NEW DELHI, June 25 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that 100 cities will compete for Government funding through the India Smart Cities Challenge, a competition designed to inspire and support municipal officials as they develop smart proposals to improve residents’ lives. The Smart Cities Challenge is being conducted in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Knowledge Partner to the Ministry of Urban Development. A new Cities Challenge website, which will allow the public to track competition progress, was launched today at
www.smartcitieschallenge.in .
As a first step in the India Smart Cities Challenge, states will nominate cities to compete. Aspirant cities will embark on a process to create a unique smart cities vision and generate proposals for a pan-city initiative and a comprehensive area-based development. The competition aims to foster robust citizen participation as cities generate proposals.
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Bloomberg Philanthropies, a U.S.-based foundation focused on improving cities worldwide, will lend its expertise in designing and delivering large scale competitions for cities, as well as its global urban expert network to support the Mission’s success.
“Prime Minister Modi recognises the vital role cities can play in building a strong future for India, especially if local innovation is encouraged and rewarded. Through our work around the globe, we’ve seen how effective challenges can be in helping cities design and deliver better ideas – and we’re excited about what the Government and its partners can achieve with this approach in India, home to some of the biggest and fastest-growing cities in the world,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Mayor of New York City from 2002-2013.
The collaboration between the Ministry of Urban Development and Bloomberg Philanthropies for the Cities Challenge, announced today, is a result of two meetings between Prime Minister Modi and Michael Bloomberg then subsequent staff level discussions. The two met in September 2014 when the Prime Minister visited the United States. They met again in February 2015 when Michael Bloomberg, acting in his capacity as UN Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, visited Delhi and Mumbai to meet with government officials.
For more information about the India Smart Cities Challenge including the completion overview and examples of smart solutions from across the globe, visit
www.smartcitieschallenge.in
Follow the dialogue about smart cities on Twitter @indiacities and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/SmartCitiesChallenge
