Smart City and Urban Issues: A Case Study of Jaipur City, Rajasthan, India

India is the second largest country in the world with a population of 1210 million (1.21billion). The Population Census of India estimates that the country represents 17.31 percent of the world population. The country has 29 states and 07 union territories. It is fast becoming urbanized with the cities across the countries struggling to cope with the unfolding situation. The urgent burden has been that of providing a better quality of life to the urban population given the complex problems spanning poverty, disasters, pollution, and governance, preservation of heritage and culture, and urban planning. The Prime Minister of India has a vision of developing 100 smart cities including 04 cities in Rajasthan State by 2022.Rajasthan has a population of 68.6 million, and forms 5.66 percent of India in 2011. The concept of smart city is influenced by the idea of developing the urban hubs which would be running on technology to provide better electricity and water supply, improved sanitation and recycling of waste, proper traffic and transport management systems. This paper deals the pressing issues in an urbanizing India against the background of the concept of smart cities. The main issue underscored in the paper is how Information and Communication Technologies is a key to Smart Cities provided there is adequate preparation and training before such systems are implemented throughout India.

Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies, Urbanization, Smart Cities, Sustainable development.