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The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative created by the Government of India to promote economic growth and development in India. According to this initiative, local development could be reinforced by helping local authorities to implement smart city strategies, which could effectively produce useful outcomes for citizens.
During the last years, the urbanization challenge faced by many Indian cities is continuously growing. According to Smart Cities Mission Statement & Guidelines, published in June 2015 by the Ministry of Urban Development, urban areas are expected to house 40% of India’ s population and contribute 75% of India’ s GDP by 2030. As a result this requires comprehensive development of physical, institutional, social and economic infrastructure.
Three of the main components of this strategic plan include city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment), city extension (greenfield development) and pan-city development. Regarcing the objective of this initiative, it is stated that:
In the approach to the Smart Cities Mission, the objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a light house to other aspiring cities. The Smart Cities Mission is meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City, catalysing the creation of similar Smart Cities in various regions and parts of the country.
A total number of 100 cities will be chosen to compete in the first round of this program. A list of 20 Smart City profiles can be found here.