Smart Cities Mission: Objectives, Implementation & Impact

Vision

With an increase in urban population and rapid expansion of areas, the government is looking at smarter ways to manage complexities, increase efficiencies and improve quality of life. This has created a need for cities to monitor and integrate infrastructure to better optimize resources and maximize services to citizens.

Objective

The objective of the smart city initiative is to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure to give a decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment through application of some smart solutions such as data-driven traffic management, intelligent lighting systems, etc.

The core infrastructure elements in a Smart City are as follows:

• Adequate water supply
• Assured electricity supply
• Sanitation including solid waste management
• Efficient urban mobility and public transport
• Affordable housing, especially for the poor
• Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation
• Good governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation
• Sustainable environment
• Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
• Health and education

The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model to serve as a beacon to other aspiring cities.

Coverage

The mission will cover 100 cities that have been distributed among the States /Union Territories (UT) based on equitable criteria. The formula gives equal weightage (50:50) to the urban population of the State/UT and the number of statutory towns (a town with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board, or notified town area committee) in the State/UT. Based on this formula, each State/UT will, therefore, have a certain number of potential Smart Cities, with each State/UT having at least one.

Strategy

Components of area-based development in the 100 Smart Cities Mission in India comprise city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), along with a pan-city initiative.

• Area-based development that will transform existing areas, including slums, into better planned residential areas by retrofitting and redevelopment, thereby improving habitability of the whole city.
• Greenfield projects that will develop new areas in the city to accommodate the expanding population in urban areas.
• Pan-city development envisaging the application of select smart solutions to the existing city-wide infrastructure.

Administrative Structure

Guidelines on Smart City provide monitoring at three levels – national, state and city.

• National: An Apex Committee, headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development and comprising representatives from related ministries and organizations, has the mandate to approve proposals, monitor progress and release funds.
• State: A High-Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) to be headed by the Chief Secretary of the State, which would steer the Smart City Mission as a whole.
• City: A Smart City Advisory Forum in all Smart Cities, comprising the District Collector, Chief Executive Officer of Special Purpose Vehicle (an SPV is created for implementation at the city level. Its role is to release funds, and implement, monitor, and evaluate the Smart City development projects), member of Parliament, member of Legislative Assembly, Mayor, local youth, technical experts, and representatives of the area Resident Welfare Association to advise and enable collaboration.

Financing

The Smart Cities Mission in India is a centrally sponsored scheme. It also requires state governments and urban local bodies (ULBs) to contribute an equal amount for implementing projects under the Smart City Proposal (SCP). States are expected to seek funds for projects outlined in the Smart City Proposal from multiple sources including the following:

• Using State/ULB’s resources (from collection of user fees, beneficiary charges & impact fees, land monetization, debt, loans, etc.)
• Deploying additional resources transferred due to acceptance of recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC)
• Utilising innovative finance mechanisms, such as municipal bonds with credit rating of ULBs, Pooled Finance Development Fund Scheme and Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
• Leveraging borrowing from financial institutions including bilateral and multilateral institutions (both domestic and external sources)
• Availing the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

Convergence with Other Government Schemes

There is a strong similarity between the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission in achieving urban transformation. While AMRUT follows a project-based approach, the Smart Cities Mission follows an area-based strategy.

Similarly, significant benefits can be derived by seeking integration of other Central & State Government Programmes/Schemes with the Smart Cities Mission. At the planning stage, cities must seek convergence in the Smart City Proposal (SCP) with AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), Digital India, Skill Development, Housing for All, Construction of Museums funded by the Culture Department and other programmes pertaining to social infrastructure such as Health, Education and Culture.

Countries Supporting India’s Smart Cities Mission

Leading economies worldwide have shown interest in India’s smart city mission and are looking forward to participating in the development of smart cities. These include Spain, the US, Germany, Japan, France, Singapore, and Sweden.

• Spain has proposed to cooperate with India to develop Delhi into smart cities. The Barcelona Regional Agency of Spain has shown an interest in exchanging technology with India.
• The United States ‘Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has decided to develop Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Allahabad (Utta Pradesh) and Ajmer (Rajasthan) as smart cities.
• Germany has inked a deal with India to develop Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Kochi (Kerala) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) as smart cities.
• Japan has decided to assist India with the development of Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Varanasi as smart cities.
• France has decided to support three Indian cities—Chandigarh, Lucknow, and Puducherry—and announced an investment of US$ 1.5 billion (EUR 1.3 billion).
• Singapore has shown an interest in helping India’s Smart City Mission and offered to help develop Amravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, as a smart city. The country is also looking at re-engineering and upgrading the transportation sector and retrofitting the older Indian city.
• Sweden, Israel, the Netherlands, the UK, and Hong Kong have also shown interest in investing in India for developing smart cities.
• Italy has shown interest in the smart city concept and decided to invest US$ 1.2 trillion over the next 20 years through numerous initiatives. The Italian companies will contribute in terms of design and technology for the smart cities, with services ranging from consultancy to actual construction of the infrastructure.
• 20 cities across three Indian states—Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan—are likely to have a fast-track development under a new Indo-Canadian initiative to train smart city planners on capacity building and governance, reform implementation, and water supply and sewerage among others. The proposal aims at training at least 150 official urban planners and designers and building localized platforms and tools for efficient and predictable planning and execution of smart cities.

Budget Allocation

As part of the Union Budget 2024-25, the Smart Cities Mission in India has been allocated Rs. 2,400 crore (US$ 19.67 billion).

Status Update

As of March 10, 2025, out of the total of 8,062 projects, 7,502 projects (93%) have been completed, amounting to Rs. 1,50,285 crore, while 560 projects (7%) are yet to be completed, with a value of Rs. 14,260 crore.

Recent Developments:

• Key initiatives and milestones achieved by Smart Cities Mission (As on November 15, 2024):
  • Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC): All 100 Smart Cities have operational ICCCs, which utilize data for making informed decisions. These ICCCs functioned as COVID war rooms during the pandemic and have significantly improved city operations such as transport, water supply, and solid waste management by integrating emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Data Analytics.
  • Public Safety and Security: Over 84,000 CCTV surveillance cameras have been installed in 100 Smart Cities, aiding in crime monitoring. Additionally, 1,884 emergency call boxes, 3,000 public address systems, and traffic enforcement systems for red light violations and automatic number plate recognition have been installed, enhancing public safety.
  • Water Supply: More than 17,026 kilometers of the water supply system are being monitored through Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), reducing non-revenue water and leakages.
  • Solid Waste Management: Over 66 cities are managing solid waste with increased technology use, improving route management, efficiency of collection, and daily management. Around 9,194 vehicles have been Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)-enabled for Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) to digitize and improve solid waste management efficiency.
  • Mobility: Over 1,740 kilometers of smart roads have been constructed or improved, and 713 kilometers of cycle tracks have been developed. Furthermore, an Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) has been implemented and is being monitored through ICCCs, improving traffic operations, enforcing traffic violations, and reducing journey time.
  • Education: 9,433 smart classrooms and 41 digital libraries have been developed.
  • Health: 172 e-health centers and clinics (without dedicated beds) have been developed, and 152 health ATMs also have been installed. 
• On January 18, 2024, the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs showcased its achievements at the 'National Smart Cities Mission Pavilion' during the ongoing three Days Smart Cities India Expo held in New Delhi. Notable projects like the Chappan Dukaan of Indore, Connecting Past with Future of Surat, Area-Based Development of Udaipur, and Digitization of Manuscripts of Prayagraj were highlighted. The expo, organized by India Trade Promotions Organization (ITPO) and the Exhibitions India Group, featured discussions at the City Leader’s Conclave and the Smart Cities India Awards ceremony held on January 19, 2024. These events aimed to bring together city leaders and private entrepreneurs to discuss city initiatives and recognize projects contributing to the development of liveable, sustainable, and economically viable cities.