How does smart city in India, address the issues of urban poverty and distributive justice?
Approach · directive: “how”
What it asks · Assess how the Smart Cities Mission's design and projects help (or fail to help) the urban poor and spread the gains of urban development fairly.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Explain how the Smart Cities Mission addresses urban poverty — services, mobility, livelihoods and access
- Explain how it addresses distributive justice — who gains, who is left out, and what would make it fairer
Open with · Launched in June 2015 for 100 cities, the Smart Cities Mission sought liveable, inclusive cities through area-based development and pan-city technology solutions.
Cover
- Basic services: water supply, sewerage, solid waste and street lighting upgrades in project areas improve daily life for low-income households.
- Public transport, footpaths and cycle tracks benefit the poor who walk, cycle or take buses; public spaces open to all.
- Integrated Command and Control Centres and e-services improve grievance redress and service delivery, reducing dependence on middlemen.
- Social infrastructure: smart classrooms, health centres, skill centres and vending zones in several cities support livelihoods.
- Critique: area-based development favoured small, often better-off pockets; SPVs bypassed elected urban local bodies; evictions of slums and hawkers.
- Justice needs convergence: PMAY-Urban housing, DAY-NULM livelihoods, participatory ward-level planning and bridging the digital divide.
Close with · A smart city becomes a just city only when technology is matched by inclusive planning and accountable local democracy.
Add value (verified)
- A PIB note on ten years of the mission records that about 94% of 8,067 projects were completed by May 2025, and that some challenges targeted vulnerable groups' access to public spaces. 10 Years of Smart Cities Mission — PIB backgrounder (2025) ↗“To ensure inclusive access to public spaces, initiatives such as the ‘Placemaking Marathons’ and ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge’ focused on vulnerable groups”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 212 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Launched in June 2015 for 100 cities, the Smart Cities Mission pursued liveable, inclusive cities through area-based development and pan-city digital solutions; about 94% of its 8,067 projects were complete by May 2025.
Addressing urban poverty
- Basic services: upgraded water supply, sewerage, solid-waste management and street lighting in project areas improve daily life for low-income households.
- Mobility: buses, footpaths, cycle tracks and public spaces serve those who walk, cycle or ride public transport.
- Livelihoods and social infrastructure: vending zones, skill centres, smart classrooms and health centres in several cities.
- Digital delivery: Integrated Command and Control Centres and e-services ease grievance redress and cut dependence on middlemen.
Distributive justice: the record
- Inclusion efforts such as Placemaking Marathons and the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge focused on vulnerable groups' access to public spaces.
- Yet area-based development concentrated funds in small, often better-off pockets; SPVs bypassed elected municipal bodies; evictions of slums and hawkers in some cities shifted, rather than shared, the costs of 'smartness'.
- The digital divide means e-governance gains reach the poor unevenly.
Making smart cities just
- Converge with PMAY-Urban housing and DAY-NULM livelihoods, plan through ward committees, and judge success by outcomes for the poorest.
A smart city becomes a just city only when technology is matched by inclusive planning and accountable local democracy.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.