Modi and Bloomberg develop “Smart Cities” initiative

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg (pictured) have announced a partnership to develop the country’s ambitious “Smart Cities” initiative.

The partnership between the Ministry of Urban Development and Bloomberg Philanthropies will promote economic growth, improve governance and develop effective public services in urban areas.

A formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and Bloomberg Philanthropies would be signed in a month, according to media reports.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Bloomberg Philanthropies “will provide assistance to the ministry of urban development to select cities for Smart Cities Mission funding on a continuous basis … It will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualize the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism.”

The ministry is working on a scheme to encourage competition among cities to be selected for the project.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is expected to assist the ministry in selecting the cities.

Bloomberg met Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and addressed the fact that in the US, state and city governments are more pro-active than the federal government in terms of urban development.

Bloomberg also highlighted the growing pressure on global financial institutions not to support development that doesn’t adequately address environmental concerns.

Modi said: "The Smart Cities initiative is a challenging task, which nevertheless has to be undertaken to improve the quality of life for India's urban citizens with stakeholder's participation."

Bloomberg has just committed US$125 million to a new global road safety initiative that aims to reduce fatalities due to accidents.

India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world and Mumbai has been selected as one of 20 cities in the world where Bloomberg Philanthropies will work with local governments to tackle the problem.

India has also been selected as one of the five countries to receive technical support from the Bloomberg trust for reviewing and improving road safety legislations.

A statement from Bloomberg on Thursday said: "We can prevent millions of road traffic fatalities and injuries through stronger laws, more effective enforcement and better infrastructure. Road traffic deaths will become increasingly common in the years ahead, unless we take decisive action now to prevent them."