Narendra Modi’s dream project, the GIFT megalopolis in Gujarat, offers vital clues to the NDA government’s vision for 100 smart cities

....

GIFT City, in all likelihood, will be India's first 'smart city' to be built from scratch. At GIFT City, the action is happening on the ground and under it. An army of workers is sweating in the sweltering sun, pounding roads and erecting buildings for a school, a fire station and a cooling plant. Workmen are also burrowing underground, digging what will eventually be a 12-km long maze of utility tunnels, through which everything from power cables to fibre optic cables to water pipelines will be routed.

....

A hundred smart cities may sound like a woolgatherer's wishlist, but the good news is the intent behind that vision — and the government's realization that India badly needs to overhaul its urban infrastructure. As one analyst who did not want to be named sums it up: "If we manage to renew even 10 of our tier II cities in the process, it would mean a great deal for India."