Technical Assistance as part of the National Smart Cities Mission in India
Context
Narendra Modi government launched the "Smart Cities Mission” in June 2015. This program aims to strengthen economic growth and improve the quality of life of city dwellers by encouraging ULBs and States to design and implement integrated territorial development strategies, using new technologies.
AFD provides technical expertise to local authorities in India (States and ULBs) in order to meet the different challenges posed by urban development in India: economic development, access to basic services and infrastructure, heritage and management of environmental impact of urban activities. To this end, AFD has deployed a technical assistance team to meet both technical expertise and capacity-building needs (consolidation of institutional and financial arrangements, provision of specific training, etc.).
Objective
Carried out between 2018 and 2020, the assignment included:
- An assistance to the structuring of the AFD program and technical support to the designated project owner;
- A technical assistance to three Indian cities (Chandigarh, Nagpur, Pondicherry) and the State of Maharashtra in the design and implementation of their development strategies and urban projects within the framework of the Smart Cities India program, including urban transport.
Our contribution
Within the framework of the mission of the technical assistance to 3 Indian cities, Espelia carried out the following tasks :
- Assistance to 3 cities (Chandigarh, Nagpur, Pondicherry) for the definition and implementation of their Smart City projects at the strategic, organizational, urban development and transport levels;
- Organization and facilitation of workshops for the structuring of Smart City projects in each of the three cities;
- Detailed review of the Nagpur Smart City project, in particular on the waste management dimension;
- Strategic diagnosis of Public Transport in Pondicherry.
Within the framework of the structuring and launch of the CITIIS program at the national level, Espelia, has carried out the following activities:
- Structuring of the AFD Smart City program at the national level;
- Organization and animation of workshops for the structuring of the national program;
- Review of Smart City projects in 20 Indian cities;
- Preparation of the Terms of Reference for the Smart City Call for Projects;
- Assistance to AFD and NIUA for the evaluation of the responses to the call for projects;
- Technical assistance for the organization and facilitation of the CITIIS program initiation workshop;
Proposal and drafting of a validation methodology for the maturation phase of the CITIIS program.
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