The Impact of PM’s UAE Visit

After his visit from UAE and taking inspiration from Abu Dhabi’s “Masdar Smart City”, on June 25, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s 100 Smart Cities Mission. Mission to develop Smart Cities is a government of India-launched urban redevelopment and retrofitting initiative aimed at developing smart cities that are both citizen-friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development is in charge of carrying out the mission, which is planned to be completed between 2019 and 2023 in partnership with state governments.

Smart Cities prioritise their most pressing demands and possibilities to enhance people’s lives. To make a difference, they use a variety of tactics, including digital and information technologies, best practices in urban planning, public-private partnerships, and policy reform. They constantly prioritise individuals.

The goal of the Smart Communities Mission is to promote cities that offer basic infrastructure and a fair quality of life for their residents, a clean and sustainable environment, and the use of ‘Smart’ Solutions. The emphasis is on sustainable and inclusive development, and the goal is to look at compact regions and construct a repeatable model that would serve as a beacon for other ambitious communities. The Smart Cities Mission is intended to provide examples that may be imitated both within and outside of the Smart City, catalysing the formation of comparable Smart Cities in different areas and portions of the country.

Why does India require smart cities?

Cities are home to 31% of India’s present population and contribute 63% of the country’s GDP (Census 2011). By 2030, urban areas are expected to house 40% of India’s population and generate 75% of the country’s GDP. The growing population of cities causes problems with infrastructure management and service delivery. In India, the Smart Cities Mission is a programme that aims to solve these concerns in a timely and effective manner.

Characteristics of India’s Smart City Mission

We’ve talked about the Smart Cities Mission core goal, which is to stimulate improvement and growth in the economy along with people’s quality of life. 

Let us go through how it will be done in detail;

• It encourages diversified land use based upon the locality. Thanks to the mission, states will get further freedom in using land for varied purposes and will be able to create bye-laws to reflect the shift. 
• The fulfilment of safeguards of the environment will be taken care of.
• It attempts to increase housing possibilities for everybody. One of the most important criteria for the Smart Cities Mission expansion is housing. 
• More housing developments are needed in smart cities to accommodate huge and low-income inhabitants.
• The Smart Cities Mission envisions reducing traffic congestion, ensuring security, reducing pollution in the air, and promoting engagement and the local economy. To prevent accidents, new pedestrians are being developed for walkers and bicycles.
• Another goal is to provide parks,  playgrounds,  open gyms, and other leisure places. This is done to improve the standard of living for Indian residents.
• More transportation choices, such as public transportation and transit oriented development, are being advocated.
• More internet services are being introduced to increase openness and responsibility in government. For example, instead of travelling to the municipal offices, a resident can utilise an internet website.
• The health sector, local cuisine,  education sector, art, furniture, sports, culture, and so on all contribute to the city’s identity.
• Smart Solutions are used in the development of infrastructure and services.
• Smart City Mission Smart Solution

Smart solutions are being employed for fundamental infrastructure as part of the objective, such as:

• Public information and resolution of grievances
• Participation of citizens
• Composting waste
• Energy and fuel from waste
• Service delivery via electronic means
• Video surveillance of criminal activity
• Every drop needs to be handled.
• waste treatment
• Energy that is renewable
• Identification of Leaks
• Parking is smart.
• Traffic management system that is intelligent
• Water quality testing
• Telemedicine
• Water and electricity smart metres and management
• Green architecture and energy efficiency
• Multimodal transportation that is integrated
• Centre for Trade Facilitation
• Centers for Skill Development

List of Cities in India for the Smart City Mission

As of today, 100 cities have been chosen.  Navi Mumbai ,Mumbai, West Bengal, submitted proposals for the first slot, but eventually withdrew their applications. The Smart Cities Mission includes the majority of cities from and Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh. 

The cities listed below are being built as smart cities:

• Greater Mumbai
• Amravati
• Solapur
• Nagpur
• Kalyan-Dombivali
• Aurangabad
• Pune
• Pimpri chinchwad
• Imphal
• Shillong
• Aizawl
• Kohima
• Bhubaneshwar
• Raurkela
• Oulgaret
• Ludhiana
• Jalandhar
• Amritsar 
• Jaipur 
• Udaipur
• Kota
• Ajmer
• Namchi
• Gangtok
• Tiruchirapalli
• Tirunelveli
• Dindigul
• Thanjavur
• Tiruppur
• Salem
• Vellore
• Coimbatore
• Madurai
• Erode
• Thoothukudi
• Chennai
• Greater Hyderabad
• Greater Warangal
• Karimnagar
• Agartala
• Moradabad
• Aligarh
• Saharanpur
• Bareilly
• Jhansi
• Kanpur
• Prayagraj 
• Lucknow
• Varanasi
• Ghaziabad
• Agra
• Rampur
• Dehradun
• Port Blair, India
• Visakhapatnam
• Tirupati
• Kakinada
• Amaravati
• Pasighat
• Guwahati
• Muzaffarpur
• Bhagalpur
• Biharsharif
• Patna
• Chandigarh
• Raipur
• Bilaspur
• Raipur, Naya
• Diu, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli are two Indian states.
• Silvassa
• The Municipal Corporation of New Delhi
• Panaji
• Gandhinagar
• Ahmedabad
• Surat
• Vadodara
• Rajkot
• Dahod\sKarnal
• Faridabad
• Dharamshala
• Shimla
• Srinagar
• Jammu
• Ranchi
• Mangaluru
• Belagavi
• Shivamogga
• Tumakuru
• Hubballi Dharwad
• Davangere
• Bengaluru
• Kochi
• Trivandrum
• Kavaratti
• Bhopal
• Indore
• Jabalpur
• Gwalior
• Sagar
• Satna 
• Ujjain
• Nashik
• Thane

In conclusion:

Finally, it has been more than six years since this effort began, and improvements are noticeable in several cities. The initiatives that have been completed give social and economic advantages. However, a variety of factors such as financial, administrative, and Covid-19 have slowed the program’s progress.