India has completed the transformation of 31 cities under the government’s flagship Smart Cities Mission, with an additional 43 cities nearing final stages of implementation, according to official responses from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. A total of 8,067 projects have been executed across the 100 Smart Cities, reflecting substantial progress in urban modernisation under the decade-old programme.
The Smart Cities Mission, launched in June 2015, aims to enhance quality of life, improve infrastructure efficiency, promote sustainable development, and deliver citizen-centric services through the application of smart solutions in selected urban areas. The initiative focuses on area-based development within cities, combining infrastructure upgrades, digital technologies, urban amenities and environmental improvements to make cities more liveable and resilient.
According to the Ministry’s reply to a Right to Information request, 31 of the 100 selected cities have met all criteria and are considered fully transformed under the mission. Several prominent cities such as Indore, Surat, Pune, Vadodara, Varanasi, Bhopal and Agartala are among those that have completed their smart city projects. The transformation across these cities includes redevelopment of public spaces, upgraded utilities, smart traffic and mobility solutions, integrated command and control centres, and enhanced civic services.
In addition to the completed cities, 43 others are reported to be nearing completion of most of their sanctioned projects. Implementation in the remaining 26 cities is still underway, with officials citing factors such as project complexity, coordination challenges and ground-level constraints as reasons for the extended timelines.
Overall, 8,067 projects sanctioned under the Smart Cities Mission, accounting for most of the planned interventions, have been executed, amounting to a cumulative investment of around ₹1.64 lakh crore. These projects span core infrastructure domains such as urban mobility, water and sewerage systems, waste management, green spaces, digital services, safety and security solutions, and energy-efficient urban utilities.
The mission’s implementation period was extended multiple times from the original deadline of 2021 to March 31, 2025 to allow cities to complete ongoing works, many of which involved complex construction, stakeholder engagement and technological integration.
Urban experts say the mission has reshaped the approach to city development in India by promoting data-driven governance, citizen participation and technology adoption. Integrated command and control centres are now operational in all 100 cities, enabling real-time monitoring of services such as traffic management, utilities, safety and emergency response.
While the completion of 31 cities marks a major milestone, policymakers note that long-term success will depend on effective maintenance, institutional capacity of city bodies and sustained investment in urban services beyond the mission timeline.