UPSC Mains 2016 GS Paper 3 Q4: model answer

Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam argued that if villages got urban amenities, people would not have to leave them. His idea, PURA, is a useful way to judge the Smart Cities Mission.

What smart cities are

• The Smart Cities Mission (2015) chose 100 cities for area-based development: retrofitting, redevelopment and greenfield projects.
• Pan-city solutions using ICT: Integrated Command and Control Centres, smart meters, intelligent transport.

Relevance

• Cities produce about 60% of GDP; their efficiency drives growth.
• Better water, sanitation, mobility and safety.
• Data-based governance: ICCCs were used to track COVID-19 in 2020.
• Record: the Mission formally ended in March 2025 after most of its 8,000-odd projects were completed, though critics noted that area-based projects served small parts of each city.

Will it widen rural–urban differences?

• Yes, if funds and jobs concentrate in a few cities, pulling migrants into slums.
• No, if cities act as growth centres that draw produce and labour from surrounding villages.
• The answer depends on whether city planning reaches the peri-urban fringe and small towns.

The case for smart villages

• PURA (2004): roads, electronic and knowledge connectivity for village clusters.
• Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (2016): 300 clusters with economic activity, skills and amenities.
• Reduces distress migration and city congestion.
• Uses BharatNet, e-governance and solar power.
• Keeps agro-processing and services close to farms, so value stays in the village.
• Builds markets that make city investments viable too.

Smart cities and smart villages are two halves of the same plan.