The Urban Mobility India ( UMI ) Conference cum Exhibition was initiated by the erstwhile Ministry of Urban Development now Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India in 2008 to provide a platform for churning out thoughts / ideas, promoting best practices across India and in different parts of the world to carve out the way forward for improving urban mobility in the country. So far, 16 events of this conference have been held successfully as given below :
| Year | Theme | Venue |
|---|
| 2008 | Urban Mobility | Pragati Maidan, New Delhi |
| 2009 | Sustainable Urban Transport | India Habitat Center, New Delhi |
| 2010 | Sustainable Cities | Hotel Grand, New Delhi |
| 2011 | Sustainable Mobility | Manekshaw Center, New Delhi |
| 2012 | Smart Cities | Manekshaw Center, New Delhi |
| 2013 | Transforming Cities with Transportation, | Manekshaw Center, New Delhi |
| 2014 | Sustainable Transport for Sustainable Cities | Manekshaw Center, New Delhi |
| 2015 | Transforming Mobility for Liveability | Manekshaw Center, New Delhi |
| 2016 | Planning Mobility for City's Sustainability | Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat |
| 2017 | Intelligent, Inclusive & Sustainable Mobility | Hyderabad International Convention Centre ( HICC ), Telangana |
| 2018 | Green Urban Mobility | Chitnavis Centre, Nagpur, Maharashtra |
| 2019 | Accessible and Liveable Cities | Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh |
| 2020 | Emerging Trends in Urban Mobility | Online - Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, New Delhi |
| 2021 | Mobility for All | Online & Hybrid - Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi |
| 2022 | Azadi@75 : Sustainable AatmaNirbhar Urban Mobility | The Grand Hyatt Bolgatty Kochi. |
| 2022 | Integrated and Resilient Urban Transport | Manekshaw Center, New Delhi |
The 16th UMIConference and Expo 2023 was held during 27th to 29th October, 2023 at the Manekshaw Centre, Delhi with focus on the theme “Integrated and Resilient Urban Transport”. It was structured into 2 Plenary Sessions, one Conclave, 8 sessions each on Technical and Round Table Discussion, besides Inaugural and Valedictory sessions. In addition, 8 sessions of Research Symposium were also organized for students and researchers. Day-wise theme based on specific urban transport issues were deliberated on Resilient Urban Mobility Systems, Collaborative Governance in urban transport and pathways towards digitization and energy transition. Discussion in the technical sessions emphasized on embedding resilience in urban transport systems, challenges in multi-modal integration, financial sustainability of mass transit projects, implementation of transit oriented development, scaling up E-buses, gender mainstreaming in urban mobility, future of mobility with digitalization and sustainable urban freight and logistics, etc. About 1,200 participants comprising high level officials from state and central governments, city and metro authorities, national and international experts from the field, academia and professional attended the 3 day conference and shared their experiences and best practices in the urban transport field in the cities across the world. All the sessions had presentations from eminent experts in the specific areas, which revolved around live case studies in India and across the world. Discussions in the conference were lively and interactive.
The exhibition is a special feature of the UMI conference to disseminate and showcase the latest development in urban transport technology, system and service, best transport projects and propagation of innovative ideas. The exhibition was inaugurated by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt. of India. The latest technologies, urban transport startups, metro rail projects in operation, intelligent transport systems, digital payment systems, foreign collaboration stalls were of special interest to the delegates and visitors. Quiz contest was organised as a side event during tea/ coffee break on day 2 and 3.
The Conference was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri. Keynote address was given by Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, Chairman and Managing Director, India Trade Promotion Organization. Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, Shri Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. and other dignitaries graced the inaugural session.
In the inaugural session, a short video film and following publications were also released:
- Toolkit on “City Electric Mobility Strategy (CEMS).
- A document titled “making way for Buses-Guidance in Indian cities”.
- Green Urban Mobility Partnership Newsletter.
- Short film on “Integrated and Resilient Urban Transport”.
The conference concluded with the valedictory session organized on 29.10.2023 in the presence of large number of dignitaries, delegates and award winners.Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India delivered the valedictory address. The highlight of the session was the awards given for 8 best practices/ excellence in Urban Transport to the best performing States/ UTs and cities in different categories recommended by a Committee constituted by MoHUA. Awards were also given to best exhibitors, as well as for best research papers. The conference concluded with launch of the 17th UMI Conference cum Exhibition – 2024 to be held from 25thto 27thOctober, 2024 in Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat on the theme “Standardisation and Optimization of Urban Transport Solutions” and vote of thanks by Shri Jaideep, OSD (UT) E.O. Joint Secretary, MoHUA and Acting Director General of IUT.