Smartphones were never going to be enough for India, it’s time to welcome India’s very first Smart City!

Smartphones have transformed the life of many people living in the country in a big way. Using these devices, one could easily access Internet to connect with friends and family, pay bills, watch interesting videos, etc. A similar transformation can be witnessed with the introduction of the much-talked about Smart Cities project.

As the extensive consultation process with all stakeholders has come to an end, a PTI report has revealed that the ambitious project is likely to launch the next month.

Addressing a seminar on Smart Cities in New Delhi today, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said "We are close to launching the much awaited Smart Cities initiative on ground. Prolonged and extensive consultations on this new concept and initiative have finally concluded. We will have all the necessary approvals for this project by the end of this month and action on ground will begin next month onwards."

He also added, "We are collectively gearing up to meet the challenges of growing urbanisation with the goal of converting it into an opportunity." In 2014, the BJP government had announced the mission of constructing 100 Smart Cities across India, keeping better technology, superior management and modern governance in mind, the leading news agency said.

According to Naidu, the Smart City will be selected purely on the basis of the criteria charted down by the Modi government.

Using a three-fold approach, the minister also explained the difference on how a smart city is different from a city in which smart things happen. He said, "Retrofitting and redevelopment of unsustainable urban areas that we have inherited and identified for development as smart cities, and development of new smart cities."

"We want smart cities to be developed to take advantage of and further evolve around their core economic activity, using it as an economic engine, like port cities, tourism cities, healthcare and educational cities," concluded Naidu. (Image: GIFT)