Policy Briefs & Reports

An Overview of the Smart Cities Mission in India

Persis Taraporevala
Ashwathy Anand, Ajai Sreevatsan

Centre for Policy Research, Paras Energy Group, Energy Research Centre

August 24, 2018

The newly elected federal Government of India (GoI) launched the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) in 2015 with the stated purpose of improving the governance and infrastructural deficiencies that plague Indian cities. The Mission categorically states that there is no one definition of a ‘smart city’ and implies infinite liberty for cities to self-define their understanding of ‘smartness’. Towards demystifying the Mission, the researchers utilised government documentation from the 99 cities to answer one question-What constitutes a smart city in India.