Our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioned the idea of Smart City, which would be a place where people would live by enjoying the high-end technology infused into the basic amenities of the people living there. This would give the people of the city a decent quality of life, clean places to live and a sustainable environment through the application of smart solutions. 

When our Honourable PM announced his vision, there were to be a total of 100 cities which would be developed under this programme. In the first year, 20 cities were selected, and all the cities would compete against each other in the competition which would be conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Each state was given a chance to nominate a city which will participate in the competition and each year the nominated cities would get a total of 100 Crores which the city administration will use to transform the city. Each nominated city has to come up with smart models to tackle basic problems.  

The action plan would be brought forward by the Special Purpose Vehicle which would be created to implement the Smart City Plan. Under the plan, there would be the implementation of E-Governance models and publication of E-Newsletter. A proper track record of urban reforms and the participation of the citizen in the process is to be maintained. Cleanliness of the city was the first priority, and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was one of the initial drivers of this programme. Effective communication drives which would steer the city towards the goal of global connectivity. Area-based development is pursued under this as it will propel an effective strategic policy towards achieving the required objectives. To sum it all, a Smart City will be the face of the country when it comes to global participation in effective governance models.  

All these activities and several others will be done under the aegis of the Smart Council of India which will be the consortium of all the Smart City practitioners in the cities which will undergo this transformation.