ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND ISSUES FACED IN INDIAN SMART CITIES

Abstract

The current research presents issues and challenges to Smart City projects in India that focus on the development of various factors hampering effective execution of smart city projects in India, for instance, availability of funds, skilled labor, and political stability. It also encompasses ways that various smart city initiatives affected the environment, public safety, crime rates, and energy consumption. Now smart cities have definitely become an aspirational solution for better quality of life for urban citizens in India, but imminently face manifold challenges and problems in their implementation and management. This research project tries to identify and provide an insight into different problems and challenges that smart cities in India may face. The research considered a survey approach to garner the views of residents in India about smart cities. The different statistical techniques applied during the analyses of collected data include descriptive statistics, t-test, test of chi-square, and regression analysis of data. Results showed that the parameters shaping up around population density, availability of skilled labour, digital literacy, funds available, and citizen participation were critical factors in the determination of the success of initiatives under the smart city projects in India. This study would be helpful for the policymakers, city planners, and other stakeholders in implementing and monitoring smart city projects in India. Despite the bright concept of a smart city regarding a range of benefits, working and implementation of smart cities in India has been a lot of struggle and challenges. These include, amongst others, insufficient funds, lack of skilled human resources, political instability, and change resistance. Of course, the smartness of a city is greatly dependent on the uptake and engagement of the citizens; hence, its perception and attitude toward smart city initiatives are also in focus. This project, therefore, sets out by presenting some research about smart cities and the challenges and issues experienced in developing them in India. In this research study, data collection would be done through a questionnaire-based survey among the residents of selected smart cities in India. The data would be analyzed through descriptive statistics, chi-square test, t-test, and regression analysis. This study gives additional proof regarding the problems and issues impacting smart cities in India and will possibly expose available solutions.