Rajeev Sharad, Founder & CEO,
Urbaforce Solutions Pvt Ltd (Consultant)
A comprehensive review of the 100 Smart Cities Mission (2014-2025)
Introduction
The Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2014, stands as one of India’s most ambitious urban transformation programmes of present times. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs – MoHUA (then Ministry of Urban Development – MoUD) in partnership with State Governments, the mission aimed to develop 100 cities across the country into models of matured and self-sustainable bodies with technologically advanced urban living for ease of citizens. With its conclusion in 2025, the mission has become a significant touchstone for policy makers, urban planners, and citizens alike, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities of modern city development in India especially in brownfield areas.
Genesis of the mission
India’s urbanisation is projected to accelerate significantly over the coming decades. According to various demographic estimates, the urban population is expected to reach nearly 40% by 2030 and 50% of the country’s total population by 2050, compared to around 34% in 2024.
This rapid growth underscored the urgent need for robust urban infrastructure planning, as millions migrate to urban centres or turning smaller cities into urban and commercial hubs, seeking better work opportunities and quality of life. The genesis of the Smart Cities Mission is linked to this growing urbanisation in India and the pressing need for cities to become more liveable, resilient, and inclusive.
Indian cities have been grappling with rapid population growth, infrastructural bottlenecks, and environmental degradation, not to forget the socio-political alignments with demographic uniqueness.
Recognising these challenges, the Government of India initiated the mission as part of a broader vision for planned urban development. The formal launch of the mission in June 2014 marked a shift towards integrating digital solutions and citizen-centric planning, positioning cities as engines of economic growth and innovation.
Objectives and vision
The Smart Cities Mission was underpinned by a clear vision – to promote cities that, with the use of technology or otherwise, provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environments, and a decent quality of life for their citizens. Central objectives include improving urban mobility, expanding affordable housing, ensuring robust water and energy supply, and enhancing safety and governance.
Implementation framework
MoHUA leads the mission’s implementation management, working in close collaboration with State Governments and urban local bodies through 50% financial assistance on the basis of project approvals. The selection of the 100 smart cities was the result of a competitive process, with cities evaluated on their preparedness, vision, and capacity for transformation. Each selected city developed its own smart city proposal, outlining projects and strategies tailored to local needs and aspirations. This decentralised approach enabled flexibility and innovation, while the Ministry provided guidance, funding, and oversight to ensure consistency and accountability.
Coordinated approach between Central and State governments has been instrumental in driving the mission forward. Financial support has been channelled through a combination of central grants, state contributions, and leveraging private sector investment. The formation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for each city ensured dedicated focus on project execution, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement, strengthening the mission’s governance framework.
Key initiatives and strategies
The Smart Cities Mission encompassed a broad range of projects and interventions, targeting area-based development of urban infrastructure, use of digital technology, and augmentation portals for citizen services. Major initiatives include the development of Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC) which are the aggregation nerve centres of technology based smart mobility solutions, utilities supply monitoring, real-time traffic management waste management, telecommunication services, energy-efficient street lighting, citizen service kiosks and digital governance platforms.
Urban planning strategies under the mission emphasised mixed land use, compact city development, and revitalisation of public spaces. The adoption of area-based development allowed cities to focus on specific neighbourhoods, demonstrating tangible improvements before scaling up. Technological interventions – such as sensors, IoT devices, and GIS mapping – have been crucial in enabling data-driven decision-making and responsive urban management.
Efficacy and achievements
In 2024, MoHUA engaged the services of an esteemed audit and assessment organisation to study maturity index of the Smart Cities through measurable outcomes of the use cases and several other pillars of evaluation.
Cities have been showcasing innovative models of waste management, sustainable transport, traffic control, weather reporting & e-governance platforms. The mission has catalysed the adoption of renewable energy, increased green cover, and promoted inclusive urban development. While progress varies across cities, the mission has driven a culture of innovation and accountability, setting new benchmarks for urban transformation in India.
Though, many cities have witnessed a deluge of urban mobility, pollution control, and public safety measures through smart infrastructure projects, the efficacy has not been as planned. The establishment of integrated command centres has enabled real-time monitoring of utilities and emergencies, which expected to improve governance and citizen satisfaction, but the assessments say otherwise.
Challenges and lessons
Despite its achievements, the Smart Cities Mission has encountered several shortcomings and hurdles. Delays in procurement process, stakeholder bottlenecks, and program management at local levels have impacted progress and efficacy in certain cities. Coordination among multiple stakeholders, government agencies, private partners, and local communities has often posed challenges, requiring robust mechanisms for engagement and conflict resolution.
Impact analysis
The Smart Cities Mission has had far-reaching socio-economic and environmental impacts. It has stimulated job creation, attracted investment, and improved the quality of urban life for millions. Technological advancements have empowered city administrations, enabling more efficient service delivery and enhanced citizen participation. Environmental benefits include reduced energy consumption, better waste management, and increased resilience to climate change.
From a development perspective, the mission has fostered urban innovation, strengthened institutional capacities, and promoted a culture of evidence-based policy making. By setting new standards for urban governance and infrastructure, the mission has inspired other cities and regions to pursue similar transformations, contributing to India’s broader urbanisation agenda.
Some of the key concerns that have led to the under-utilised potential of the Smart Cities is the lack of following plans:
- Sustainability through a business planning: This remains a big concern after the implementation phase, with some projects struggling to maintain momentum beyond initial funding. Lessons learned highlight the importance of the organisational charter to be that of a specialised SPV designed for a particular type of working where revenue generation and relevance has to be sustained. The cites were largely operated in a Governmental structure of functioning and didn’t cater to the sustenance plan waiting for bail out or sign out. As a result, SPVs have started dissolution of function and transfer of assets to municipal bodies, which are neither designed nor trained for such operations.
- Use case-based operations: The Cities lacked in design of sufficient use cases from the problem statements that were generated during conceptual planning stage, and which were the basis for procurement of specific equipment/ systems. This was largely left for the Master System Integrators to handle, which ironically should never be a part of their roles. At some places, the Project Management Consultants (PMC’s) tried to create Use Cases but the delay of project implementation didn’t leave much time for the PMCs to analyse the effectiveness of the Use Cases through the systems and create additional Use Cases. As a result, the citizens did not get the desired relief and ease which was promised from the ICCC’s or SPV’s.
- Team strength: The SPV’s have been noticed to have very minimal team members, that too, on contractual basis. This created a big dependence on MSI’s team for running the operations as well as management roles. The absence of ‘Maker-Checker’ combination reduced the operational prowess of the SPV’s and Cities. The capacity building of ICCC/ MSI teams was noticed to be a big gap for constant upgrade of skills like Cyber threat management, evolved risk mitigation, predictive analysis from the rich data available from the systems. Majority of the SPV CEO’s have been appointed in de-facto role apart from the Municipal Commissioners role as their principal assignment. The SPV operations were new to all of them and gave them limited time and focus to provide the leadership required.
Redefined roadmap for Smart Cities
The Smart Cities Mission has demonstrated India’s ability to conceptualise and execute largescale urban infrastructure and digital transformation programmes. However, as the Mission transitions from its implementation phase towards longterm operations and sustainability, the focus must decisively shift from project completion to outcome realisation, operational excellence, and institutional sustenance continuity. The next phase of India’s smart urban journey requires a reimagined governance and execution roadmap rooted in the lessons learned over the past decade.
- Repositioning Smart Cities from projects to permanent urban functions: One of the most critical insights from the Mission is that Smart City interventions, particularly ICCCs, digital governance platforms, and integrated urban services, are not onetime projects but continuous operational functions. The gradual dissolution of SPVs and transfer of assets to Municipal bodies without commensurate operational preparedness has exposed a structural weakness. Municipal bodies, in their current form, are neither staffed nor structured to manage hightechnology, datadriven, multidepartmental city operations.
- Setting up of Program Management Units (PMU’s) of domain experts: The gaps identified in the functioning and sustainability of SPVs – such as inadequate team strength, lack of specialised operational expertise, insufficient business plan led use-cases, and limited leadership focus – underscore the urgent need for dedicated Project Management Units (PMUs). PMUs can provide the necessary professional capacity, continuity, and strategic oversight required to bridge these challenges through experts who have shown operational excellence through data analysis in similar projects. By embedding skilled resources with clear accountability, PMUs would ensure robust project monitoring, drive operational excellence, facilitate cross-departmental coordination, and enable ongoing skill development, thereby supporting the transition from mere project implementation to sustainable urban management and outcome realisation.
- Roadmap direction: All stakeholder departments must draw a common operational plan with clear ownership and targets for the following pillars: a. Technology operations and lifecycle management. b. Usecase design, optimisation, and scaling. c. Data governance, cyber security, and risk management plan. c. Business planning for sustenance. d. Team creation and interdepartmental coordination and service integration.
Conclusion
Smart City functions must be institutionalised as permanent urban management centres with capabilities of inclusive participation by all stakeholder departments with ownership and target goals. This approach necessitates a dedicated professional operational structure beyond conventional municipal governance.
The stakeholders must build on the achievements, address remaining challenges, and ensure that smart city principles continue to guide India’s urban future. The mission’s impact should extend beyond these 100 cities and define infrastructure planning and implementation, shaping aspirations for more liveable, sustainable, and inclusive cities across the nation.
Author Rajeev Sharad is a consultant in the domains of Infrastructure automation as a project management expert. His vast experience of over 25 years in these domains has taken him through various roles of Government Consultant, Design specialist, Project Management and Audit process. He has set up M/s Urbaforce Solutions Pvt Ltd for the consulting practice and Consultant to Punjab Police. He is a visiting faculty member at Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD), Dwarka, New Delhi, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), Faridabad, Haryana and a lead subject matter expert for Quality Council of India (QCI). He leads the Government consulting business role at Indus Intellirisk and Intellisense Services Pvt Ltd (IIRIS Consulting), Gurugram, Haryana.
References: World Urbanization Prospects The 2018 Revision) https://population.un.org/wup/assets/WUP2018-Report.pdf United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision (and subsequent updates Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India – official publications and Smart Cities Mission documentation World Bank, India Urbanization Review
