The third edition of the Smart Cities Forum convened at The Oberoi in the national capital and brought together a distinguished assembly of global policymakers, industry experts and stakeholders to chart the future of sustainable, technology driven urban development. The forum framed cities as engines of economic growth and underscored the strategic urban partnership between India and the Russian Federation. The deliberations combined policy perspective with industry insight to map next generation urbanisation pathways.

Speakers included the head of the Moscow Centre for International Cooperation, a Rajya Sabha member and the Russian ambassador to India, together with senior officials from New Delhi and Moscow, and sessions were moderated by a senior Moscow centre official. A former Director General of the Press Information Bureau and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs provided an overview of the Smart Cities Mission and emphasised that the initiative had moved beyond infrastructure to build aspiration and confidence among citizens. He reported that India had successfully operationalised 100 Smart Cities, with over 8,000 projects sanctioned and more than 7,500 projects completed, representing nearly 94 per cent implementation.

The speaker further noted that investments exceeding Rs one and a half trillion (tn) had been delivered and that Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) were now functional across all designated cities. Delegates heard that ICCCs had enabled data driven governance and had proved particularly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic in coordinating services and emergency responses. Case studies cited at the forum included Indore's transformation in waste management, Visakhapatnam's disaster preparedness and the revitalisation of public spaces in Jammu and Kashmir.

Presentations also highlighted efforts to bridge geographic hurdles through smart mobility in Northeastern cities such as Shillong and Aizawl and to integrate heritage conservation with modern planning in Udaipur. Future deliberations prioritised scaling smart solutions city wide, enhancing climate resilience and deepening India-Russia collaboration in digital systems and sustainable urban infrastructure. Participants concluded that expanded cooperation and deployment of proven technologies would be central to delivering inclusive and resilient urbanisation.