The ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Tuesday issued a detailed advisory to repurpose the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) created under the Smart Cities Mission, aiming to leverage their institutional capacity for long-term urban transformation even after the scheme’s closure on March 31. The advisory encourages states and Union Territories to identify pressing urban development priorities and assign new strategic roles to the SPVs, which were originally formed to plan and execute city-level infrastructure projects under the 2015 Smart Cities Mission. According to the ministry, the SPVs will now be guided to operate in five broad domains: technology support, project implementation, consulting, research and assessment, and investment facilitation. These areas reflect an effort to integrate SPVs more closely with ongoing state and city development agendas. The government noted that over the past decade, Smart Cities SPVs have demonstrated their ability to deliver complex, cross-sectoral projects with efficiency and innovation. The ministry also highlighted the investments made in establishing Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), which have played a key role in urban governance and data-driven decision-making. With the Smart Cities Mission officially concluded, the Centre’s move to repurpose SPVs is aimed at sustaining the momentum of urban innovation and reinforcing the technical and managerial capacity of Urban Local Bodies. The advisory is intended as a strategic framework for states to ensure that these purpose-built institutions continue to address evolving urban challenges in areas such as infrastructure, technology, and service delivery.
