11 cities win the prestigious title of India’s Cycling Pioneers.
New Delhi, Aug 1: The India Cycles4Change Challenge is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing
and Urban Affairs'(MoHUA) Smart Cities Mission to motivate and support cities in developing
cycling-friendly activities. It is a two-stage competition that began in July 2020 and was open to
cities under the Smart Cities Mission, capital cities of states/UTs, and cities having a population of
more than 5 lakh people. Involvement of citizens in planning these initiatives was an important
aspect in the evaluation of the proposals submitted by cities.
The two stages of the challenge were:
In Stage 1, which was launched in July 2020, cities should have implemented and documented at
least one pilot intervention, prepared a plan to scale-up cycling initiatives across the city, engage
communities in planning and action, and prepare a financial plan of action for scale-up.
In Stage 2, pilot initiatives will be scaled up. Shortlisted cities will continue to develop and
implement the plan submitted in stage 1, with feedback from national and international experts.
In the first season of the challenge, 107 cities from around the country competed. They joined
together to test, learn and scale up various bike-friendly ideas, thereby kicking off India’s cycling
revolution.
The list of awardees from stage one was announced by the MoHUA on 28th July. 11 cities were bestowed with the title of India’s Cycling Pioneers. These Cycling Pioneers (in alphabetical order) are Bengaluru, Karnataka; Bhubaneswar, Odisha; Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana; Kohima, Nagaland; Nagpur, Maharashtra; New Town Kolkata, West Bengal; Pimpri Chinchwad, Maharashtra; Rajkot, Gujarat; Surat, Gujarat; Vadodara, Gujarat; Warangal, Telangana.
The winning cities will each receive Rs 1 crore to begin stage 2 of the challenge. They will have to scale-up and expand their cycling initiatives to make cycling safe and enjoyable for everyone.
The ceremony also marked the publication of the first Challenge report, ‘The Dawn of India’s
Cycling Revolution,’ as well as the launch of an online exhibition highlighting the cities’ cycling
journeys.