Vizag wins $1 million Global Grant in Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge

Marking a significant development, Visakhapatnam secured a major global honour, winning a USD 1 million grant in the prestigious Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025–2026 Mayors Challenge for its innovative climate resilience initiative, Vizag–Prajamukhi Urban Living Lab (V-PULL). The award was announced on February 25.

Visakhapatnam was selected as one of the 24 global winners, emerging from more than 630 cities across the world that competed in the challenge. V-PULL, a flagship model of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), earned international recognition for its civic participation framework aimed at mitigating the impacts of floods, cyclones and severe heatwaves through collaborative, citizen-driven solutions. 

The initiative operates under a citizen-centric, climate-resilient and hyperlocal governance approach.

In the initial phase of the competition, GVMC was shortlisted among the top 50 finalists and received USD 50,000 in seed funding along with technical assistance. 

With this support, the civic body implemented pilot interventions at the local level. Structured ward-level community meetings were conducted, hyperlocal sensing systems were tested and data-driven decision-making tools were introduced.

Participatory climate resilience and disaster preparedness measures helped establish an effective feedback mechanism between citizens and municipal departments, strengthening bottom-up governance.

“Being selected as a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025–2026 Mayors Challenge is a great honour for GVMC. This recognition strengthens our belief that cities can lead transformative change when innovation is grounded in citizen participation and field-tested solutions,” said GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg.  

The USD 1 million grant will be utilized to strengthen the bottom-up governance approach, enhance disaster preparedness and expand these initiatives to more wards across the city, he added.

The Mayors Challenge was launched by Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former Mayor of New York City, to support bold and creative city governments in solving pressing urban challenges.

With this recognition, Visakhapatnam now shares the global platform with leading international cities, marking a significant milestone in Vizag’s journey towards globally recognised climate-resilient urban governance.