What is smart about them?

Traditional ideas of smart cities suggest lots of data collection, using sensors electricity,
gas, water, traffic and other government analytics that can be carefully compiled and
integrated into a smart grid and then fed into computers that can focus on making the city as
efficient as possible.
The Modi government is going a bit broader with its concept of a smart city, to basically
mean any city that works well, especially for businesses. Admitting that it is hard to define
smart cities, the ministry of urban development's concept note from last November on the
issue still attempts to do so.
"Smart Cities are those that are able to attract investments and experts & professionals. Good
quality infrastructure, simple and transparent online business and public services processes
that make it easy to practice ones profession or to establish an enterprise and run it
efficiently without any bureaucratic hassles are essential features of a citizen centric and
investor-friendly smart city," the note said.
Why do we need them?
Indias is urbanising at an unprecedented rate, so much that estimates suggest nearly 600
million of Indians will be living in cities by 2030, up from 290 million as reported in the
2001 census.
Alongside the hordes of Indians go the jobs and the money as well: a McKinsey Global
Institute study estimated that cities would generate 70% of the new jobs created by 2030,
produce more than 70% of the Indian gross domestic product and drive a fourfold increase in
per capita income across the country.
The cost of not paying attention to Indias cities is enormous, the McKinsey report said.
The speed of urbanisation poses an unprecedented managerial and policy challenge yet
India has barely engaged in a national discussion about how to handle the seismic shift in the
makeup of the nation.
Are they going to be new cities?
In his budget speech last year, Jaitley listed out exactly why the government believes it needs
to be spending money on 100 smart cities. He claimed that unless new cities are developed
to accommodate the burgeoning number of people, the existing cities would soon become
unlivable.
But the government isn't going to be building entirely new cities with Rs 100 crore each.
Instead, the money will mostly be spent on upgrading existing facilities, since the very
selection process requires current cities to prove that they are eligible. States could potentially
suggest areas that are going to be built up as options for the smart city mission Andhra
Pradesh's new capital for example but most will come from existing cities.

Which cities have been picked and how ?

The Lok Sabha reference note suggests one satellite city for each of India's metros, all state
capitals, all cities in the population range of 1-4 million or more, and few others including
those of tourist and religious importance.
The Cabinet's note explains that the cities will be picked based on a City Challenge
Competition, with the aim of financing those that have shown the potential to fulfill the
mission's objectives. "Each state will shortlist a certain number of smart city aspirants as per
the norms to be indicated and they will prepare smart city proposals for further evaluation for
extending Central support," the cabinet note said. Reports suggest that the government will
first begin with shortlisting 20 cities.
How will the government turn them smart?
The cabinet note focuses on retrofitting, redevelopment, pan-city initiatives and development
of new cities. It also gave a few examples.
"Under retrofitting, deficiencies in an identified area will be addressed through necessary
interventions as in the case of Local Area Plan for downtown Ahmedabad. Redevelopment
enables reconstruction of already built-up area that is not amenable for any interventions, to
make it smart, as in the case of Bhendi Bazar of Mumbai and West Kidwai Nagar in New
Delhi. Pan-city components could be interventions like Intelligent Transport Solutions that
benefits all residents by reducing commuting time," it said.
Who will pay for them?
Rs 100 crore per city will clearly not be enough, and even if more is added, its unlikely the
government will have the resources to pay for the cities. In the budget last year, the
government announced that it was relaxing norms for foreign direct investment to make it
easier for outside companies to invest in smart cities. The Cabinet note also mentions that it
expects Special Purpose Vehicles to be set up for smart cities by each state, which will ensure
their financing. In addition, India has spoken to France, Japan and Singapore and other
countries about collaborating on the projects.
What about those cities that dont make the cut?
At a meeting regarding the smart cities in June 2014, the urban development ministry
secretary said that the focus will not be just 100 cities but all urban areas across the country.
There exists no valid reason to leave the 101st city in the process of development, he said.
Those will not, however, be eligible for central funds under the Smart City Mission.
Do we have any smart cities already (and who is building them)?
A quick Google search for Indias first smart city produces more than 70,000 results, and
many of them lead to different places.
In Bangalore, Cisco is working to set up a smart grid-based Education City, where all the

utilities will be integrated with data. Outside Mumbai, the Lodha group has given IBM a
contract to build all data systems in their Palava city project. Kochi has a special economic
zone that seeks to replicate Dubais smart city project. Gujarat has two projects, the Dholera
urban area, which is part of the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, and the Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City, both of which have problems but are being touted as
examples that could be scaled up across the country
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet
projects 100 smart cities spread across the country and a new urban renewal
mission named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, replacing the existing one named after
Jawaharlal Nehru, with a total outlay of Rs 98,000 crore for the next five years.
The move is expected to recast the urban landscape of the country to make them
more livable and inclusive. The smart cities project was announced in July 2014 in
the Union Budget. Countries such as Singapore, Japan, France and the United States
have shown interest in partnering with India on this project.
"Unchecked migration from rural areas with very little civic infrastructure towards
urban agglomerations has continued to be the biggest challenge for the country. This
has further added to the woes of urban clusters which could not plan for the ever
burgeoning influx. The basic idea of spreading development across 500 cities makes
it an unique concept towards a bottom up approach,Gulam Zia, Executive Director,
Knight Frank India told Firstpost.
While the Smart Cities Mission will get an outlay of Rs 48,000 crore, the AMRUT
mission will received Rs 50,000 crore over the next five years. In comparison, the
central outlay for nine years of the JNNURM mission was Rs 42,900 crore.
Here is all you need to know about it:
euters
1.City challenge competition: Each Smart City aspirant will be selected through a
'City Challenge Competition' intended to link financing with the ability of the cities to
perform to achieve the mission objectives. Each state will shortlist a certain number
of smart city aspirants as per the norms to be indicated and they will prepare smart
city proposals for further evaluation for extending central support.According to a
report in the Business Standard, only about 20 cities are likely to be shortlisted in
the first phase.
2. Selected city will get Rs 100 crore a year for 5 years from the govt: Each
selected city under the scheme would get Central assistance of Rs 100 crore a year for
five years. The remaining money has to come from the states, urban bodies and the
consortium that they form with corporate entities. The mission aims to release funds
depending on multi-pronged progress of the projects and makes citizen participation
an integral part of the planning of these cities. Central assistance will be to the extent
of 50 percent of project cost for cities and towns with a population of up to 10 lakh
and one-third of the project cost for those with a population of above 10 lakh.

3. All states will get at least one smart city: A Special Purpose Vehicle will be
created for each city to implement Smart City action plan. The SPV will be signed
with the urban local body, state government and the Centre for implementation of
the project.
4. Smart Cities Council India has been formed to promote development
of smart cities in the country.It is part of the US-based Smart Cities Council,
which is a consortium of smart city practitioners and experts, with a 100-plus
member and advisor organizations operating in over 140 countries.
5. Focus on core infra services The Mission of building 100 smart cities intends
to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources
and infrastructure with the objective of enhancing the quality of urban life and
providing a clean and sustainable environment, the government said. Focus will be
on core infrastructure services like adequate and clean water supply, sanitation and
solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transportation,
affordable housing for poor, power supply and robust IT connectivity, it added. Also
e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens, health and
education and sustainable urban environment will receive attention. This will be
implemented through an 'area based' approach consisting of retrofitting,
redevelopment, pan-city initiatives and development of new cities.
6. Which cities gain the most? According to Zia, cities like Varanasi, Vizag,
Ajmer etc. can stand to draw huge benefits out of this mission because the Smart City
Mission is ambitiously widespread to include water supply, sanitation, waste
management, transportation, housing for poor, power supply, among others. So for a
mid-sized city these aspects can be comfortably worked upon within the average
budgetary allocation of 500 crore per city.
But for a city like Mumbai wherein transportation projects like the Trans Harbour
Link or the Metro Phaze 3 can itself cost upwards of Rs 10,000 crore each, the
proposed amount may not even suffice for a fraction of the interest cost of these
projects.
7. AMRUT, which seeks to lay a foundation to enable cities and towns to
eventually grow into smart cities, will be implemented in 500 locations
with a population of one lakh and above. These include cities situated on
stems of main rivers, a few capital cities and important cities located in hilly areas
and tourist spots. Under this mission, states will get flexibility of designing schemes
that best suit their needs. Assistance from the centre for AMRUT will amount to 50
percent of project cost for cities and towns with a population of up to a million and
one-third of the project cost for those with a population of above a million. Central
assistance will be released in three instalments in the ratio of 20:40:40 based on
achievements.
8. AMRUT will focus on ensuring basic infrastructure services such as
water supply, sewerage, storm water drains, transport and development of green

spaces and parks with special provision for meeting the needs of children.
Implementation will be linked to promotion of urban reforms such as e-governance,
setting up of professional municipal cadre, devolving funds and functions to urban
local bodies, review of building bye-laws, improvement in assessment and collection
of municipal taxes, credit rating of urban local bodies, energy and water audit and
citizen-centric urban planning.
9 Smart City Council will release a guide to help urban planners
understand the framework of smart cities : The Smart City Council India will
launch a Smart City Readiness Guide for India in September 2015, according to
a report in Business Today, which will serve as a a vendor neutral framework for
smart cities. The guide will reportedly have 100 case studies in terms of smart
practices from various Indian cities across private and government initiatives. The
guide would also enable city leaders and urban planners to understand the
comprehensive framework of a smart city and take actionable steps toward major
city infrastructure improvements.
10. What's the next step? "The next step is identification of the 100 cities and for
this a city challenge competition to be conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies is
envisaged. The current plan looks to select 20 cities this year followed by 40 each in
the next two successive years," says Rohan Sharma, Associate Director - Research &
Real Estate Intelligence Service, JLL India.
According to Sharma, the focus in the first phase is likely to be on the Tier 1 cities. He
believes emphasis should also be put on creating newer centres of economic growth
with physical and civic infrastructure improvement and hence other cities, especially
in the North East and lesser-developed parts of the country
In our previous article we discussed how BJP is slowly acquiring the characteristics
of the Congress in the manner in which the party machinery functions and is
controlled. In this part we will explore if indeed the NDA government is beginning to
look like UPA-2 and on course to become UPA-3.
To start with, we reviewed the BJP manifesto of 2014 and on key issues, and
compared the performance of the NDA government, as of today, with those of the
UPA governments. The information is summarised in the chart below:

Why is the NDA on par with UPA on most issues?

With 20 months in power, the Modi government is realising that it is one thing to
criticise while in opposition, but once in power you have to grapple with the reality
and even appreciate the difficulties which the previous government faced. Modi

criticised many policies of the UPA while in opposition and during his election rallies
even ridiculed some of its programmes. However, since taking over the hot seat, he
has actually continued with the same policies and programmes which he earlier
criticised. What's the reason?
1. Desire for re-election: The Modi government is so keen on getting re-elected in
2019 that the party is unwilling to antagonise any voting base by dramatically
changing the structure of the economy and the country. Given the broad coalition
that voted the party to power in 2014, the results in Delhi, Bihar and Gujarat have
served notice to the government that nothing must be done to upset the applecart.
2. Quality of ministerial talent: The ministers in the Modi government, apart
from a few, are quite weak, so much so that the prime minister had to reach out to
defence minister Manohar Parrikar to move from Goa to Delhi. The finance minister
has no track record in finance or the economy and the education minister neither has
the pedigree nor the ability to come up with a compelling vision for India's primary
education. The policy of keeping out seniors which would have disrupted Modi's
authority has not helped.
3. Bureaucratic talent and inefficiencies: While bureaucrats are coming to
office on time and becoming more responsive, the bulk of the bureaucracy is mired in
inefficiency, corruption and a lack of skills. Modi has made no breaks from the past
in the overall work culture as well as the architecture of India's 200-year-old
bureaucracy, which actually needs a complete overhaul.
4. Inability to work with the Opposition and forge a consensus: The scale
and size of Modi's victory created tremendous insecurity forcing much of the
Opposition to gang up against him. However, the Modi-Amit Shah jodi's aggressive
campaigning even in state elections has left many of these Opposition parties little
leeway in striking deals with the BJP and help it push through major legislation in
the Rajya Sabha. Insecurities have cropped up even amongst long term allies - Shiv
Sena, TDP and Akali Dal - all of whom have different grouses against the prime
minister and BJP.
5. Divided attention between party work and government:Modi and his
ministers are spending a lot of time in state election campaigns as he has been the
face of the BJP. A corporate culture in which Shah seems to have been given targets
on the number of state elections to be won has put a lot of pressure on ministers to
win in their respective constituencies.
6. Policy constraints: One of the main reasons rural India is struggling much
more this year is because the government has maintained low increases in minimum
support price (MSP) in order to control inflation. Rural spend too has been increased

by only about three per cent over the last budget. Both of these measures were
carried out to keep food inflation in control. However, a failed monsoon exacerbated
the situation further in rural India.
To sum up, the NDA has performed better than the UPA so far in the first 20 months
of its rule. This is clearly reflected in the popularity ratings of Modi. However, it
would significantly need to improve its "worse" and "on par" performance indicators
to increase its chances in upcoming state elections and the 2019 general elections.
Schemes launched
* Aid for milch cattle and equipments to tribal women
* Milking machines and chaff cutters for cooperative rural milk producing women
groups
* Assistance to cooperative milk producing women groups to build 'dudh ghar'
* Mukhyamantri Amrutam Maa Vatsalya Yojana for construction labourers suffering
from occupational health diseases
* Interest benefit to farmers to build warehouse in farm
* Tablet distribution to ITI apprentice studying computer courses
* Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Young Entrepreneurs Scheme
* Benefit in interest on self-employment loan to ITI apprentice
* Shri Nanaji Deshmukh Housing Scheme
* Dattopant Thengdi labor interest assistance scheme for construction labourers
Here are the NDA governments major initiatives as listed by Modi:
1. In the very initial months of our Government, we took up the task of providing
toilets in all schools. Dont children of the poor study in these public schools?
2. We implemented the Jan Dhan scheme and opened more than 14 crore bank
accounts for financial inclusion. Earlier also, there were banks, as well as people
without bank accounts. What did they do all these years?
3. The so-called pro-poor have been just repeating that there is leakage in subsidy.
We used technology to ensure that LPG subsidy reaches the targeted person
directly.

4. We have launched MUDRA Bank for financing 6 crore small vendors and
businesses 61% of whom are SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities.
5. We have launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana which
the Congress did not think of in sixty years.
6. We have planned to see that by 2022, no family remains without a roof over its
head.
7. The Soil Health Card scheme has been launched to enhance farm productivity
and reduce expenses, thereby enhancing the farmers income.
8. We have come out with a comprehensive social security scheme for the poor and
marginalised, old and those with low-income levels.
9. Swachh Bharat Mission has been started to see that health and hygiene issues of
the poor do not affect the working capacity and output of the poor and labourers.
10. The Indian Railways, on which the common man travels, is being changed for
the better.
11. We have set up the Skill Development Ministry to enhance employability of the
youth to whom we are committed to provide jobs through initiatives like Make in
India. In the past, the country had been led into an economy of jobless growth.
12. We provided for reservation of women in the police forces of Union Territories.
This was done even when there were no elections around the corner.
13. Through the regime of coal auction that we have put in place, more than Rs 3
lakh crore have already been generated for the less-developed states of India. This
money will be used for the poor of those states.
A. Corruption
1. Illicit/Black Money: A SIT (Special Investigation Team) has been set
up under the leadership of retired SC Judge MB Shah to bring back the
$500bn (estimated) black money that has flown out of India since
Independence.
Further development:
The Special Investigation Team's (SIT) efforts to unearth India's black
money received a major boost as the Swiss government draws up a list of
Indianssuspected of having black money piled away in their banks.
2. Nepotism: The government has sent a mandate to all ministers
regarding appointment of their staff and has made it clear that they
cannot pick family members or relatives. The appointment would be
made from a common pool of candidates which will be decided by the

Department of Personnel & Trainings Appointments Committee of

Cabinet, which is part of the PMO.
B. Governance
1. Speedier decision making: After consolidating a bunch of ministries
to harness synergies, Modi has also clarified that crucial decisions on
strategy and execution will rest with the PMO.
2. E-Governance: The environment ministry under Mr. Prakash
Javadekar has launched a system for online submission of applications
for environment clearance. This move is to ensure transparency,
accountability and faster decision making.
Abolishing GoMs and EGoMs: Mr. Modi has abolished 30 active
GoMs and EGoMs constituted by the previous UPA govt.
GoMs and EGoMs are panels constituted by the government to oversee
important decisions when the Ministries themselves were unable to sort
things out. This is a redundant level in the decision-making hierarchy and
has resulted in unwarranted delays and backlogs.
3. MP HR workshop: The ongoing workshop cum training program for
the newly elected MPs will have the senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj,
Venkahaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley address, teach and train the rookies in
parliamentary proceedings, rights and duties as MPs, on how to spend
their MPLAD fund for their constituencies, parliamentary etiquette, usage
of social media, public conduct etc
4. Running the government like a corporate machine: The Central
Government, under Mr. Modi is trying to incorporate a 'corporate' culture
in the government by instating "Employee of the month" awards on the
basis of performance.
5. Quality (ISO 9001) certification for the government: The Indian
goverment under Mr. Narendra Modi is trying to form theWorld's first
ISO 9001 certified government.
C. International Relations
1. Pakistan: In talks with Nawaz Sharif, PM of Pakistan, Modi firmly put
his foot down demanding that Pakistan curb terrorism arising from their
territory. Following up on this, Sushma Swaraj, Minister, External Affairs,
echoed the same sentiment and said, "The voice of talks gets lost in the
sound of bomb blasts."
2. China: The new government has re-initiated talks with their
counterparts in China. A formal invitation for meeting was sent to the
Chinese premiere. The External Affairs Minister of China, Wang Yi,
would be visiting India on June 8.

The recent visit of Vice Prez Mr. Hamid Ansari to China made some good
progress.
There were 3 MoUs signed:
a. Industrial (business) parks: To increase cross investment
between India and China
b. Brahmaputra flood data sharing: More data sharing from
China to India regarding the situation of Brahmaputra, allowing
India to better forecast water flow and prevent floods.
c. Sharing best practices
3. Bhutan: Narendra Modi's first official visit after becoming PM was to
our small neighbor to the north-east. As to why this was an important
visit and what was the purpose as well as the outcome, read:
4. Bangladesh: Sushma Swaraj's Bangladesh visit discussed major issues
like Visa process simplification, LBA (Land Boundary Agreement), Teesta
river water sharing and cooperation on infrastructure.
D. Strategy and Policy
1. "10 -point, 100-day" agenda: In an effort to speed up the decision
making process and get rid of 'policy-paralysis' for which the UPA regime
was severely criticized for, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his
ministers to prepare a list of issues that they will take up in the first 100
days in office, with a focus on efficiency, delivery systems and
implementation. The PM also has a list of top 10 priorities with regards to
governance.
2. A completely new ministry for entrepreneurship: For the first
time in the history of Independent India, a new Ministry of
Entrepreneurship has been created which will help to produce more
entrepreneurs and business men in India. The ministry will be headed by
Mr. Sarabanad Sonowal.
E. Infrastructure
1. 100 smart cities, housing for all: The urban development minister,
Venkaiah Naidu, in a press conference stated that top priority for his
ministry would be to:
o Bring back home loan interest rate to around 7% from existing 10%
+
o Build 100 smart cities to accommodate the every increasing urban
population

2. Provide housing for all by 2022 with a PPP model

3. Irrigation and insurance schemes for farmers: The NDA

Government is all set to launch 2 new projects to help the farmers of the
country.
Irrigation: Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sinchayee Yojana which
was promised in the BJP Manifesto.
Insurance: 'Krishi Amdani Beema Yojana '

4. Ganga cleaning and restoration (Uma Bharti): Uma Bharti,

minister for water resources and river development, had been charged
with a crucial responsibility i.e. to clean the Ganges and restore it to its
pristine past status.
Uma Bharti has said that a comprehensive plan for cleaning and
restoration of Ganga as well as for promoting tourism and transport will
be ready in the next 90 days. On the plan, 4 ministries are working in
tandem. They are also be working along with scientists from IIT Roorkee
and IIT Kanpur.

5. The "Diamond Quadrilateral" Project: The government is planning

to construct a high-speed rail network connecting the major cities in
India to reduce the commute time. The plan is to introduce high-speed
bullet trains and semi-high speed trains in India. High speed trains will
run at ~350 km/h and semi-high speed trains at 160-200 km/h.
The existing rail track network will need to be upgraded as well as
security measures need to be upgraded. After the passenger trains are
upgraded, similar steps will be taken for freight trains as well.