The Government of India launched its Smart Cities Mission (SCM) in response to the population explosion in Indian cities over the last few decades. This program aims to improve the quality of life of people living in urban areas by developing innovative and sustainable solutions for 100 Indian cities.

While local authorities are encouraged to develop a cross-cutting vision of urban development in consultation with citizens, a Special Purpose Vehicle positioned in each of these cities is responsible for the implementation of the projects.

The CITIIS (City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain) programme , co-developped by the AFD, the National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) provides technical and financial support to around 15 Smart City projects. Selected following a national challenge, these projects will focus on the themes of sustainable mobility, public open spaces, urban e-governance, and social innovation for low-income settlements.

Financial support for the project has been possible through a sovereign loan from the AFD to the Government of India signed in March 2018 in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. A 6 million Euro grant from the European Union together with a 1 million Euro grant from the Government of France enables this project to mobilise the required expertise.

Once selected, the winning projects will benefit from additional financial support in the form of a grant as well as from technical expertise specifically tailored to the needs of the project.

https://smartnet.niua.org/citiis/overview.php

Lessons learnt

• CITIIS aims to foster sustainable, innovative and participatory approaches to build four types of projects within the Smart Cities Mission. Under the CITIIS component, up to 15 projects in the areas of Sustainable Mobility, Public Open Spaces, Urban E-governance and ICT, Social and Organizational Innovation for Low-Income Settlements will be selected through a challenge process.
• Selected projects and Special Project Vehicules (SPVs) will be part of a unique experimentation laboratory helping to highlight and address specific issues faced by SPVs across India in developing innovative approaches for urban renewal projects.