Diplomat-turned politician Hardeep Puri, heading the ministry of housing and urban affairs, is set to add some "global touch" to his new assignment's key challenge - urban reconstruction mission, which, according to top sources in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, is being touted as the significant trigger for Indian economy. 

Amidst falling GDP and "frustrating slump in economy", urban reconstruction in infrastructure building, housing and town planning are being seen as possible stimulants for economic growth and employment. 

Realising fully that all this would require heavy investments, which cannot be borne out fully from the government coffers, Puri has started to leverage his "professional expertise".

In an exclusive chat with Mail Today, Puri said, "I am looking at Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and public private partnerships (PPP) to boost our urban reconstruction mission, including housing and big infra projects in urban cities, including the national capital Delhi." 

Flagging the growing interest in the urban reconstruction, Puri linked it to PPP investments of Rs 35,000 crore so far identified under Smart Cities Mission. 

During the last one month, the minister has received ambassadors of about 10 leading countries, including France, Australia, Italy, Japan and Belgium. He is also toying with the idea of briefing a large body of heads of foreign missions in Delhi to market the new urban missions launched by PM Modi. 

"There is a huge interest in Indian construction activities and tech-enabled infrastructure among foreign nations and I have been receiving a lot of queries, which is a positive signal," said Puri adding, "the foreign countries are particularly interested to share expertise and investments in the field of solid waste management, quick and mass housing technology and smart urban infrastructure." 

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