India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with developers and industry leaders in Mumbai Thursday to discuss his ambitious plan of making his country home to 100 "smart cities."
The Indian government plans on holding a competition to pick cities for the project based on how well they implement some of Modi's campaigns, according to NDTV. The country currently has Delhi in mind to be the first of these smart cities.
Modi's goal for the smart cities is to make them environmentally-friendly, technologically connected urban spaces for its citizens. Among the issues the project intends to solve is India's growing population, which is expected to double from 377 million today to 843 million by 2050.
"To accommodate this massive urbanization, India needs to find ways to improve the quality of life of citizens," said Shankar Aggarwal, the secretary of the Urban Development Ministry.
Smart cities are designed to use technology to manage resources efficiently and provide better services to residents, The Wall Street Journal reported. Such services include traffic, power, public transport, water distribution and waste disposal.
Jaijit Bhattacharya, a partner at consulting firm KPMG India, said India will have a tough time creating the kind of smart cities found in Europe and the U.S. He added that people have different definitions of smart cities based on what they want, pointing out how technology in such cities could be used to improve safety for women by letting them alert police when they need help.
"One has to define the smartness from one's perspective," Bhattacharya said.
The U.S. has already shown its support for India in its project, with President Barack Obama announcing this week that America would work with India to make its smart cities a reality, The Journal reported.
Collaboration from France, Singapore and Japan is also expected for the project, NDTV reported. Aggarwal said India expects private supporters to provide 85 percent of investment and state and central bodies to provide 15 percent.
Ravi Kant Mahlan, the director of Smart Cities and Special Projects, Schneider Electric India said figuring out the infrastructure for the cities is a top priority for the government.
"You can't make congested potholed roads, smart. We will make utilization of roads and transportation digitally fit," Mahlan added.
The Indian government will officially announce its policy for the smart cities on March 31.
