Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, announced that on January 21 2022, Smart Cities tendered out 6,721 projects worth Rs 1,88,507 crore. The work order for 6,124 projects worth Rs 1,62,908 crore has been allocated. Meanwhile, 3,421 projects worth Rs 58,735 crore are finished. On January 21, 2022, the Indian Government released Rs 28,413.60 crore for 100 Smart Cities, out of which 83% (Rs 23,668.27 crore) has been used. The Government of India introduced Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on 25 June 2015. From January 2016 to June 2018, 100 Smart Cities have been chosen via four rounds of competition. According to SCM guidelines, the Central Government has to provide financial aid of Rs 48,000 crore for over five years, which is Rs 100 crore for each city per year. Puri informed that the State Government and Urban Local Body (ULB) is contributing an equal amount as well. Currently, there is no offer under consideration of the Government to add more cities under SCM. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Smart Cities Mission. It is an urban revival and modifying program by the Indian Government. The mission is to develop smart cities across the country and make them sustainable. The purpose is to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that deliver core infrastructure and provide a decent quality of life to their citizens. Image Source Also read: In 2021, over 6k Smart City projects worth Rs 1,84,998 cr tendered