Praja

Ever come across a governance term and thought, “Wait, what does that actually mean?”

Understanding them helps us look beyond the everyday functioning of a city and understand the systems, powers and institutions behind it. Swipe through to decode some of the urban governance terms worth knowing. Because knowing how your city works is the first step to participating in it.

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

Ever wondered what your city is choosing to spend on and why?

A municipal budget is more than a list of numbers. It reflects what gets prioritised, where public money goes, and what the city plans to deliver. And because it is public money, every citizen has a stake in what it funds and what it achieves. Find out more in our latest primer on Municipal Budgets.

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

Ideas shape the future when people come together to set them in motion.

The Qualifying Round of Prajatantra 2026 brought young minds together to question, collaborate and reimagine the cities we live in. Behind every conversation and challenge was a collective organising effort to create space for these ideas to come alive. Here’s a glimpse of where the journey began.

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

📢 DID YOU KNOW?

A municipal budget is more than a statement of income and expenditure. It tells us what a city prioritises, where public money is going, and what outcomes citizens can expect.

From Outcome and Climate Budgets to Ward and Gender Budgets, cities are exploring different ways to make public spending more focused and accountable.

📖 Want to understand your city’s budget better?

Read Praja Foundation’s latest Governance in Action: Municipal Budget primer here:🔗 https://shorturl.at/DHmwH

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

What does it take for teachers to deliver better learning outcomes?

In Mumbai’s BMC schools, teachers are expected to play a critical role in improving student outcomes. But teacher performance cannot be looked at in isolation from the conditions they work in.

Praja Foundation’s State of Municipal Education in Mumbai 2026 looks at teacher performance alongside the larger education system, including staffing and school-level challenges.

This Teachers’ Day, let’s look at the data behind the people shaping Mumbai’s classrooms.

Read the Education Paper →https://www.praja.org/praja_docs/praja_downloads/State%20of%20Municipal%20Education%20in%20Mumbai.pdf

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

And we’ve officially begun! 🎉

Prajatantra 2026 opened with an inspiring gathering of young minds, changemakers and leaders coming together around one shared question: How can we build cities that work for everyone?

From ideas to action, the journey has begun. Here’s a glimpse of the opening ceremony that set the stage for what’s ahead.

Prajatantra 2026 | Housing the Future: Building Cities for All

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

We’re all set. Are you? 🎉

Prajatantra 2026 is ready to bring young minds together to question, debate, and reimagine the cities we call home.

The stage is set. The ideas are coming. Let’s build the future of our cities together.

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

It started with a question: What can we do to build better cities?

Today, that question is travelling across India.

From 157 cities, 28 States & 5 UTs, young people are coming together through Prajatantra 2026 bringing their ideas, experiences and visions for the cities they call home. What began as individual teams thinking about their own cities is now grown into a national network of young changemakers, connected by a shared interest in understanding how our cities work and imagining how they can work better.

This map is more than a picture of where our participants are from. It is a glimpse of a young India coming together to engage with the future of its cities.

This is Prajatantra 2026.
Housing the Future: Building Cities for All.

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar

Urban leadership needs more than good intentions. It needs perspective, knowledge and an understanding of how cities work.

The second cohort of Praja’s Urban Leadership Programme brought together 25 urban leaders from 14 cities: Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Councillors, municipal administrators, academics and urban practitioners to learn, question and exchange perspectives on city governance.

Across the programme, participants explored the systems that shape our cities, from constitutional foundations, municipal laws and public finance to data, spatial planning and citizen participation. At Praja, we believe stronger cities are built when those shaping them have the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions.

The Leadership Programme is our effort to create a space where urban leaders can learn from each other, understand governance beyond their own roles, and take that learning back to the cities they serve.

Because better city governance begins with better-informed leadership.

Milind Mhaske Priyanka Sharma Meghna Bandelwar Indurkar