Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and IIM Mumbai signed a landmark MoU to strengthen evidence-based urban governance, research, innovation, and sustainable urban development.

The MoU was signed by Mrs Ashwini Bhide, Municipal Commissioner, BMC, and Prof. Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Director, IIM Mumbai, in the presence of Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City), Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), Dr. Avinash Dhakne, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs), Vinayak Vispute, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Special), Prashant Gaikwad, DMC (MCO), Mrs Shashi Bala, Chief – Business Development, and Lt Cdr Nisha Singh (Retd), Chief Administrative Officer, IIM Mumbai. The collaboration will focus on:  Research & policy advisory; Data analytics & smart governance; Capacity building & executive education; Sustainability & climate resilience; Public health systems; Operations & process improvement and Student engagement & applied research.

A major outcome envisaged under this partnership is the establishment of the BMC–IIM Mumbai Urban Innovation Lab / Centre of Excellence to develop scalable, data-driven, and citizen-centric urban solutions for Mumbai.

This collaboration is envisioned as a pioneering national model demonstrating how academic excellence and civic leadership can together build smarter, resilient, and future-ready cities.