In short, to transform Mumbai into a world-class city, one of the best places in which to live and do business in. The original concept of ‘Mumbai First’ came in 1994 from a seminar on “Mumbai: The Emerging Global Financial Centre”, conducted by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in association with the British Council. Mumbai First drew inspiration from the emergence of London First, which assumed the role of facilitating the restructuring of London through various Public Private Partnership initiatives. As the big business houses in London came together to form London First, the major industries and business houses in Mumbai, came together to create Mumbai First. Mumbai First has been formed largely as a think tank of the city, and also to assume a more specific role of fostering partnerships between various major stakeholders. Big business houses and financial institutions have made contributions to create a corpus for the functioning of Mumbai First. It uses the means of researching, catalyzing, advocating and networking to fulfil this role mission. Mumbai First today has become one of the most successful examples of Public Private Partnership. At the apex of Mumbai First are the Governing Board and Advisory Council. The organizational structure of Mumbai First is represented by the Secretariat. The Secretariat works jointly under the Chairman and Vice Chairmen and with the Expert Committees in undertaking various studies and initiatives to realize its vision and mission goals. There are eight expert committees which address important issues confronting the city by constituting studies and commissioning projects and attend to them through networking, advocacy and action plans. These eight expert committees are on:-
Housing
Physical Infrastructure
Economic Growth
Governance
Health
Environment
Education
Security
Mumbai First also has three touch points with the Government of Maharashtra to share opinions and exchange views. It has the Citizens Action Group (CAG) chaired by the Chief Minister, the Empowered Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary and the recent Chief Minister’s War Room (CMWR). Direct resolution of points/issues with the GoM through these touch points is the unique feature of Mumbai First.
