Lamenting that India's urban affairs had been in a mess and in a neglected state for years, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, on Wednesday said that urban renaissance is the need of the hour which will help the country move forward economically.

He was speaking at the three-day international conference, "Smart City Expo India 2018", organised here by trade fair institution Fira Barcelona in partnership with Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and Quantela Inc -- a digital technology solutions provider for smart cities.