Context: The ISAC awards for 2022 have recently been announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

• The awards will be presented by President at Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

About India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC) 2022

• It is organized under the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

• This is the fourth edition of the ISAC awards.

• It has witnessed three editions in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

• There were no awards in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• In this, pioneering city strategies, projects and ideas are recognized to award exemplary performance, enable peer-peer learning and disseminate best practices.

• It recognizes and rewards the cities, projects and innovative ideas that are promoting sustainable development across the 100 smart cities.

• It stimulates inclusive, equitable, safe, healthy and collaborative cities, thus enhancing quality of life for all.

Submission Process for ISAC Awards

• It had a two-stage submission process consisting of Qualifying Stage and Proposal Stage.

• Qualifying Stage involves an overall assessment of the city’s performance.

• The proposal Stage required the smart cities to submit their nominations for six award categories.

Project Awards: 10 different themes,

• Innovation Awards: 2 different themes,

• National/Zonal City Awards,

• State Awards,

• UT Award, and

• Partners Awards: 3 different themes.

Results of India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC) 2022

Among states

• Madhya Pradesh has been chosen as the top State for exemplary performance in the Smart Cities Mission.

• Tamil Nadu is the second in the State category followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Among Union Territories

• The award for the best Union Territory has gone to Chandigarh.

Among Smart Cities

• Indore has been adjudged the Best Smart City.

• Surat and Agra are the second and third-place winners among cities.

About Smart Cities Mission (SCM)

• It was launched in 2015 to provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of smart solutions.

• Of the total proposed projects under SCM, 76% of the projects have been completed.

• The remaining 1,894 projects will be completed by June 2024.

• 100 Smart Cities have taken up projects across sectors related to mobility, energy, water, sanitation, solid waste management, vibrant public spaces, social infrastructure, smart governance, etc.