About Smart Cities Mission

• The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015. 
• The main objective of the Mission is 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’. 
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• The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city. 
• The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities. 

Coverage

• The mission will cover 100 cities that have been distributed among the States /Union Territories (UT) on the basis of an equitable criteria. 
• Each State/UT will have a certain number of potential Smart Cities, with each State/UT having at least one.

Funding

• The Mission is operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. 
  • The Central Government gives financial support on an average Rs.100 crore per city per year. An equal amount on a matching basis is to be provided by the State/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).  
• Additional resources are to be raised through convergence, from ULBs’ own funds, grants under Finance Commission, innovative finance mechanisms such as Municipal Bonds, other government programs and borrowings. 
• Emphasis has been given on the participation of the private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). 

What are Smart Cities?

• There is no standard definition or template of a smart city. 
• In the context of our country, the six fundamental principles on which the concept of Smart Cities is based are:

Implementation by SPV

• The implementation of the Mission at the City level will be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created for the purpose. The SPV will plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects. 
• Each Smart City will have a SPV which will be headed by a full time CEO and have nominees of Central Government, State Government and ULB on its Board. 
• The SPV will be a limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 at the city-level, in which the State/UT and the ULB will be the promoters having 50:50 equity shareholding.

Why in News?

• The Union Cabinet has approved twelve new greenfield industrial smart cities under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme to transform the country’s industrial landscape. 
• The projects span across ten states and are strategically planned along six major corridors. 

https://www.newsonair.gov.in/union-cabinet-approves-12-new-greenfield-industrial-smart-cities/