at HSMI through a customised programme for a specially selected group of professionals of MHADA who were to become the core training team at MHADA’s Professional Development Centre (PDC) in Pune.
HSMI in collaboration with HUDCO’s Habitat Polytech had been actively involved in conducting skill and entrepreneurship training programs for small building contractors and small scale construction entrepreneurs engaged in low income housing.
HSMI has developed training material for Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project of World Bank onPublic and Private Partnership for Municipal Services; andProcess Skills for Elected Representatives, Municipal Commissioners and other Municipal Functionaries, which includes, easily adaptable and practicable steps that ULBs can take for partnerships for effective delivery of services.
In view of the adoption and commitment for implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Habitat III New Urban Agenda, COP21 and the major programmes of the Govt. of India in the habitat sector, it is imperative that the training and capacity building efforts of key stakeholders in the habitat sector need to be stepped up and strengthened. With the multi-disciplinary professionals available within HUDCO, HUDCO’s HSMI is geared up to take up various training and capacity building programmes for different stakeholders.
HSMI organizes various Training Programmes such as Training Programme for Internal purposes, Customised Fee based Training Programmes, Training programmes in collaboration with CityNET, AIHDA, APMCHUD, Training Programme Sponsored by Department of Personnel & Training & Ministry of External Affairs as per its strategy for capacity building of its own officials and urban stakeholders and professionals in the urban development sector.
The institute has conducted 47 numbers of customised training programmes for the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)Plan for administrators and professionals from 162 countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Pacific and small Island countries on themes related to urban development and infrastructure management, sustainable cities, environmental management, smart cities, urban governance and housing. HUDCO’S HSMI has organised an e-ITEC online Training programmes “Housing for Sustainable Habitats – Policy, Planning, Design and Technologies” in Oct 2020 and Oct 2021, ‘Futuristic Cities- Smart and Resilient’, in December 2021 and Planning & Management of Sustainable Urban Infrastructure’, in February 2022. Three offline training courses had been organised for overseas professionals under the Indian Technical Economic Cooperation scheme for the year 2019-2020. The courses were of six weeks duration, and consisted of six modules of one week each focussed on sector wise interventions.
So far conducted 47 programs and trained about 1100 participants.
The training programme Formal Solutions to Informal Settlements addresses the main issue in urbanisation – that of developing affordable, inclusive and just cities for the people living informally in squatter settlements. To achieve this vision the resolution of the New Urban Agenda to leave no one behind was adopted globally. The objectives of the training programme are to educate the participants about the planning/ formal solutions to address the problems of informal sector through the policy, programme and projects formulated and implemented such as affordable housing, provision of night shelter facilities, shelter for urban homeless, regularising tenable slums, relocating the untenable slums and assisting the urban poor by providing loans at subsidised rates.
The training programme Planning and Management of Sustainable Cities is designed to help the participants develop the understanding and framework for planning for sustainable cities in the context of the Sustainable Development Goal 11. It will also expose the participants to ongoing urban development programmes and policies of the Government of India, as well as other countries, and the India’s efforts in planning for smart and sustainable cities through Government and private sector efforts.
The right to adequate housing was recognized as part of the right to an ‘Adequate Standard of Living’ in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, article 25 (1) ) and in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, art. 11). As per this, for housing to be adequate, it must provide more than four walls and a roof, and at a minimum, meet the seven key criteria, such as : (i) Security of tenure; (ii) Availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; (iii) Affordability; (iv) Habitability; (v) Accessibility; (vi) Location; and (vii) Cultural adequacy.
These short certificate programmes are meant for housing , planning and urban services related officials in national, state and local governments, housing professionals from housing-related institutions, and City management related officals in developing countries under the ITEC scheme of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Participants should have at least a bachelor’s degree in the mentioned disciplines with at least 5 years of relevant experience in the urban affairs sector.
The international program of 6 weeks ITEC, MEA had to be curtailed to four weeks and in lieu of the scheduled modules 6 webinars organised online for the 23 participants.
HSMI organized the first eITEC Training Programme under the newly launched initiative of MEA for conducting online training programmes for international participants. The online e- ITEC Training Programme "Housing for Sustainable habitats- Policy, Planning, Design and Construction Technologies" was organised by HUDCO's HSMI for the Housing Department of Ministry of Development, Brunei Darussalam from October 19th -21st, 2020. The programme was attended by 14 participants.Shri M Nagaraj, DCP HUDCO Inaugurated the training programme. Mr Surendra Singhai GM(P)/ Senior Fellow is Training In charge & Ms. Pooja Nandy, JGM(P)/Fellow HUDCO’s HSMI is programme coordinator. This was the first eITEC training programme successfully organized by HSMI thru online mode despite prevailing pandemic conditions.
HSMI organised DoPT In-Service Training Programme on Financing Urban Infrastructure and Services in India, 1st - 5th March 2021 at Sammelan Kaksh, HUDCO Bhawan, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. A total of 13 Indian Administrative Service officers (IAS) participated in the Training Programme. The DoPT In-service training programme was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, GoI at 9.30 am on 1st March 2021 at SammelanKaksh, HUDCO Bhawan, IHC, New Delhi, in the presence of Shri Kamran Rizvi, IAS, Additional Secretary, MoHUA and CMD-HUDCO, Shri M. Nagaraj, Director Corporate Planning-HUDCO, Shri D. Guhan, Director Finance, HUDCO, Shri Ajay Mishra, CVO-HUDCO. The Training Coordinator was Dr Akshaye Sen, JGM(Eco).
HUDCO’s HSMI successfully conducted the one-week Department of Training & Personnel (DoPT) In-service training programme for All India Service (AIS) Officers on ‘Urban Development in India: Cities of Tomorrow – Equitable, Sustainable and Resilient’ from 22nd to 26th of February, 2021 at Sammelan Kaksha, HUDCO Bhawan, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi in which 11 IAS officers participated.The Training Coordinator was Ms Varsha Punhani, JGM(P).
Site visits to 6 places such as: Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and horticulture of IHC; Africa Avenue Project as part of Central Vista Redevelopment Plan by CPWD; Sunder Nursery- one of the cleanest and greenest public open space; Waste to energy project, a PPP project by OP Jindal Group at Okhla, New Delhi; C&D Waste Processing Plant by IL&FS at Shastri Park, Delhi; and NDMC Integrated Command & Control Centre, Palika Kendra, new Delhi.
In the last few years the other DoPT training programmes that have been organized are on “Smart Cities” & “Financing Urban Infrastructure and Service in India”. Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Vice- President, (then Hon’ble Minister of MoHUPA) inaugurated the DoPT training programme in 2016.
HSMI has also prepared training toolkits for engineers and policy makers respectively to better equip engineers with maintenance skills and to facilitate the involvement of user groups in the maintenance of public buildings, under Department for International Development (DFID) study project on ‘Capacity Building for Community Asset Management’. HSMI has prepared Training manual for ‘Healthy Cities’ programme of WHO, Construction Management and Disaster Management and Training manuals on “Urban Community Water Supply and Sanitation” for WHO, which were utilized to conduct four training programmes at various locations in India. HSMI organized Project related training programmes for Department for International Development and training on “Disaster Mitigation in Human Settlements” for National Disaster Management Cell.
CITYNET
HUDCO, being an Associate Member of CITYNET since 1993, HSMI has been engaged with CITYNET through research and training activities. HUDCO has also established an India chapter of CITYNET, so that more Indian cities could benefit from HUDCO’s vast experience in the area of common interest. In collaboration with Citynet, the largest association of Urban Stake holders committed to sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific regions, training programs of 3 to 4 days duration were conducted on themes of Biodiversity, Urban Ecosystem, Financial Strengthening of ULBs and Affordable Rental Housing.
A workshop on ‘Making Cities Sustainable-City to City Technical Cooperation in Asia & Pacific’ was organised on 5th June 2014 under CITYNET National Chapter India. During the year 2018-19, HSMI organised a 2-day training programme on 4th -5th June 2018, with CITYNET Indian national Chapter members on “Sustainable Waste Management Practices”. During the year 2019-2020, the training programme themes focused on the Sustainable Development Goals, Disaster resilience and Climate change clusters of Citynet and were titled “Making Cities Disaster Resilient- Challenges and Approaches”, and “Climate change and cities- way forward for adaptation, mitigation and resilience” for CITYNET, India National Chapter members and other Urban Local Bodies. During the year 2021-2022, the online training programme themes focused on the Sustainable Development Goals, Disaster resilience and Climate change clusters of Citynet and were titled ‘Sustainable Infrastructure Development Management’ and ‘Disaster Risk Reduction & Resilience in Cities’ for CITYNET, India National Chapter members and other Urban Local Bodies.
As part of the approved training calendar for 2019-20, HUDCO’s HSMI has conducted 25 training programs during the year, imparting capacity building training to 602 national & International professionals from different sectors, with a total of 4456 man-days as per the following details:
The year 2020-21 began with new challenges put forth by the global pandemic Covid-19 that required lockdowns in countries the world over. The new normal required Work from Home, schooling from home, travel embargoes, social distancing in public places, ban on public gatherings and other Covid 19 protocols. It also redefined the outreach and training programs since physical training programs could not be conducted as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Home and DoPT guidelines. HSMI has introduced a concept of Virtual On-line Webinars/Training Programmes from the Financial Year 2020- 2021 and successfully organised42 online training programmes and webinars and 2 DoPT Training Programmes which were in person programmes for All India Services Officers. The various types of Training Programmes organised were i)In house Training Programmes; ii) External Training Programmes for Urban Local Bodies (ULB); iii) International Training Programmes under ITEC and e ITEC of Ministry of External Affairs; iv) Citynet Training programmes; and v) DoPT Training Programmes.
In the Internal Training Programmes 18 Online Webinars were organised for 3073 participants from HUDCO and other stakeholders covering Impact of COVID-19 on Housing and Urban Development in India, Challenges and opportunities in the Housing Sector in the aftermath of Covid-19 outbreak, Rental Housing, Heritage Issues in Urban Areas, Housing Best Practices through Case Studies, Latest Updates in GST Act, Comparison between Old and New Tax Regime, RTI Matters, Procurement through GeM, Compliance of KYC, ISO Implementation and Audit of QMS in Covid time, Recent Developments in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code-2016, Digital Payments, Interactive webinars on Stress Management, Motivation, Women Empowerment, Effective Covid-19 Management and Moral Boosting. Most of the employees have got many opportunities to attend number of programmes, organised online on very interesting and relevant subjects pertinent to functional and thematic domains. The webinar "Ayush for holistic health care during Covid-19" was organised on International Yoga Day in which Hudco employees and ex Hudco employees participated. The event was inaugurated by Secretary MoHUA Mr Durga Shankar Mishra, IAS and participation was open to Ministry personnel too. Urban Bio-diversities in Post Covid Era was organized on World Environment Day.
13 online training programs were organised for the officials of ULBs, academicians, CPSE officials and HUDCO officials on the various themes such as Affordable Housing, Rental Housing, Smart Cities and Landscape, Urban Development, Estate Management, Financial Management, Revenue Mobilization, Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience In Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, IBC and Preventive Vigilance. More than 1000 professionals from ULBs , Housing Departments, Academic Institutions and about 200 participants from HUDCO attended these online training programs. The Training Programme on “Smart Cities-Housing, Infrastructure & Landscape Design” was organised By HUDCO’s Human Settlement Management Institute from Feb 8th – 10th, 2021.Mr M Nagaraj, Director Corporate Planning HUDCO was the Chief Guest in the Inaugural Session. The session was attended by Mr D Guhan, Director Finance, Dr D Subrahmanyan, Senior Executive Director, Mr Surendra Singhai, GM and other senior officers of HUDCO and 50 professionals. Technical sessions were delivered by Mr Kunal Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary, Smart City Mission, MoHUA; Mr C Y Bhat CEO, Surat Smart City, one of the winning Smart Cities and Dr Vijay Suryawanshi, Commissioner, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Partcipants were from Corporations, Housing Boards, Town Planning and 20 other institutions from all over India. Training coordinator was Ms Pooja Nandy, JGM.
This year the Institute conducted the first of its kind e ITEC online training on “Housing for Sustainable habitats- Policy, Planning, Design and Construction Technologies” from 19th – 21st October 2020 (Under eITEC) sponsored By ITEC, Ministry of External Affairs for officialsof the Ministry of Development, Brunei Darussalam. The feedback was very appreciative and conducive to the success of the format with the client expressing the desire for more such customized programmes of longer duration. (Brochure Annexure III)
During the year 2021-22, HSMI has successfully organized 21 Webinars & Training programmes; attended by a total of 1450 participants from HUDCO, Urban Local Bodies, CPSEs, Banks and other stakeholders of which 338 were external participants. During the year, 3 eITEC Online Training Programmes were also conducted for overseas professionals and 144 participants from 25 countries attended these programmes.
This was the 45 th International Training Programme for Overseas Professionals conducted by HUDCO’s HSMI sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, GoI under its International Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. This course was attended by 21 delegates from eleven countries with diverse backgrounds such as Architects, Planners, Engineers, Government officers & Technical Officers. The Sessions were scheduled on the MS Teams platform. On 20 th Oct, 2021, Mr. M Nagaraj, Director Corporate Planning HUDCO inaugurated the Training Programme, in the presence of Dr. D Subrahmanyam, Senior Executive Director, HSMI and Shri Surendra Singhai, GM(P) & Sr Fellow, HSMI, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, Director DPA-II MEA and HSMI faculty members. The technical sessions addressed Planning and Design approaches of adequate housing, modern & energy saving construction technologies for pre fabrication, innovative building technologies and materials within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda.
Mr. D Guhan, Director Finance, HUDCO was the chief guest in the Valedictory session and he delivered the Valedictory address. Shri Surendra Singhai , Sr. Fellow, HSMI gave the vote of thanks. Training coordinator for the programme was Ms. Pooja Nandy, Joint General Manager (Projects) & Fellow HUDCO’s HSMI.
This is the 46 th International Training Programme attended by 64 delegates from 15 Countries. The Programme was inaugurated by Mr. M Nagaraj, Director Corporate Planning in presence of Shri D Guhan, Director Finance, Shri D Subrahmanyam, Senior Executive Director, HSMI and Shri Surendra Singhai, GM(P) & Sr Fellow, HSMI. The Valedictory function for the 5 day eITEC Training Programme on "Futuristic Cities- Smart and Resilient" being organised by HUDCO's HSMI was held on December 10th,2021. The programme was attended by 65 participants from 14 countries. The valedictory session was addressed by Joint Secretary Ministry of External Affairs, Ms Abhilasha Joshi, Director Finance HUDCO Shri D.Guhan and Sr. Executive Director Shri D Subrahmaniam, The programme Coordinator was Varsha Punhani Fellow,HSMI. The Programme covered a wide range of relevant, topical subjects from Smart Cities solutions to impact of extreme weather events and measures to make Cities Resilient, innovative urban financing models and case studies like Surat.
This is the 47 th International Training Programme for Overseas Professionals conducted by HUDCO’s
HSMI sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, GoI under its International Technical &
Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. The programme was attended by 59 delegates from 17
Countries. The Programme was inaugurated by Shri D Guhan, Director Finance in presence of Shri D
Subrahmanyam, Sr ED, HSMI and Shri Surendra Singhai, GM(P)/ Sr Fellow, HSMI.
The Programme Coordination Team of this online programme consisted of Dr Sukanya Ghosh,
GM(P) & Sr Fellow, Dr Akshay Sen, JGM(P) & Fellow and Ms Pooja Nandy, JGM(P) & Fellow.
CITYNET is the largest association of urban stakeholders committed to sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region and HUDCO is the lead Institution for CITYNET India National Chapter. In this regard, HUDCO’s HSMI conducted CITYNET Training Programme on "Sustainable Infrastructure Development and Management" from 12th to 13th January, 2022, in which 37 participants from Urban Local Bodies, Housing Boards and Development Authorities of various states attended the programme.
Through this training programme, participants were provided with a sound understanding of concepts and issues of urban infrastructural services, within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals, New Urban Agenda and shared some best practices and innovative ideas. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Sukanya Ghosh, General Manager(Projects) and Senior Fellow, HUDCO’s HSMI.
HSMI also organised another CITYNET Training Programme"Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in Cities" from 15th to 16th Feburary, 2022, in which 47 participants from Urban Local Bodies, Housing Boards and Development Authorities of various states attended the programme. The programme was coordinated by Ms Varsha Punhani, Joint General Manager(Projects) and Fellow, HUDCO’s HSMI.
Webinar on “Yoga for Holistic & Healthy Lifestyle with emphasis on Covid was organized on International Yoga Day, 21st June 2021. The webinar was inaugurated by the then Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr Durga Shankar Mishra and Dr Jagdish Naik, Managing Director, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Kendra addressed the participants. 253 Hudco officials and 157 external participants attended the session and meditated on the occasion of Yoga Day.
Hudco's HSMI organized a Webinar on 'RBI Regulatory Framework for NBFCs - Implications for Hudco' on 18th August 2021. Mr. M. Nagaraj, Director Corporate Planning, Hudco delivered the inaugural address and Mr. D. Guhan, Director Finance, Hudco delivered the concluding address. The guest speaker was Mr. Rajesh Mahajan, Ex-GM, Bank of Baroda. During the Webinar, April 2021 issue of ' Shelter, an ISSN Magazine published by Hudco's HSMI was also released by the DCP. The program was coordinated by Dr. Akshaya Sen.
The 3 Days online training programme on “Financial Strengthening of ULBs” organised by HSMI in on Monday, 6th September, 2021. The programme was attended by 55 senior and mid ranking officers from 10 states and 17 officers from HUDCO. The programme was coordinated by Smt Varsha Punhani, Fellow, and Ms Pooja Nandy, Fellow, HSMI. The online webinar Managing Health after 50 for women employees was organised on 25th February, 2022 by HUDCO's HSMI and it was attended by about 42 women officers from Corporate office, Regional offices & HSMI. The speaker on the topic was Professor(Dr) Sushma Bhatnagar, Head of Institute, BRAIRCH, AIIMS an expert in Onco-Anaesthesia, Pain & Palliative Medicine,. The Programme Coordinator of this online programme was Ms Pooja Nandy, JGM(P) & Fellow.
The other webinars and training programmes conducted by the faculty Dr. Sukanya Ghosh/ Senior Fellow, Anoop Seth/ Fellow, Jeevan S. Sahota/ Fellow,Neena Rani Jain, JGM(F)were on “InD-AS”,“Preparation for Retirement Life”, “Reservation Policy and Preparation of Roster”, “Project Management/ Monitoring, in Project Financing”, “Project Finance & Recovery Mechanisms, Legal Issues involved with emphasis on recent Developments in IBC, RTI & KYC”,and ‘Conduct of disciplinary proceedings’.