Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Hon’ Prime Minister on 25 June, 2015. The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’. The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities. 100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities through a two-stage competition.

The Mission is operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Central Government will give financial support to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over 5 years i.e. on an average Rs.100 crore per city per year. An equal amount on a matching basis is to be provided by the State/ULB. Additional resources are to be raised through convergence, from ULBs’ own funds, grants under Finance Commission, innovative finance mechanisms such as Municipal Bonds, other government programs and borrowings. Emphasis has been given on the participation of private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Citizens’ aspirations were captured in the Smart City Proposals (SCPs) prepared by the selected cities. Aggregated at the national level, these proposals contained more than 5,000 projects worth over Rs. 2,00,000 crores, of which 45 percent is to be funded through Mission grants, 21 percent through convergence, 21 percent through PPP and rest from other sources.

There is no standard definition or template of a smart city.  In the context of our country, the six fundamental principles on which the concept of Smart Cities is based are:

• Community at core: communities at the core of planning and implementation
• More from less: ability to generate greater outcomes with use of lesser resources
• Cooperative & competitive federalism: cities selected through competition; flexibility to implement projects.
• Integration, innovation & sustainability: innovating methods; integrated and sustainable solutions.
• Technology as mean not the goal: careful selection of technology, relevant to context of cities. 
• Convergence: sectorial and financial convergence

Six key smart city objectives – and one major

So instead of talking about smart parking, smart healthcare, smart agriculture, smart transportation, smart government, smart energy or smart this or that, one can look at how smart city initiatives are initiated to achieve one or more of the following objectives:

• Efficiency of services – to optimize the use of public resources and provide a high level of citizen service.
• Sustainability – to grow & develop the city with strong consideration to environmental impact.
• Mobility – to make it easy for citizens, workers and visitors to move around in the city, whether by foot, bike, car, public transport etc. (regardless of transportation means).
• Safety & security – to improve public safety & security in every-day life and at special events, as well as being best possibly prepared for emergencies and disasters.
• Economic growth – to attract businesses, investors, citizens and visitors.
• City reputation – to constantly improve the city’s image & reputation.

Successful smart city projects, regardless of their core objectives, will help cities get closer to their ultimate goal to improve the overall quality of life, or in smart city terms, “Livability”.

Technology cornerstones of a smart city

Smart city projects also share three common technology cornerstones – IoT sensors, connectivity, and data. The sensors are represented by any connected device that supply information to the network, connectivity is provided by fixed or wireless networks, and data represent the storage, analysis and presentation of real-time and historical data. By connecting these three cornerstones, cities are provided with a powerful platform for new and more efficient ways of creating more livable cities. This is well demonstrated by the following smart city use cases:

• Smart waste management. The garbage containers are equipped with sensors, letting the collection company know how full they are. The collection routes are automatically optimized based on actual needs.
• Smart parking solutions, where sensors keep track of available parking lots. Available parking possibilities are presented to drivers, either via digital signs along the roads, or via mobile apps, so that they easily can find and navigate to the best parking option.
• Smart building automation systems, that e.g. automatically adapt heating and ventilation to the level of occupancy and ensure that lights are turned off when no one is in the room.
• Smart public safety & security solutions, where various sensors and connected cameras enable law enforcement and other first responders to efficiently react to, respond to and solve incidents and emergencies.

Each of these use cases addresses more than one of the six key smart city objectives listed above, and are based on different combinations of sensors, connectivity and data. And next time you hear about a smart city project, it can be helpful to ask yourself which of the six key smart city objectives the project addresses and how it uses sensors, connectivity and data to improve the overall quality-of-life – or livability – in the city. If you do this, it is likely that you soon will be much closer to having an answer to what the heck a smart city really is.

Smart City Phulera is a dream envisaged by ABR GREENS INFRASTRUCTURE. An infrastructural project, Smart City Phulera is a township that primarily comprises both- residential and commercial plots in Phulera. Phulera- a district in Jaipur, is where this township we’re talking about is located. The place is serene and has a vibe of a cultural city and the dynamism of a business city in making, simultaneously. In fact, it is this unique flavor that tempted the ABR Greens Infratech to invest in this particular part of the country.

Phulera is a suburb located in the district of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Phulera is surrounded by naturally beautiful lakes that are quite huge, heritage sites that are worth watching and is also home to one of the largest mega infrastructure projects by the Government of India by DMIC and DFCC (Western Corridor).

Salient Features: Spread across an area of 36,000 sq yards; plot sizes ranging from 100-300 sq yards are available for purchase.

Smart City Phulera’s plots in Phulera have a great connectivity link via rail, road and air. The township is strategically located in Phulera, which has been identified as a vital junction in the DMIC project. The Kishangarh Airport, which is nearby should be operational by 2016. NH8, the Jaipur–Ajmer Expressway manages the national road network.

Manipal University, J K Lakshmipati University, Jyoti Vidyapeeth Women University, Birla International School and ITI are just a few names from the list of various reputed learning schools and colleges established in the proximity to Phulera plots.

Solar Plant: The world’s largest solar power plant, known as the “Ultra-Mega Green Solar Power Project” is an upcoming project in this part of the country which is near Sambhar Lake. The 1st Phase was already launched back on 1st Feb’14.

MWC (Mahindra World City): An integrated business city with SEZs (Special Economic Zones)- the MWC is spread across 3000 acres and is advantageously located close to the AM Realty Solution’s township; India’s Largest IT SEZ of around 750 acres.

Vastu: The architecture has been planned keeping Vastu recommendations in mind. While as builders, it has been a prime responsibility to chart out plot dimensions, keeping in mind the architectural specifications simultaneously- the sacred principles of the Vastu science haven’t been ignored too.

Preserving surroundings: Horticultural experts have been assigned the job of preserving the natural beauty that adorns Phulera.

Leisure options: Sambhar Lake is a popular tourist destination. Locals and visitors frequently book a water ride to enjoy bird watching. The lake is just a few kilometres away from the residential plots in Phulera. Besides, the famous Shakambari Temple is barely a few minutes drive away from this township. Thus, the benefit of one’s spiritual fulfilment corresponds with the Phulera plots.