The government has included 24 state capitals in the list of 98 cities, which are to be developed as smart cities.  The list of smart cities was unveiled by Union minister Venkaiah Naidu today.  He said that the "prime motive behind the smart city project is to enhance urban life." 

Mumbai, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar are among the cities that have found place in the coveted smart cities project list. Centre has earmarked Rs 48,000 crore for development of 100 smart cities. All Union Territories, including Delhi, have found place in the list. State capitals that have been left out are Patna, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Kolkata, Puduchery, Gangtok, Shimla, Daman, Itnanagar.

Out of the 98 cities, 24 are capital cities, another 24 are business and industrial centres, 18 are of cultural and tourism importance, five are port cities and three are education and healthcare hubs.

The state of Jammu & Kashmir has sought more time to decide the nominee, while UP has reported that Meerut and Rai Bareily have been tied in the evaluation. Hence, the remaining two nominees will be decided in some time.

"The smart city mission is very practical and realistic. We need public's participation. Smart cities need smart people, we need people's co-operation to move forward in our mission," Naidu said.

Maximum number of smart city projects are in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.  In the first year, the government would select 24 cities that would be developed into smart cities. 13 cities are from UP, 12 from Tamil Nadu, 10 from Maharashtra, 7 from MP, and 3 each from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are included in smart cities list.

Out of the 98 cities, 90 cities have also already been selected for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

The government will allocate Rs 2 crore each to these 98 cities for preparation of smart city proposals for competing in the second stage.

The proposals will be judged on credibility of implementation, city vision and strategy, economic and environmental impacts, cost effectiveness, innovation and scalability and processes followed, including citizen implementation.

Top 20 scoring cities will be chosen in a few months and Rs 100 crore per city per year will be provided by the centre for the next five years.

The government also released a list containing features of a smart city.

Details: http://smartcities.gov.in/

List of 98 cities: click here