For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international Significance

 

For Mains Examination: GS II - Governance

 

 

Recently, the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) released the Smart City Index 2025, in which Swiss cities continue to dominate. Indian cities continue to be part of the global smart city movement, but they remain outside the top 20. In this context, it becomes important to not only know the key highlights but also learn about India’s Smart City Mission and go beyond it to understand how smart and intelligent villages can contribute to rural development.

 

 

 

India’s Smart City Mission

 

International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

 

 

 

 

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) recently published the Smart City Index 2025, which defines a smart city as “an urban environment that leverages technology to maximise benefits and reduce the challenges of urbanisation for its residents.”

The ranking assesses cities across five dimensions: health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance. In 2025, Zurich continues to hold the top position, with Geneva rising to third place and Lausanne ranking 10th, reflecting Switzerland’s robust urban planning and citizen-focused infrastructure. This year, six new cities entered the global rankings: AlUla (Saudi Arabia), Astana (Kazakhstan), Caracas (Venezuela), Kuwait City (Kuwait), Manama (Bahrain), and San Juan (Puerto Rico).

Indian Cities in the Smart City Index 2025

Indian cities remain part of the global smart city movement but are still outside the top 20. While improvements have been made in infrastructure, digital adoption, and citizen services, challenges in governance, mobility, and human development continue to affect their global standings.

 

 

Smart Cities Mission and Its Objectives

Launched on June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Its goal is to develop urban areas that provide core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment, and an improved quality of life for residents using smart solutions.

The mission seeks to promote economic growth and inclusive development through replicable urban models that can serve as examples for other cities. Cities across India were invited to propose projects to enhance municipal services and make urban areas more liveable. Between January 2016 and June 2018, the Ministry selected 100 cities in five rounds for the mission.

Implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the mission does not follow a rigid template. Instead, it is guided by six core principles:

1. Communities at the centre of planning and execution

2. Maximising outcomes with minimal resources

3. Cooperative & Competitive Federalism – cities selected competitively with flexibility to implement projects

4. Innovative, integrated, and sustainable solutions

5. Technology as a means, not the goal – adopting tech relevant to the city’s context

6. Convergence – both sectoral and financial

A strategic feature of the mission is area-based development, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment), city extension (greenfield development), along with pan-city initiatives where smart solutions are applied across larger urban areas. Key focus areas include walkways, pedestrian crossings, cycling tracks, waste-management systems, and integrated traffic management

Smart and Intelligent Village

• Recently, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the creation of India’s first “Smart and Intelligent Village” in Satnavari, located 31 km from Nagpur.
• A Smart Intelligent Village is envisioned as a model for rural development that integrates digital technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and seamless connectivity to enhance daily life in villages.
• The project was proposed by Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE), a consortium of leading Indian telecom companies. The pilot was completed by Independence Day 2025 and formally launched on August 24, 2025.
• According to Rakesh Kumar Bhatnagar, Director General of VoICE, the initiative aims to simplify rural life, enabling villagers to leverage digital and AI tools for agriculture, cultivation, and other everyday activities

 

Follow Up Question

 

1. How does smart city in India, address the issues of urban poverty and distributive justice? (UPSC CSE 2025)

2. With a brief background of the quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme.’ (UPSC CSE 2016)

 

All India Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

 

For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international Significance

For Mains Examination: GS III - Economy

Context:

As per the revised calendar, the Quick Estimate of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) will now be released on 28^th of every month (or next working day if 28^th is a holiday). The index is compiled with data received from source agencies, which in turn receive the data from the producing factories/ establishments. These Quick Estimates will undergo revision in subsequent releases as per the revision policy of IIP

 

Read about:

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) 

 

Key takeaways:

 

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a key statistical measure that reflects the performance and growth of various sectors of the industrial economy within a country.
• Essentially, it provides a quantitative snapshot of how much output is being produced by industries over a specific period of time, typically on a monthly basis.
• It captures the fluctuations in production levels in sectors like manufacturing, mining, and electricity, which are crucial components of the industrial landscape.
• The IIP is designed to track changes in production relative to a base year, which is a reference year where the index is standardized at 100.
• By comparing current production levels to the base year, the IIP indicates whether industrial activity is expanding, contracting, or remaining stable. For example, an IIP value of 120 means that industrial production has increased by 20% compared to the base year, while a value of 90 would indicate a 10% decline.
• One of the main purposes of the IIP is to provide a real-time gauge of industrial growth, which is essential for economic planning and policymaking.
• Governments, central banks, and businesses closely monitor it to understand trends in industrial output, assess the health of the economy, and make informed decisions regarding investments, fiscal policies, and monetary policies.
• It also helps in analyzing the impact of economic reforms, technological changes, or global events on domestic industries.
• The IIP does not measure the absolute level of industrial production in monetary terms; instead, it focuses on the volume of production, removing price effects to provide a clearer picture of actual industrial activity.
• Moreover, it is often broken down into categories such as core industries, manufacturing sub-sectors, and consumer vs. capital goods, offering more detailed insights into which parts of industry are driving growth or facing challenges.

 

Additional Information

 

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a growth of 3.5% in July 2025, up from 1.5% in June 2025 (Quick Estimate). The performance of the three key sectors in July 2025 showed varied trends, with Mining declining by 7.2%, Manufacturing increasing by 5.4%, and Electricity rising marginally by 0.6%.
• The Quick Estimate of the overall IIP for July 2025 stands at 155.0, compared to 149.8 in July 2024. Sector-wise, the indices are 107.7 for Mining, 156.9 for Manufacturing, and 221.5 for Electricity.
• Within the manufacturing segment, 14 out of 23 industry groups at the NIC 2-digit level reported positive growth in July 2025 compared to the same month last year. The leading contributors to growth were the Manufacture of basic metals (12.7%), Manufacture of electrical equipment (15.9%), and Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (9.5%).
• In the basic metals group, items such as MS slabs, HR coils and sheets of mild steel, and flat products of alloy steel contributed significantly.
• Within electrical equipment, key contributors included electric heaters, electrical apparatus for switching or protecting circuits (like switchgear, circuit breakers, control panels), and small transformers.
• For other non-metallic mineral products, significant growth was driven by all types of cement, cement clinkers, and marble slabs (polished or unpolished).
• Looking at IIP based on the use-based classification, the indices for July 2025 were 147.6 for Primary Goods, 119.7 for Capital Goods, 174.1 for Intermediate Goods, and 201.0 for Infrastructure/Construction Goods.
• Among consumer goods, Consumer Durables recorded an index of 136.3, while Consumer Non-Durables stood at 147.8.
• The corresponding growth rates compared to July 2024 were -1.7% for Primary Goods, 5.0% for Capital Goods, 5.8% for Intermediate Goods, 11.9% for Infrastructure/Construction Goods, 7.7% for Consumer Durables, and 0.5% for Consumer Non-Durables.
• On the basis of use, the top three contributors to IIP growth in July 2025 were Infrastructure/Construction Goods, Intermediate Goods, and Consumer Durables

 

 

Global South.

For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international significance

For Mains Examination: GS II -Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in Kananaskis where he will also address the G7 leaders’ outreach session

 

Read about:

What is the Global South?

G7 Summit 2025

 

Key takeaways:

 

The "Global South" is a term that has gained prominence in recent years to describe a grouping of countries primarily characterized by shared experiences in socioeconomics and politics, rather than strict geographical location. It broadly encompasses nations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand)

Socioeconomic Factors: Countries in the Global South are generally identified by:

• Lower incomes and higher levels of poverty.
• High population growth rates.
• Limited educational opportunities and deficient healthcare systems.
• Economies that are often less diversified and more reliant on primary commodities.
• Vulnerability to external economic shocks

 

 Follow Up Question

1.In which one of the following groups are all the four countries members of G20? (UPSC 2020)

(a) Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey
(b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand
(c) Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam
(d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea

 

Answer (a)   (a) Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey ✅ Argentina – G20 member Mexico – G20 member South Africa – G20 member Turkey – G20 member ✔️ All four are members of the G20. (b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand ❌ Australia – G20 member Canada – G20 member Malaysia – ❌ Not a G20 member New Zealand – ❌ Not a G20 member (c) Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam ❌ Brazil – G20 member Iran – ❌ Not a G20 member Saudi Arabia – G20 member Vietnam – ❌ Not a G20 member (d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea ❌ Indonesia – G20 member Japan – G20 member Singapore – ❌ Not a G20 member South Korea – G20 member