Urban Intrative 1992-2014

• 1992: The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act: Empowered municipalities-functionally, financially and politically.
• 2002: Urban Reform Incentive Fund (URIF): Eliminated systemic weaknesses so as to strengthen municipal finance and functioning.
• 2005: Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM): Eliminated structural and systemic weakness to create investment climate; improved local governance and finance.
• 2007: National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy (NUHHP): Affordable housing for all with emphasis on vulnerable sections of society
• 2011: Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY): Working towards slum-free cities via property titling and tenure security.
• 2013: National Urban Livelihood Mission: Reduced poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households by providing them with access to employment opportunities.

Post-2014 Period

Development of 100 Smart Cities

• Goals: Enhance the quality of urban life and provide a clean and suitable environment
• Strategies: Employ smart solutions for the efficient use of available resources and the available infrastructure

Rejuvenation and Transformation of 500 Cities (>100,000 Population)

• Goals: Create infrastructure that has a direct link to the provision of better services to the people
• Strategies: Use verticals comprising: Slum rehabilitation with participation of private developers using land as a resource; Promotion of affordable housing by credit-linked subsidy; Affordable housing in partnership with public and private sector; Subsidy for beneficiary-led housing construction or enhancement

Swachh Bharat (Clean India Mission)

• Goals: Access to sanitation; Scientific management of solid waste
• Strategies: Create awareness about sanitation, behavioural change, and capacity augmentation

Smart City Mission

The Government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission on 25 June 2015. It was proposed to cover 100 cities over the period 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Approach to Smart City Mission

India is witnessing rapid urbanization and the phenomenon requires a major policy response. As part of the policy response, the government conceived of the Smart City Mission. The four key ingredients of a thriving urban ecosystem are institutional infrastructure, physical infrastructure, social infrastructure and economic infrastructure. So, the Smart City approach aims to upgrade urban ecosystems either through targeted strategic interventions using one of the ingredients with city-wide impact (Pan City Initiatives) or through simultaneously upgrading more than one ingredient in a defined space (Area Based Project). It is understood that the exact implementation of such a strategy has to be customized to the specific context.