*2.5. Smart Cities Mission, 2015*

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the Smart Cities Mission in 2015 to address governance and infrastructure concerns of the growing urban population of cities and

to promote quality of life. By integrating the internet of things (IoT) technology, the mission aims to integrate smart technologies in different sectors to achieve sustainable urban development in an energy-efficient and cost-effective manner. The smart city proposals entailed two major aspects: (1) a pan city project, which includes information and communication technology (ICT) solutions such as an integrated traffic management system (ITMS), automated city level waste collection, e-governance and rooftop solar panels in government buildings; and (2) an area-based development (ABD) project, wherein a small area within the city is identified and is developed with identified smart solutions for improving its infrastructure, which then becomes a prototype for other parts of the city. The mission aims to create energy efficient urban spaces to reduce the burden on existing resources. As per the mission guidelines, 80 per cent of the buildings in the smart cities need to be energy efficient with a 'green building' design and 10 per cent of a smart city's energy demand should be met by solar energy.
