India’s Smart Cities Mission concluded in March 2025 after a decade that saw ₹1.6 lakh crore spent on more than 8,000 projects across 100 cities. It was an important beginning, but only that. The larger challenge now lies ahead. By 2030, nearly 600 million Indians are expected to live in urban areas, with another 400 million projected to be added over the following two decades. The Urban Challenge Fund, notified in April 2026, has already signalled where policy attention must shift: towards Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and towards projects capable…
Read MoreDePIN: Can Decentralised Infrastructure Power India’s Next 500 Smart Cities?
