Smart Cities Mission 2015: Transforming Urban India for a Sustainable Future

Policy Update
Dipankar Mazumder

Background

Launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Smart Cities Mission aims to improve the standard of living in 100 carefully chosen cities by offering effective services, strong infrastructure, and a sustainable environment. By concentrating on the social, economic, institutional, and physical pillars of urban development, the mission seeks to advance sustainability, inclusiveness, and economic growth through smart solutions. In order to develop dynamic urban places that adapt to the requirements of their population and serve as replicable examples for other aspiring cities, the mission aims to fulfill the different needs of its residents, ranging from housing and transportation to education, healthcare, and recreation.

At its core, Smart Cities Mission has covered 100 cities for a duration of five years from FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20. The mission may continue even after the completion of five years on the basis of the evaluation to be done by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD).

The following are the main components of smart city infrastructure:

1.  Health and education
2.  Adequate water supply
3.  Sustainable environment
4.  Assured electricity supply
5.  Robust IT connectivity and digitalization
6.  Affordable housing, especially for the poor
7.  Efficient urban mobility and public transport
8.  Sanitation, including solid waste management
9.  Good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation
10.  Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children, and the elderly

Functioning and Strategy

There are broadly two major approaches to Smart Cities Mission:

1. Firstly, Area- Based Development (ABD) approach is enabled to facilitate local-area growth. The Smart Cities Mission’s area-based development strategy includes three key elements: city extensions (greenfield development), city revitalization (redevelopment), and city enhancement (retrofitting). Area-based development encompasses both the creation of new regions surrounding the cities to accommodate growing populations through greenfield construction and the retrofitting and renovation of existing areas.

2.    Secondly, Pan-city development approach makes use of the city’s current infrastructure. The Pan-city program involves the applications of Smart Solutions like intelligent traffic management system, smart metering, waste management, smart transportation, etc. for the existing citywide infrastructure and broader areas of the city.

By facilitating local area development and utilizing technology, particularly that which produces smart outcomes, the Smart Cities Mission seeks to boost economic growth and enhance mankind’s standard of living. Slums and other existing areas will be retrofitted and redeveloped as part of area-based development, which will improve the city’s overall living standards. To accommodate the growing urban population, new regions, or greenfields, will be created surrounding cities. By implementing smart solutions, communities will be able to leverage statistics, facts, and technological advancement to enhance amenities and infrastructure. This kind of comprehensive development will raise everyone’s standard of living, generate jobs, and increase incomes—especially for the underprivileged and impoverished—resulting in inclusive cities.

The following four rounds of the City Challenge Process were used to choose all 100 smart cities:

1.      In January 2016, 20 Smart Cities were chosen in Round 1.
2.      In May 2016, 13 Smart Cities were chosen in the Fast Track Round.
3.      In September 2016, 27 Smart Cities were chosen in Round 2
4.      In June 2017, 30 Smart Cities were chosen in Round 3.
5.     In January/June 2018, 10 Smart Cities were chosen in Round 4.

  Source: https://smartcities.gov.in/selection-process

Implementation Process:

1.  The cities are selected on the basis of Competitive and Cooperative Federalism. While competitive federalism encourages rivalry among states to enhance governance and draw investment, cooperative federalism places an emphasis on cooperation and interdependence between the Centre and the States for the advancement of the nation.

2.  Another important implementing aspect of the mission is the creation of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) whose sole responsibility includes program execution, encouraging diverse financing sources for projects, encouraging competitive federalism, and involving the public. The Smart City development initiatives will be planned, assessed, approved, allocated, implemented, managed, operated, monitored, and evaluated by the SPV. Every smart city will have its own SPV, with a full-time CEO and representatives from all three levels of government on its board.

3.  The Smart Cities Mission is a centrally sponsored scheme with the central government providing funding under the project. Additional contributions are made by states and urban local bodies.

4.  Numerous initiatives under the Smart Cities Mission are carried out in collaboration with private parties that provide managerial and technological know-how thereby fostering public-private partnerships.

Performance and Impact

Since its launch in 2015, the Smart Cities Mission has shown promising results in terms of infrastructure development, citizen engagement, and sustainability. The scheme is available across several States and Union Territories in India, covering 100 cities. The state and city-wise details are annexed below:

Figure 1. State/City Profile

Source: https://smartcities.gov.in/cities-profiles?q=cities-profiles&page=4
Source:https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2024/dec/doc20241212471401.pdf

According to the official dashboard, as of 7th Feb 2025, a total of 8,058 projects have been sanctioned across 100 cities under the scheme costing 1,64,514 crore. Of these, 7,491 projects (i.e. 92%) have been completed, and 567 projects are ongoing. This highlights the commitment of the government in transforming the future of urban spaces making it more reliable and livable. It also indicates significant progress in development of cities, emphasizing the improvement of infrastructure and quality of life via calculated investments and smart solutions.

 Source: https://smartcities.gov.in/mission-dashboard

According to the official data released by the Press Information Bureau, 75% of the projects are completed in 75 smart cities with 17 cities achieving their target of 100% completion of the projects under the mission. This is followed by 34 cities having completed more than 90% of their projects and the remaining 24 cities achieving 75% of their project completion.

As of November 15, 2024, other key achievements of the mission include setting up of Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC) in all 100 smart cities, 84,000 CCTV surveillance cameras, and 1,884 emergency call boxes. Over 3,000 public address systems, an additional 1,740 km of smart roads, 713 km of cycle tracks, and 17,026 km of water supply systems that are monitored by Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are operational.

Similarly, more than 66 cities are managing solid waste management with increased use of technology. Approximately 9,194 vehicles have been equipped with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL). Further, more than 9,433 smart classrooms and 41 Digital Libraries have been developed. In health sector, 172 e-health centers and clinics and 152 health ATMs have been installed.

According to the official dashboard, notably, states such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan demonstrated exceptional performance. Uttar Pradesh reached completion target of 95.61% (850/889) while Karnataka reached completion target of 97.13% (882/908). However, if we compare the data, we can see certain disparities when analyzed against the total number of projects sanctioned in both the states. Rajasthan (561/579) stands out with an effective project completion target of 96.89% despite minimum sanctioned projects for the state. While larger states like Madhya Pradesh (748/788) and Tamil Nadu (708/733) reaching targets of 94.92% and 96.58% respectively show moderate growth.

Source:https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2024/dec/doc20241212471401.pdf

However, several projects which are at advanced stages of implementation got delayed due to various on-ground conditions, including manpower shortages, technological barriers, logistical hindrances. Taking these into consideration, the Indian government has extended the mission duration till March 31, 2025. It is currently anticipated that all ongoing initiatives will be finished by March 31, 2025.

Emerging Issues

Despite its success, the scheme faces challenges. The high expense of developing infrastructure is one of the main issues. For many cities, particularly smaller ones with tighter resources, the initial outlay needed for smart technologies like sensor networks and data analytics platforms can be a deterrent.

Good governance is also required to guarantee that these initiatives are carried out effectively and satisfy the requirements of the general public. Project delays and inefficiencies can result from a lack of collaboration between the private sector and different government agencies.

Furthermore, the digital gap raises issues since some groups of people might not have access to the technologies or digital competence needed to take full advantage of the programs.

Additionally, report has also suggested legal issues, delays receiving permits from various departments, acquiring property, development in mountainous regions, difficulties in finding vendors and resources in small and medium cities, centralized governance of decision making in a few cities, harnessing the full capability of ICCCs, inclusion of all municipal organizations and firms, and frequent project changes and cancellations are few of the difficulties faced when implementing smart city projects.

Way Forward

Government, private sectors, and residents must work together if the Smart Cities Mission is to realize its full potential. To create accessible and creative solutions, local governments must collaborate closely with digital companies and architects and planners. In order to finance and oversee these initiatives, public-private partnerships, or PPPs, can be extremely important. The public must also be involved and informed about the advantages and applications of smart city technology. Through seminars, public outreach initiatives, and community awareness campaigns, individuals can learn how these developments can enhance their everyday lives and become more engaged in the cause.

Indian cities have greatly improved because of the Smart Cities Mission. Through technological innovation, environmentally friendly options, and robust community engagement, the mission has increased amenities, safety for citizens, transportation, availability of water, and healthcare. Through programs like “Cycles4Change” and “Streets4People,” it has also adjusted to new issues, such as encouraging open areas and safer transportation. As the mission progresses, it keeps working to create more intelligent, habitable cities that may act as models for others.

References

Press Information Bureau. (2024, September 02). Enhancing Urban Life. [Press Release].https://pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=151908&ModuleId=3&reg=3&lang=1  

Press Information Bureau. (2024, December 18).Smart Cities Mission Achievements. [Press Release].https://pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=153581&ModuleId=3&reg=3&lang=1

Press Information Bureau. (2024, December l2). Achievement of Smart Cities Mission [Press Release]. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2083808   

Press Information Bureau. (2024, July 3).Smart Cities Mission extended till March 2025. [Press Release].https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2030491

Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. https://smartcities.gov.in/

Smart Cities (Mission Dashboard), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. https://smartcities.gov.in/mission-dashboard

About the Contributor: Dipankar Mazumder is a Research Intern at Impact and Policy Research Institute. He holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati. His passion for social issues and governance continues to guide his career aspirations.

Acknowledgement: The author extends sincere gratitude to Dr. Arjun Kumar and Aasthaba Jadeja for their invaluable guidance and support. 

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.

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