Vizag wins Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 26 Mayors Challenge grant

 Visakhapatnam: Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has been selected as one of the 24 global winners of the coveted Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025–2026 Mayors Challenge.

Along with technical and operational support, GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg mentioned that with the achievement Visakhapatnam will receive a 1 million US$ grant.

The Commissioner stated that ‘Vizag Prajamukhi Urban LiVing Lab’ (V-PULL) is a model of GVMC and Visakhapatnam earned global recognition for its innovative civic participation initiative aimed at mitigating the impact of floods, cyclones and severe heat waves through collaborative solutions developed with the support of the citizens. It serves as an effective platform where stakeholders representing the quadruple helix can come together to discuss, develop and test solutions to address urban challenges.

The initiative is being implemented under the V-PULL framework, which emphasises a citizen-centric approach, climate resilience and hyperlocal community engagement, the civic chief added.

He further stated that Visakhapatnam stood out among more than 630 applications from across the globe to secure the recognition.

In the initial phase, GVMC was shortlisted among the top 50 finalists and received 50,000 US$ in seed funding along with technical assistance, the Commissioner informed.

During the pilot phase, GVMC conducted structured ward-level community meetings and tested hyperlocal sensing systems and data-driven decision-making tools.

Through participatory climate resilience and disaster preparedness interventions, an effective feedback mechanism was established between citizens and municipal departments.

Further, the Commissioner described the international recognition as a matter of pride for the city’s innovative and citizen-driven governance model.

“Being selected as a winner of the ‘Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025–2026 Mayors Challenge’ is a great honour for the GVMC.

This recognition strengthens our belief that cities can lead to transformative change when innovation is grounded in citizen participation and field-tested solutions,” he stated.

The US$ 1 million grant will be utilised to strengthen the bottom-up governance approach, enhance disaster preparedness and expand these initiatives to more wards across the city.

The Commissioner mentioned that Michael R Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former Mayor of New York City stated that the most effective city governments are bold, creative and proactive in solving problems and responding to residents’ needs, and that the Mayors Challenge was launched to help more cities succeed.

In the coming months, GVMC will establish a dedicated innovation implementation team and expand the pilot initiatives to other wards.

The civic body will also strengthen partnerships with academic institutions, civil society organisations, and the private sector, the Commissioner reiterated.