Smart Cities
- The objective is to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions.
- The focus is on creating a replicable model which are meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City.
- Core infrastructure elements
- Water Supply
- Assured electricity supply
- Sanitation, including solid waste management
- Efficient urban mobility and public transport
- Affordable housing, especially for the poor
- Robust IT connectivity and digitalization
- Good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation
- Sustainable environment
- Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
- Health and education.
- Components of Smart Cities Mission -
- City improvement (Retrofitting),
- City renewal (Redevelopment),
- City extension plus a Pan-city initiative in which Smart Solutions are applied covering larger parts of the city.
- Approach - Area-based development.
- Selection Process–Each state will get at least one smart city.
- Each aspiring city competes for selection as a smart city in what is called a ‘City Challenge’. There are two stages in the selection process.
- The State/UT begins with shortlisting the potential smart cities.
- The first stage of the competition will be intra-state based on the criteria specified and the highest scoring potential smart cities will be recommended to Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs.
- The 100 such potential smart cities nominated by all the States and UTs will prepare Smart City Plans which will be rigorously evaluated in the Stage-2 of the competition for prioritizing cities for financing.
- The chosen ones will get Central fund of Rs 500 crore during 5 years.
- Implementation -By Special Purpose Vehicles which will be promoted by the State/UT and the Urban Local Body (ULB) jointly both having 50:50 equity shareholding.
Smart City Tag
- The Centre has finally announced Shillong (Meghalaya) as the 100th and the last city under the “Smart City Project”.
- Every city gets five years to complete its projects and the end date for Shillong is 2023.
- Each selected city is required to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle which will carry out the mission.
India Smart Cities Award
- The “India Smart Cities Award” was constituted last year to give awards in 3 categories with an objective to reward cities, projects and innovative ideas, promoting sustainable development in cities.
- The categories are “Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award”.
- Eligible Participants were Smart Cities only, where respective ULBs / Smart City SPVs were to submit proposals.
- This year, the city award is being given to Surat.
- It is for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.
- The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach.
- Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project were awarded this year.
- The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in several categories.
- Some of the categories are Governance, Built Environment, Social Aspects, Culture and Economy, Urban environment, Transport and Mobility, Water and Sanitation.
Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme
- Pattiseema lift irrigation project interlinked the Godavari river and the Krishna river in Andhra's West Godavari district.
- It was designed to lift 120 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) water from Godavari and release it into the Krishna.
- It sought to meet the irrigation and drinking water needs of drought-prone Rayalaseema region in the state.
- It was declared as the first and fastest such irrigation project in the country to be completed on time, without any budget enhancements.
- It is claimed to be the first-ever river interlinking in south India.
- Lift Irrigation project - Pumps are used to lift the water from canals or rivers at lower level to the area at higher level for irrigation purpose.
Country in news - Suriname
- Recently, Indian President visited Suriname. This is the first ever visit of an Indian President to Suriname.
- Suriname is located on the northern coast of South America.
- Its capital, Paramaribo located on the Suriname River.
- It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, by French Guiana to the east, by Brazil to the south, and by Guyana to the west.
- The narrow coastal zone consists of sandbanks and mudbanks.
- It is deposited by the southern equatorial currents from the area surrounding the mouth of the Amazon River (located to the east of Suriname, in Brazil).
Transfer of Tiger
- Tigers are being translocated from one state to another for the first time in the country.
- The process is initiated to transfer from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh to Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha.
- Wildlife Wing of the State Government will have to work with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for translocation of the tigers.
Source: The Hindu, PIB.
