New Smart Cities to Emerge in India as Part of Budget 2020
The Smart Cities Mission, launched in June 2015, has been a significant stride in India's quest for technological advancement. The initiative, aimed at improving urban living conditions, has seen a steady evolution in its budget allocation over the years.
In its inaugural year, the Government proposed an allocation of INR 4,000 crore for the Smart Cities Mission in Budget 2017-18. This figure saw a substantial increase in Budget 2018-19, with the allocation rising to INR 6,169 crore. However, as of now, the Mission has not yet announced any Budgetary allocation for the new fiscal year in the second Budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The initial list of 20 cities for the Smart Cities Mission was announced in 2016. Since then, the list has expanded, with 27 more cities added, and subsequently, 13 more cities were added, bringing the total number of selected cities to 100. The final list of 30 cities was announced in January 2018.
Under the Supply Chain Management (SCM), these 100 Smart Cities have been selected in four rounds based on an all India competition and have incorporated Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). The focus of the Smart Cities Mission is on addressing problems in urban areas such as transportation, energy supply, governance, basic urban infrastructure services, and overall quality of life.
As of now, there have been a total of 5,151 projects identified for implementation in the 100 cities, which are in various stages of implementation. The value of work orders issued for smart city projects is around INR 1,20,000 crore, and the value of completed projects exceeds INR 25,000 crore. The tendered smart city projects, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, are valued at over INR 1,62,000 crore.
The long-term aim of the Smart Cities Mission is to provide technology solutions like surveillance systems to improve safety and reduce crime. One of the first cities to be designated as an integrated smart city is Kochi.
In addition to the Smart Cities Mission, the Government has also focused on digitizing rural and remote regions of India. In Budget 2020, INR. 6,000 crores was allocated for BharatNet to digitize 1 lakh Gram Panchayats in 2020. Funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), BharatNet aims to improve telecom services and provide digital services like e-governance, e-health, e-education, and e-banking among others.
The Smart Cities Mission and BharatNet represent the Government's commitment to bridging the digital divide and transforming India into a technologically advanced nation. The journey is ongoing, and with each passing year, the initiatives are moving closer to their goals.
