The Smart Cities Mission is heading towards its 10th year anniversary, making major progress with the completion of more than 90% projects under the urban development initiative launched by PM Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015.
Out of over 8,000 multi-sectoral projects worth Rs 1.64 lakh crore planned across 100 cities, 7,504 projects totalling Rs 1.50 lakh crore have already been completed, reflecting a major leap in India’s transformative efforts, a report by SBI revealed.
The findings also showed that almost 92% of the funds were utilised across 21 key states. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra topped the list, together accounting for nearly a third of the total expenditure.
The mission majorly focused on enhancing urban mobility and strengthening water and sanitation infrastructure. Nearly half of the total project cost has been channelled into these two sectors, with over 3,000 projects implemented and an average spending of Rs 22 crore per project.
It was aimed at delivering core infrastructure, ensuring cleaner and more sustainable environments, and improving quality of life through smart solutions.
Introduced as a centrally sponsored initiative, the mission drew Rs 48,000 crore from the central government over five years. Each city received an average of Rs 100 crore per year, aligned with the contributions from state governments or urban local bodies (ULBs).
Additional funding was sourced through convergence with other government schemes, ULBs’ internal revenues, finance commission grants, municipal bonds, and innovative financial tools.
With its 10-year milestone just around the corner, the Smart Cities Mission is being seen as a key driver of India’s urban evolution, modernising cities, addressing infrastructure gaps, and improving everyday living standards.