Under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) is a Navratna NBFC-Infrastructure Finance Company. The Urban Invest Window (UiWIN) is an institutional platform that ULBs can use to create urban infrastructure projects that are investment-ready and bankable.
On March 15–16, 2026, HUDCO hosted the inaugural regional workshop on UiWIN to put the plan into action. Project planning, financial structuring, asset monetisation, and better city access to capital markets were all goals of the workshop, which sought to present UiWIN as a one-stop shop.
In addition to prominent banks and financial institutions, experts from NITI Aayog, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) were present during the discussions.
Ponguru Narayana, the Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development of the Andhra Pradesh Government, opened the workshop. Ongole MP and Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Secretary Srinivas Katikithala, Principal Secretary (MA&UD) of Andhra Pradesh S. Suresh Kumar, and HUDCO Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Kulshrestha were among the other dignitaries in attendance.
The workshop was attended by about 150 officials from various states and union territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Puducherry. These officials represented ULBs, state departments, and HUDCO.
Cities will receive comprehensive support from HUDCO under UiWIN, which includes finding bankable projects, preparing DPRs, arranging finances, grading creditworthiness, issuing municipal bonds, and helping smaller ULBs get pooled financing. Through specialised UiWIN State Offices and Investment Support Units, the platform will also aid cities in gaining access to international funding, developing public-private partnership projects, and enhancing asset monetisation.
The planned Urban Challenge Fund, with a budget of ₹1 lakh crore, intends to leverage around ₹4 lakh crore in infrastructure investments, according to MoHUA Secretary Srinivas Katikithala, who stated that ULBs are at the core of India’s urban growth.
According to HUDCO CMD Sanjay Kulshrestha, India’s urban population is projected to quadruple in the next 20-25 years, necessitating an equivalent amount of infrastructure development to that of the previous 75 years. Especially in cities ranked second and third, this will necessitate far more investment in urban areas and far more robust municipal administration.
In order to facilitate coordinated planning and quicken the mobilisation of investments for sustainable urban infrastructure in Tier-II cities, HUDCO also inked memorandums of understanding with several state government agencies.
Over the course of the two days, more than 30 presentations will be given with the goals of increasing the financial feasibility of urban projects, enhancing their pipelines, and drawing in more private and institutional investors for city infrastructure projects.
