Bloomberg Philanthropies, UD min sign pact on smart city

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg today announced a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Urban Development Ministry to advance the government's ambitious smart cities initiative.
Under the partnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide funds and other assistance to Urban Development Ministry to implement the Smart Cities project in select cities.
The announcement was made after Bloomberg's meeting with Modi.
"The Prime Minister described the Smart Cities Initiative as a challenging task, which nevertheless has to be undertaken to improve the quality of life for India's urban citizens with stakeholder's participation," a government release said.

The Smart Cities Initiative is aimed to promote economic growth, improve governance, and deliver more effective and efficient public services to India's urban residents.
"Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide assistance to the Ministry of Urban Development to select cities for Smart Cities Mission funding on a continuous basis," the release said.

It said "This approach is different from the conventional approach, which involved preparation of Detailed Project Reports, and their appraisal and approval by the central government.
"It will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualise the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism."

Earlier, Bloomberg met Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and discussed various urban development issues including the Smart City project.