At a meeting between India’s urban development minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu and visiting secretary of commerce Penny Pritzker, the leaders decided to establish a task force to jointly develop three smart cities with a mandate of preparing the roadmap within three months. The cities selected are Allahabad in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Ajmer in the western state of Rajasthan, and Visakhapatnam in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
On January 25, three MoUs for the cities’ joint development were signed by United States Trade and Development Agency director Leocardia I. Zak and the respective chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Under the terms of the MoUs each of the state governments will provide resources in support, coordination and facilitation for the development of the smart cities including providing technical information and data related to smart cities planning, staff, logistical and travel support.
