Bosch and GIZ will implement sustainable, inclusive, and smart mobility solutions across several Indian cities

Bosch Limited, in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH jointly launched a Green Urban Mobility Innovation initiative to implement sustainable, inclusive, and smart mobility solutions across several Indian cities. The initiative is under the aegis of the Green Urban Mobility Partnership (GUMP) between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) of the Government of India, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Bosch and GIZ aim to enhance the green urban mobility and transportation system in India through an industry-led, pre-competitive multi-stakeholder platform for innovation, collaboration and prototyping. This flagship Indo-German initiative will combine Bosch’s technical know-how of mobility innovation and strong local presence with GIZ’s public and private sector network to set up a ‘Living Lab’ in Bengaluru. In addition to serving as a real-life testing environment for green urban mobility innovations, the Living Labs will entail a secretariat, governance structure, and an expert panel to select and discuss innovations.

Philipp Knill, Head of Division, Policy issues of cooperation with Asia / South Asia; German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development stated, “Addressing the Sustainable Development Goals and combating climate change requires collaboration between all stakeholders involved. We see the Green Urban Mobility Partnership Innovation initiative as a great example where business meets development. By combining Bosch’s resources and expertise with ours in the mobility sector, I am confident that this initiative will have noticeable impact on a more sustainable Indian transportation and mobility system.”

The Green Urban Mobility Innovation project is supported by develoPPP, BMZ’s funding programme aimed at encouraging sustainability initiatives by the private sector in developing countries. As part of the cooperation, Bosch will deploy a team from Bengaluru and Germany to conduct a needs assessment, lead data and performance analysis of prototyping activities, and contribute with its own network of mobility innovators to expand the ‘Living Lab’ innovation community. GIZ public and private partner network will help to create a neutral platform for all stakeholders to cooperate in.

Soumitra Bhattacharya, President and MD, Bosch India Ltd. said, “This is one of the major flagship partnerships that we have entered into this year. Developing green urban mobility solutions is a step closer to creating better sustainable environment specially in countries like India with Air Quality Index at alarming levels. The Green Urban Mobility Initiative provides a great opportunity for deeper cooperation between industry and government to bring about innovative, equitable and sustainable change. At the Living Lab, we aim to encourage innovations around green mobility and develop them in relation to the Indian context with GIZ.”

Dr. Julie Reviere, Country Director of GIZ India said, “Supporting public-private and multi-stakeholder collaboration is a key principle of GIZ India. With this initiative, we assist in establishing a multi-stakeholder platform on Green Urban Mobility Innovation, hereby engaging more than 100 stakeholders from the public sector, technology companies, start-ups and other innovators. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ is already supporting the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in planning and implementation of a sustainable urban transport system in selected Indian cities. The Living Lab will facilitate the co-creation and adoption of innovative technology solutions with a high social and environmental impact for Indian cities. We are confident that our efforts will have a lasting impact on India’s transportation and mobility ecosystem.”