The list of 20 smart cities out of the 98 shortlisted for the 'Smart Cities Mission' was released.These 20 cities will be the first to receive funds, thus kickstarting the process of developing them into 'smart cities'. The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities, respectively.
Of the 98 cities and towns that five years down will graduate into smart cities, 24 are capital cities, another 24 are business and industrial centres, 18 are culture and tourism influenced areas, five are port cities and three are education and health care hubs.
List of 20 cities
• Bhubaneswar, Odisha
• Pune, Maharashtra
• Jaipur, Rajasthan
• Surat, Gujarat
• Kochi, Kerala
• Ahmedabad, Gujarat
• Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
• Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
• Solapur, Maharashtra
• Davangere, Karnataka
• Indore, Madhya Pradesh
• New Delhi Municipal Corporation
• Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
• Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh
• Belagavi, Karnataka Mfloat
• Udaipur, Rajasthan
• Guwahati, Assam
• Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Ludhiana, Punjab
• Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
What is smart City?
A smart city is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres.
The origin of smart city
The concept of smart cities originated at the time when the entire world was facing one of the worst economic crises. In 2008, IBM began work on a 'smarter cities' concept as part of its Smarter Planet initiative. By the beginning of 2009, the concept had captivated the imagination of various nations across the globe.
Countries like South Korea, UAE and China began to invest heavily into their research and formation. Today, a number of excellent precedents exist that India can emulate, such as those in Vienna, Aarhus, Amsterdam, Cairo, Lyon, Málaga, Malta, the Songdo International Business District near Seoul, Verona etc.
Current Affairs: 28th January, 2016 Current Affairs Round up December, 2015.
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