Union Minister Nityanand Rai Inaugurates Smart City Projects in Puducherry

As part of Puducherry's development, the Union Minister participated in the inauguration of the Mini Stadium in Anna Thidal, a project under the Smart City Mission.

He arrived at the event with several leaders, including the Puducherry CM, and cut the ribbon at the inauguration. They held a Pooja inside to start the ceremony.

The Mini Stadium at Anna Thidal has been completed, and the union minister even participated in kicking a football with school students.

The ambitious Smart City Mission was launched on June 25, 2015, to provide core infrastructure, a clean, sustainable environment, and a high quality of life for its citizens.

By addressing residents' diverse needs, the mission aimed to create dynamic urban spaces that evolve to meet citizens' aspirations, serving as replicable models for other cities.

The Smart Cities Mission is a novel experiment in India's urban development. Since its inception in June 2015, the Mission has attempted several innovative ideas, including competition among cities for selection of 100 smart cities, stakeholder-driven project selection, formation of smart city Special Purpose Vehicles for implementation, deployment of technology and digital solutions for improving urban governance, and third-party impact evaluation by premier academic and professional institutes.

With 100 cities driving the initiative, the Smart Cities Mission has achieved substantial progress. As of May 9, 2025, 7,555 projects--94% of the 8,067--have been completed, totalling ₹1,51,361 crore. Additionally, 512 projects worth ₹13,043 crore are in the advanced stages of implementation. This totals 8,067 multi-sectoral projects valued at ₹1.64 lakh crore.

The total allocated union budget for the Smart Cities Mission was ₹47,652 crore. By March 31, 2025, 99.44% of the total budgeted outlay has been released to 100 cities in the mission. The centre's share is supplemented by other sources of funding such as contributions by the state governments, urban local bodies, public-private partnerships, etc., making the total investment 1.64 lakh crores.

In addition to the core initiatives, the Smart Cities Mission has introduced projects to address emerging challenges. For example, following the COVID-19 pandemic, campaigns such as 'Cycles4Change' and 'Streets4People' were launched to promote open spaces for active living.

To ensure inclusive access to public spaces, initiatives such as the 'Placemaking Marathons' and 'Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge' focused on vulnerable groups. Other challenges, like 'Transport4All' and 'EatSmart Cities', aim to support public transport startups and improve food hygiene in smart cities.

The Smart Cities Mission seeks to boost economic growth and enhance the quality of life by promoting local area development and utilising technology to deliver smart outcomes. The approach involves transforming existing areas through retrofitting and redevelopment, developing new areas through greenfield projects, and implementing innovative solutions across the city with Pan-city initiatives.

Each city's proposal must include one of the area-based models (retrofitting, redevelopment, or greenfield development) along with a Pan-city feature to ensure inclusivity and benefits for all residents. In North Eastern and Himalayan states, the development area requirements are reduced by half.

- ANI