Smart City Portraits

Kochi is a port city on the southwest coast of India and part of the state of Kerala. It is set over 36.6 square miles and has a population of around 602,000. The city was selected as one of the first 20 Indian cities to be developed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission.

India’s Smart Cities Mission aims to create 100 smart cities in the country as a model for development and to bring improvements to nearby cities and towns. A total of ₹98,000 crores ($15 billion) has been approved by the Indian Cabinet for the development of 100 smart cities and rejuvenation of 500 others over five years. Cities are selected through the Smart Cities Challenge, based on feasibility and potential social and economic impact.

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the state of Odisha in India. Known as “the Temple City”, it is an emerging hub for education, health and information technology, as well as a popular tourist destination. The city has a population of around 840,000 and has won a number of awards and titles – for example, it is:

• The only Tier-2 city in India where all of India’s top five companies have bases. These are Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Mindtree.
• Ranked as the third best place to do business in India by the World Bank.
• One of the planned four Information Technology Investment Regions in India.
• American Planning Association’s Pierre L'Enfant International Planning Excellence Award Winner 2017.

Bhubaneswar was selected as one of the first 20 Indian cities to be developed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission.