What makes a city smart in India and why world is far ahead of us
Smart cities are here to provide jobs, civic amenities, speedy and hassle-free transport system, uninterrupted and clean power, water supply and good quality of life.
In Short
- Indian cities don't find themselves in the chart of top smart cities of the world.
- Mumbai is the top-ranking Indian city at the 167th position.
- Among other major cities, Delhi stands at 174, Bengaluru at 176 and Kolkata at 179.
The government has released a fresh list of 30 smart cities, taking the total number under the Smart City Mission to 90. These cities will be developed into smart cities. Incidentally, none of the existing Indian cities figure among the top cities of the world on any index.
According to the IESE Business School Cities in Motion Index 2017 , New York is the best city of the world to live in. It is followed by London and Paris.
The Cities in Motion analyses various aspects of 181 key cities of the world. Mumbai is the top-ranking Indian city at the 167th position followed by Delhi at 174, Bengaluru at 176 and Kolkata at 179.
The surveyors analysed 79 indicators across 10 different dimensions of urban life, namely economy, technology, human capital, social cohesion, international outreach, the environment, mobility and transportation, urban planning, public administration and governance.
Indian cities don't find themselves in the chart of top smart cities of the world. The chart shown below compares ranking of top cities on different indices, including that of the United Nations.
WHAT IS A SMART CITY?
The concept of smart city originated with the Smart Planet Initiative of IBM in 2008. As the concept gained currency, many countries including those in Europe, China and South Korea planned huge investment in the cities to prepare them for the future.
A smart city is characterised by an urban region having modern technological infrastructure, access to smart energy, smart mobility, smart public utility services and ultra fast communication network.
The smart city must not add to the already worrisome carbon problem of the world. The smart city benefits everybody - its residents, business persons and the government.
WHY DO WE NEED SMART CITIES?
According to demographers, India will become the most-populous country in the world by 2030. Unlike the previous phases of demographic change, the latest one is witnessing a fast shift towards urban areas, particularly the big cities.
As per government estimates, every minute 25-30 people are migrating to major Indian cities from rural areas in search of better livelihood and better lifestyles. If the pace of migration from rural areas to urban centres continues, Indian cities would be home to nearly 85 crore people by 2050. This would make 70 per cent of the total population of the country.
As the cities are generally considered the engines of economic growth, such a huge population in cities would be the biggest market in the world and may be the source of 80 per cent economic growth of the country.
But such a huge population would also require accommodation, jobs, civic amenities, efficient governance, fast communication means, speedy and hassle-free transport system, uninterrupted and clean power, water supply and good quality of life.
The Smart City Mission aims to provide the same to Indians.
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
Elaborating his government's vision about the Smart City Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Cities in the past were built on riverbanks. They are now built along highways. But in the future, they will be built based on the availability of optical fiber networks and next-generation infrastructure."
To develop 100 such smart cities for the future, the Smart City Mission requires an investment of about USD 1.2 trillion in the next 20 years.
The Smart City Mission is being worked upon in close coordination with the projects like Make In India and Digital India.
As per the Make In India programme, a few smart cities are already coming up across the country such as Kochi Smart City, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Ahmedabad, Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Lavasa in Maharashtra and Wave Infratech's 4,500-acre smart city near New Delhi.
GOVT HAS ALSO INVITED FOREIGN PARTNERSHIP
The government has also invited foreign partnership in developing smart cities. Deals have been signed to develop three smart cities in association with Germany, three with the United States, and one each with Spain and Singapore. Japan has also agreed to invest USD 4.5 billion in the Smart City Mission.
The Industrial Corridors, being developed to connect some of the mega cities, are further contributing to the Smart City Mission. The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor and the Bangalore-Mumbai Economic Corridor are expected to create smart cities in their sphere of influence.
Three smart cities such as Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka are being developed with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has taken up the master plan for these cities.
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