Global Smart City Index: Indian cities slip; Singapore tops

On September 17, 2020, the Institute for Management Development along with Singapore University released the Smart City index for the year 2020. The report says that the Indian cities declined in their technological updates.

Key highlights

According to the report Indian cities slipped in their rankings. Hyderabad was at 85th position. The city was at 67th position in 2019. New Delhi slipped to 86th rank from 68th in 2019. Similarly, Mumbai and Bengaluru slipped from 78th and 79th position to 93rd and 95th position respectively.

Why the slipping?

According to the report, the slipping might have been due to the pandemic.  The pandemic had detrimental effect on these cities and on their technological advancements. Their technological advancements were not up to date. Out of the 15 indicators, the report says that air pollution is one of the key areas where these cities have to you prioritise on. Mumbai and Bengaluru face severe road congestion. On the other hand, Delhi and Hyderabad lagged on basic amenities.

Key Highlights: World

The Smart City Index 2020 was topped by Singapore. It was followed by Helsinki and Zurich at second and third positions respectively. The other world cities that topped the list were Auckland at 4th position, Oslo at fifth position, Copenhagen at sixth, Genva at seventh, Taipei at eighth, Amsterdam at ninth, and New York at tenth position.

What is a Smart City?

According to the Smart City Index, smart cities are those that apply technologies to diminish the shortcomings and enhance the benefits of urbanisation.

About Smart City index

This year the Smart City index has ranked 109 cities from all over the world. The index has been prepared by capturing perceptions of 120 residents in each City. The residents were chosen randomly. The Chosen residents were asked questions on technological provisions in their cities in five areas such as mobility, health and safety, activities, governance and opportunities.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2020