The Smart Cities Mission completed seven years on 25th June 2022. Against the commitment of Rs 480 billion for 100 cities over five years and a matching equivalent amount to be released by the states, the centre has so far released a total of Rs 284.14 billion and 83 per cent of it has been utilised. The city development plans were designed around the budget with the assurance that finance would be available to this extent. And yet, the utilisation has not even crossed 50% of the amount committed and we are not even counting two extra years in which, one can assume, the pandemic took precedence. So with no money constraint the mission has been able to utilise only 49% of the committed amount across 100 cities. Considering that each city has been asked to confer with their citizens and plan an intervention which will improve liveability, workability and sustainability in their respective cities, this seems like a missed opportunity.

The 7th Smart Urbanation 2022 scheduled on August 26-27, 2022 brings together experts to debate and decode challenges and solutions for India's smart cities journey. The Smart Cities Mission is a Rs 2.11 trillion program of which projects with a value of 27.5% have been completed and therefore 72.5% of the work is in progress. This does not include the projects which are being planned by city municipalities after they have seen the success of such pilot projects within the Smart City SPV. The two day event will bring discussions emerging on the back of a pandemic which has turned several legacy paradigms on their head. Innovation and lateral thinking now will dominate traditional approaches.

How SMART URBANATION has contributed to building the smart cities story -

• Launched the 300-page India Readiness Guide, which is a tool used for city development planning by several municipalities in India.
• Hosted a delegation of 50 US based companies led by US Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Mr Bruce Andrews in February 2016 at SMART URBANATION
• Conducted workshops in Jaipur, Rajasthan with Principal Secretary and city officials from 15 cities of Rajasthan on procurement systems.
• Conducted city development plan discussions in Solapur, Jabalpur, Kalyan Dombivali, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, etc
• Participated with US Trade Development Agency as 'Need Assessment Survey' agency in assessing plans for Ajmer, Allahabad and Vizag
• Presented India's smart cities plan to investors and technology companies in Washington DC, New York, Barcelona, Seoul, Milan, Naples, Sydney etc
• Has done research reports for Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India, Western Digital, Underwriters Laboratories
• Organised National Conclave on Technology for Government of Telangana in 2015 for and on behalf of Government of Telangana
• Hosted a delegation of 40 Chinese companies at SMART URBANATION in Hyderabad Presented opportunities in smart cities to Australian, Canadian, Korean delegations in Mumbai
• Led a smart cities team to Sydney, Australia with Austrade
• Conducted awards under Smart Project Awards felicitating municipal commissioners and Smart City CEOs at SMART URBANATION
• SMART URBANATION 2018 and 2019 was hosted by Government of Karnataka in Bengaluru

Is India Getting Smarter?

Report Summary

Four years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a mission to smarten 100 cities in India. However, while the mission was designed to achieve its objectives over a five-year period, reports indicate progress won’t be visible till 2021.

As on September 18, 2019, of the 5,000 projects 100 smart cities had proposed:

• Tendered out: 3,800 projects worth Rs 1,418 billion
• Grounded: 3,100 projects worth Rs 1000 billion
• Competed: 1,100 projects worth over Rs 201 billion
• Remaining projects: To be tendered out by March 2020

According to recent data received from Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs:

• Smart Command and Control Centres 24 projects in 24 cities have been completed and are operational, while 37 projects are under implementation in 37 cities, 12 cities have issued tenders for 12 projects.
• PPP projects 74 projects in 28 cities have been completed and are operational, while 112 projects are under implementation in 47 cities, 41 cities have issued tenders for 92 projects.
• Smart Roads 103 projects in 32 cities have been completed, while 318 projects are under implementation in 77 cities. 49 cities have issued tenders for 107 projects.
• Smart Solar: 37 projects in 24 cities have been completed, while 53 projects are under implementation in 43 cities. 8 cities have issued tenders for 10projects.
• Smart Wastewater: 8 projects in 15 cities have been completed, while 87 projects are under implementation in 53 cities. 20 cities have issued tenders for 31 projects.
• Smart Water: 50 projects in 28 cities have been completed, while 130 projects are under implementation in 58 cities. 26 cities have issued tenders for 46 projects.

Additionally, Pratap Padode, Founder Director, Smart Cities Council India, shares a quick update on India’s smart act:

• All 100 cities have formed legally constituted SPVs.
• A total investment of $29.29 billion (area-based projects estimated to cost $23.31 billion while pan-city initiatives account for the remaining $5.55 billion) has been proposed by the 100 cities chosen so far with 5,151 projects.
• Projects worth $9 billion are currently in the pipeline.
• Contrary to perception, there has been a 183-per-centgrowth in tendered projects and 224 per cent growth in implementation/completed projects in approximately the past 15 months!
• Over 469Indian cities have credit rating and 163 cities are investible grade and above. 36 cities in India have high investment grade (A- and above) credit rating, which can be upgraded to levels required.
• Projects focusing on revamping an identified area (area-based projects) are estimated to cost $23.31 billion while smart initiatives across the city (pan-city initiatives) account for the remaining $5.55 billion of investment.

Download