Reforms Needed To Drive India’s Smart Cities Mission
On paper, India’s plan of turning 100 of its urban centres into smart cities, appears to be an ambitious one. In reality, however, there are several challenges that stand in the way of the initiative actually getting off the drawing board.
Earlier this year, the government released a list of 20 centres to be transformed into smart cities, selected through a challenge. A sum of Rs 50,802 crore ($ 7.5 billion) will be invested on these centres, the first phase of the grand scheme to set up 100 such cities throughout India.
A smart city is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres.
