Recap 2024: India's Top Smart Cities In 2024
The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) defines a smart city as “an urban setting that applies technology to enhance the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanisation for its citizens.” In this evolving context, the IMD’s 2024 Smart City Index, released in April, offers a comprehensive view of how cities are leveraging technology to improve quality of life. This year, the report highlights a notable shift: European and Asian cities have made significant strides, while North American cities have experienced a decline in rankings.
The report underscores that top-performing smart cities are those that prioritize their citizens’ overall quality of life. This involves initiatives such as:
Additionally, these cities employ innovative strategies to:
While no Indian city features in the top 100, four of the country’s largest metropolitan cities have made it to the list:
These rankings reflect the progress made by Indian cities under the ambitious National Smart Cities Mission, launched by the Government of India on June 25, 2015.
The National Smart Cities Mission was initiated by the Union Ministry of Urban Development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This program aims to develop citizen-friendly and sustainable smart cities across the country. A total of 100 cities were selected under this initiative, focusing on areas such as:
As of November 10, 2024, the ministry’s data revealed the following top-performing cities based on completion of projects, fund usage, and other criteria:
Union Territories and cities in the Northeastern region have lagged behind in the implementation of smart city projects. The bottom 10 cities include:
Despite notable progress, several challenges persist in achieving the goals of the Smart Cities Mission. These include:
To overcome these hurdles, the government and local authorities need to adopt a more inclusive and participatory approach, ensuring that no region or demographic group is left behind.
The IMD’s rankings of 142 smart cities worldwide reveal the following as the top 10 smartest cities:
These cities stand out for their emphasis on technology-driven infrastructure and their commitment to enhancing the quality of life for their inhabitants.
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