@ “Hundreds of small cities have a key role in achieving the resolve of a developed India by 2047. Our government is upgrading basic facilities in such urban centres to improve ease of living.” - Narendra Modi

28.12.2024 - The Hindu

The smart classrooms under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has led to a 22% increase in overall enrolment as per data reported by 19 cities between 2015-16 and 2023-24.
The highest number of smart classroom projects are in Karnataka (80), followed by Rajasthan (53).
Tamil Nadu has 23 and Delhi 12.
West Bengal, with just two, is among the States at the bottom of the table.
Teachers improved their comfort and preference for using smart classroom facilities, with senior secondary teachers showing the highest comfort levels, as compared with others.
41 cities have developed digital libraries.

The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in June 2015.
Smart Cities Mission (SCM) aims to enhance the quality of life in India's cities through smart, sustainable solutions.
The objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens — a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘smart’ solutions.
As on November 2024, 91% of the projects under SCM have been completed, 1.47 lakh crore rupees invested.
The mission launched a platform in 2022, named ‘SAAR’ (Smart Cities and Academia towards Action and Research).
The mission has initiated 50 impact assessment research studies as “Sameeksha Series”.
Twenty nine premier institutions of India have undertaken these 50 impact assessment studies, which include six Indian Institutes of Management, eight Indian Institutes of Technology, three Schools of Planning and Architecture and 12 specialised research institutes.

December 2024

With 100 cities leading the initiative, the mission has made significant progress, having completed 7,380 out of 8,075 projects, with an investment of ₹1,47,704 crore

Implementing the SCM is carried out primarily through two approaches

First, under the Smart Cities Mission, cities are being developed using an Area-Based Development (ABD) approach, where each of the 100 cities has selected a defined area for targeted interventions
Second, every city has included Pan-City Projects, which are technology-driven solutions, creating special purpose vehicle structure for program implementation.

Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC) - these centres functioned as covid war rooms during pandemic. Now they are improved and utilised for city operations such as transport, water supply, solid waste management.
installing over 84,000 CCTVs fo public safety and security
more than 17,026 kms of water supply monitored
over 66 cities are utilising technology for solid waste management
over 1,740 kms of smart roads have been constructed
over 1700 e-health centres and clinics have been developed Current updates - Doc