India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020

The India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC) is organized under the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

Table of Contents

India Smart Cities Awards Contest 2020- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

India Smart Cities Awards 2020 in News

Recently, India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020 ceremony was organized ‘Smart Cities, Smart Urbanization’ Conference 2022.
Award winners of the India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020 were felicitated at the ‘Smart Cities, Smart Urbanization’ Conference 2022.
- These awards were earlier announced through a virtual conference in 2021.
- However, the award distribution ceremony was deferred due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation at that time.

About: The India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC) is organized under the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
- Under India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC), pioneering city strategies, projects and ideas are recognized based on innovation, impact and replicability/scalability.
Significance: The ISAC recognizes and rewards cities, projects and innovative ideas that are promoting sustainable development in urban areas in India.
- The India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC) is also stimulating inclusive, equitable, safe, healthy and collaborative cities, thus enhancing the quality of life for all.

Smart cities and Academia towards Action and Research (SAAR)

India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020 Facts

Best Performing City and State: Surat and Indore were given the Best city award, while Uttar Pradesh was awarded the Best State in the India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020.
- Indore won awards in six categories while Surat received five awards at India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020.
Best Performing Union Territories (UT): Chandigarh has been adjudged the best Union territory in the India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC, 2020).
- The city won the award on the basis of its performances in the India Cycles4Change Challenge, ClimateSmart Cities Challenge, Streets4People Challenge, Tulip and DataSmart Cities.
- It also won an award in the cultural category for its heritage work at the Capitol Complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

इंडिया स्मार्ट सिटीज अवार्ड्स प्रतियोगिता (आईएसएसी) 2020 | आईएसएसी 2020 के अंतर्गत विजित होने वाले स्मार्ट शहरों की सूची

List of Winners of India Smart Cities Awards Contest 2020

City Award

Overall Winner

Indore and Surat

Smart CitiesLeadership Award

1st – Ahmedabad

2nd – Varanasi

3rd – Ranchi

State/UT Award

State Award

1st – Uttar Pradesh

2nd – Madhya Pradesh

3rd – Tamil Nadu

UT Award

Chandigarh

Project Awards
Theme/Aspect	Winners
Social Aspects	1st – Tirupati
	2nd – Bhubaneshwar
	3rd – Tumakuru
Build Environment	1st – Indore
	2nd – Surat
	3rd – Erode
Sanitation	1st – Tirupati
	1st – Indore
	3rd – Surat
Culture	1st – Indore
	1st – Chandigarh
	3rd – Gwalior
Economy	1st – Indore
	2nd – Tirupati
	2nd – Agra
Governance	1st – Vadodara
	2nd – Thane
	3rd – Bhubaneshwar
Urban Environment	1st – Bhopal
	2nd – Chennai
	3rd – Tirupati
Urban Mobility	1st – Aurangabad
	2nd – Surat
	3rd – Ahmedabad
Water	1st – Dehradun
	1st – Varanasi
	3rd – Surat
Sustainable Business Model	Agartala
Innovative Idea Award	Indore
COVID Innovation Award	Joint Winners – Kalyan-Dombivali and Varanasi
COVID Innovation Award (Round-wise)	Round 1 – Chennai Round 2 – Kalyan-Dombivali and Varanasi Round 3 – Bengaluru Round 4 – Saharanpur

Smart Cities Mission (SCM)

About: Smart Cities Mission (SCM) is a transformational Mission aimed to bring about a paradigm shift in the practice of urban development in the country.
- Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was launched on 25^thJune, 2015 by the Prime Minister of India.
- Projects developed under the Smart Cities Mission are multi-sectoral and mirror the aspirations of the local population.
Project Completion: Of the total proposed projects under SCM-
- 7,905 projects worth ₹1,93,143 crore (94% by value) have been tendered so far,
- work orders have been issued for 7,692 projects worth around ₹1,80,508 crore (88% by value).
- 3,830 projects worth ₹60,919 crore (33% by value) have also been fully completed and are operational (10 April 2022).
Fund Allocation and Usage: Of the total investment of ₹2,05,018 crore under the Smart Cities Mission, projects worth ₹93,552 crore was proposed to be developed by Center and State funds.
- As on date, almost 100% of these projects eprojects worth ₹92,300 crore have been work ordered.
- From 2018 when the total expenditure in mission was ₹1,000 crore, it has increased to ₹45,000 crore.
- The utilization percentage of the total GoI funds released to cities is at 91%.
Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs): As on date, 80 Smart cities have developed and operationalized their Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) in the country.
- These operational ICCCs functioned as war rooms for COVID management.
- Along with other smart infrastructure developed under the mission, ICCCs helped cities in fighting the pandemic through information dissemination, improving communication, predictive analysis and supporting effective management.