Bhubaneswar: Xavier Centre of Urban Management and Governance (XUMG) is hosting its annual business conclave 'Samavesh' here tomorrow.

The conclave will be held at 9.30 am at conference hall -1 of Xavier School of Human Settlements on premises of the Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB).

"The conclave intends to give the students of Urban Management and Governance (UMG) a holistic view, encompassing both the past and the future operation of urban management. The theme for the event is “Managing Cities: Current Practices and Future Prospects”, said the XUB in a release today.

This year, the theme aims to initiate deliberations and discussions on the current trends practiced in the industry concerning managing cities. While many practices have yielded satisfactory results for quite some time, the issues they bring forth in the urban context are manifold and hence cannot be ignored. Further, the implications of demographic changes, social and economic variations, rising concern for the environment, amongst others, must be accounted for while managing cities. The future course of action must follow a new direction to cope with these rising problems.

The event will be graced by seven eminent industry veterans addressing the above-mentioned issue and imparting their knowledge to the students. The speakers include Jamal Abdul Rasheed (Head- Urban Planning, L&T), Suman Mishra (Associate Vice President, Tech Mahindra), Ashutosh Limaye (Director & Head Strategic Advisory, Anarock Property Consultants Pvt. Ltd.), Jay Anand (Vice President, Taru Leading Edge), Mahesh Harhare (Chief Resilient Officer, 100 resilient cities, Rockefeller Foundation), Shishir Dash (Lead- Urban Habitat, Tata Trust), and Prabhakar Kumar (Head- Planning, REPL).