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When the Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015, it promised a new kind of urban India one where technology, infrastructure, and citizen needs would finally speak the same language. Ten years on, that promise has taken shape in ways both visible and subtle. In some cities, traffic signals now adjust to real-time congestion. In others, garbage bins send alerts when they’re full, and public parks run on solar power. These aren’t futuristic concepts anymore they’re part of daily life for millions.
As of July 2024, over Rs1.44 lakh crore worth of projects have been completed across 100 cities. But the real story isn’t in the numbers it’s in how different cities have interpreted the idea of “smart.” Pune, Indore, and Bhubaneswar have emerged as frontrunners, not because they followed a template, but because they shaped their own. Pune leaned into its tech roots, Indore built from the ground up, and Bhubaneswar focused on making smartness inclusive. Each city, in its own way, is rewriting what it means to be ready for the future.
Pune: Where Tech Meets the Everyday Commute
In Pune, smart city planning isn’t just a buzzword, it’s something you can feel on the road, in a bus, or even while paying your water bill. Over the past few years, the city has quietly stitched together a digital backbone that’s changing how people move, access services, and interact with their surroundings.
Take the electric buses, for instance. With over 100 now running across key routes, they’ve become a familiar sigh quiet, clean, and increasingly reliable. For office-goers and students, they’re more than a green initiative; they’re a smoother ride through Pune’s growing traffic.
At the heart of it all is the Smart City Operations Centre, a digital command room that monitors everything from traffic flow to water supply disruptions. It’s not flashy, but it’s functional helping the city respond faster to breakdowns, floods, or even festival crowd surges.
Indore: Where Clean Streets Meet Smart Systems
Walk through Indore’s bustling lanes and you’ll notice something unusual for an Indian city cleanliness that isn’t just cosmetic, but systemic. For years, Indore has topped the national cleanliness charts, but its smart city transformation goes far deeper than spotless roads and segregated waste.
The city has poured Rs6,300 crore into 226 smart projects, and it shows. RFID-tagged bins quietly track waste collection, underground pipelines keep garbage out of sight, and AI-powered segregation units hum away behind the scenes. It’s not flashy, but it’s efficient and residents say they feel the difference.
Solar panels now crown government buildings and schools, generating over 25 MW of clean energy. It’s a quiet shift, but one that’s helping the city cut costs and emissions. And in places like Rajwada and Chhappan Dukan, heritage zones have been retrofitted with smart lighting, better drainage, and pedestrian-friendly layouts preserving the old while making space for the new.
Bhubaneswar: Planning for People, Not Just Projects
In Bhubaneswar, smart city development hasn’t been about chasing the latest tech, it’s been about making the city more livable, especially for those who’ve long been left out of urban planning conversations. From the start, the city’s approach has been quiet, deliberate, and deeply rooted in inclusion.
With Rs3,589 crore invested across 106 completed projects, Bhubaneswar has focused on building systems that serve everyone. The Intelligent City Operations and Management Centre (ICOMC) may sound like a high-tech hub and it is but its real value lies in how it helps the city respond faster to traffic snarls, water shortages, and emergencies. It’s not just about data—it’s about decisions.
Perhaps most notably, Bhubaneswar has made social equity a cornerstone of its smart city blueprint. Slum redevelopment isn’t just about relocation, it’s about dignity, with housing, sanitation, and skill centers built into the plan. Young people from these communities now train in digital literacy and vocational skills, preparing for jobs that didn’t exist a decade ago.
This isn’t a city chasing headlines—it’s building quietly, with purpose. Bhubaneswar’s smartness lies in its empathy. It’s not trying to impress—it’s trying to include.
Comparative Snapshot
No One-Size-Fits-All Smartness
There’s no single definition of a “smart city” that fits neatly across India’s diverse urban landscape. What works in Pune doesn’t always apply to Bhubaneswar, and Indore’s strengths aren’t easily replicated elsewhere. Each city has carved its own path guided by local leadership, community needs, and the realities on the ground.
With the Smart Cities Mission nearing its March 2025 deadline, these cities aren’t just showcasing completed projects they’re showing what it means to evolve. The numbers Rs6,300 crore in Indore, 100+ electric buses in Pune, 106 completed projects in Bhubaneswar tell part of the story. But the real measure is in how people experience their city differently today than they did a decade ago.
