SMART CITY MISSION (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Schemes)

Context: Recently, the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu attended the India Smart Cities Conclave 2023 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

• India's commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and emphasized the significance of SDG 11, which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

Smart City Mission

• Launched by: June, 2015.
• Ministry: Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
• Objective: To promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment, and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
• Focus Area: Sustainable and inclusive development by the creation of replicable models that act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities.
• Coverage: 100 cities
• Duration: FY2015-16 to FY2019-20
• Madhya Pradesh wins the best 'State Award', Tamil Nadu secures second place, and Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh jointly hold the third position.
• Chandigarh tops the UT category and excels in the best governance category for its e-governance services.
• Indore secures the first place among 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission, followed by Surat and Agra.