Union Government Launches India Smart Cities Fellowship and Internship Program

Ministry of State for Housing & Urban Affairs, launched several new initiatives under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) & Smart Cities Mission on 9th July, 2018.

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  • These included India Smart Cities Fellowship (ISCF) Program; India Smart Cities Internship (ISCI) Program; Smart Cities Digital Payments Awards 2018; & CITIIS Challenge under Smart Cities Mission.
  • Ministry also announced implementation of Local Area Plan (LAP) or Town Planning Scheme (TPS) in 25 cities on pilot basis under AMRUT.

India Smart Cities Fellowship (ISCF) Program

  • India Smart Cities Fellowship Program aims to provide valuable experience to youth interested in smart cities specifically & in urban renewal sector in general.
  • This program will nurture young leaders, strengthen their understanding of Indian urban sector & prepare them for greater leadership roles in future.
  • Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) will engage 30 young graduates, postgraduates, & PhDs in fields of urban planning, urban design, engineering, information & technology, urban mobility, finance, social sector & environmental issues as smart cities fellows.
  • Period of engagement is 1 year & is extendable up to 3 years.
  • Youth will provide necessary support to Office of Mission Director, Smart Cities in MoHUA & CEOs of selected Smart Cities in terms of analytics, research, documentation, independent assessment, etc.
  • Interested applicants can apply for this program online thru at [Click Here for Information] till 31st August, 2018. Applications received will be scrutinised & shortlisted by Selection Committee.

India Smart Cities Internship (ISCI) Program

  • MoHUA will engage students pursuing Under Graduate, Graduate, & Post Graduate degree as Interns to help implementation of Smart City Projects in various States⟋Cities.
  • Internship will be on unpaid basis for period of 6 to 12 weeks.
  • Students will be given Experience Certificate at end successful completion of program.
  • ISCIs will be given exposure in various areas of development under Smart Cities Mission including urban planning, urban design, engineering, information & technology, urban mobility, finance, social sector, & environmental issues.
  • Interns shall be part of Smart Cities Mission, & their role primarily would be in implementation, reporting, evaluation & monitoring, knowledge management, stakeholder engagement, media outreach & other similar activities.

The Smart Cities Digital Payments Awards 2018

  • Smart Cities Digital Payments Awards (SCDPA) 2018 - 100 days Challenge in 100 Smart Cities is part of initiatives of MoHUA to promote ease of living for India՚s urban residents.
  • Objective of these awards is to guide, motivate, recognise & reward Smart Cities for promoting digital payments & carrying out innovative payment initiatives in their respective cities.
  • This program will reward cities at forefront of digital payments & act as encouragement for other cities to follow suite & strengthen their digital payments infrastructure & create awareness thru promotion of digital payments.
  • Challenge period would be 100 days starting from launch of awards. Awards will be conferred based on 2-stage process.
  • Evaluation Committee (s) chaired by Secretary, MoHUA & comprising of other members shall comprise Jury.
  • Timelines for awards program are as follows:
    • Submission of responses for 1st stage: 15th September
    • Shortlist declaration for 1st stage: 30th September
    • Template sharing for 2nd stage evaluation: 15th October (template will be shared w⟋shortlisted cities only)
    • Submission of responses for 2nd stage: 30th October
    • Final results: Dates will be announced later.
  • 3 awards will be conferred in 4 categories.
Table contain shows the City Category and Population
City CategoryPopulation
Category 1< 5 Lac
Category 25 - 10 Lac
Category 31 mn - 4 mn
Category 44 mn +
  • Hence, total of 12 awards will be conferred as part of this program.
  • 3 Awards are:
    • Best digital payments adopter - Award will be conferred to Smart City that exhibits overall excellence in digital payments across diff. channels & payments instrument to ensure anytime, anywhere payments for all
    • Best digital payments innovator - Award will be conferred to Smart City that exhibits most innovative implementation of digital payments options for its citizens
    • Fastest growing Smart City focusing on digital payments - Award will be given to city having highest growth rate in digital payment transactions by volume & value in recent past.

Cities Investment to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) Challenge

  • CITIIS Challenge process is being applied to implementation of Smart Cities Mission in line w⟋NITI Aayog guideline where under Indo-French partnership program, at least 15 projects would be selected thru All-India Challenge.
  • Projects would be in 4 sectors- Sustainable Mobility, Public Open Spaces, Urban governance & ICT & Social & Organizational Innovation in low-income settlements.
  • Duration of program will be 3 years from 2018 - 19 to 2020 - 21.
  • Loan of 100 million Euros would be extended by French Development Agency (AFD) to selected CITIIS projects in form of grant.
  • Repayment of principle & interest would be equally shared by Central Govt. & State Govt. on 50: 50 basis.
  • Each awarded CITIIS project will be benefitted from grant ranging from ₹ 20 cr. to ₹ 80 cr. w⟋max. project outlay of ₹ 160 cr.
  • CITIIS grant is expected to cover min. 50% up to 80% of project cost subject to max. of ₹ 80 cr. & additional funding amounting to 20% of project will be secured by awarded cities thru its own resources.
  • National institute of Urban Affairs would conduct Challenge process for selection of projects under Indo-French partnership.

Local Area Plan (LAP) and Town Planning Scheme (TPS)

  • Local Area Plan (LAP) & Town Planning Scheme (TPS) are formulated under AMRUT to enable planning for developing infrastructure in Brownfield areas & Greenfield areas.
  • Brownfield areas are those parts of city that are already developed but not able to sustain pressure on existing infrastructure. On other hand, Greenfield areas are located at periphery of city that is prone to haphazard growth & development.
  • They will be implemented in 25 selected cities on pilot basis.
  • Brownfield areas can be redeveloped by preparing Local Area based Plans (LAP) . While at same time, Town Planning Schemes (TPS) can be implemented for planned urban expansion in peripheral Greenfield areas.
  • Scheme will enable selected cities to formulate Local Area based Plans (LAP) & Town Planning Schemes (TPS) for which 100% central assistance would be available.
  • Amount of ₹ 50 cr. would be provided as Central assistance at ₹ 2 cr. per city for identified 25 cities for preparing LAP⟋TPS.
  • Town & Country Planning Organisation (TCPO) will provide handholding support to state nodal agency.

Examrace Team at Aug 20, 2021