The union government has issued an advisory to all states and union territories directing them to ensure that Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) remain functional across all 100 Smart Cities. The advisory recommends that states develop policies enabling these entities to charge fees for consultancy and service delivery.

States have also been urged to integrate SPVs and ICCCs into their long-term urban governance strategies to sustain the progress made under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM). The government has highlighted the need to repurpose the institutional and technical capacities built through SPVs to address emerging urban challenges. The advisory outlines a plan to transform SPVs into agile, multifunctional bodies aligned with evolving urban and state-level development priorities.

SPVs have been identified as capable of supporting economic development at the city level by facilitating project structuring, procurement, and multi-tier government coordination. They are also expected to aid in managing cybersecurity, analytics, and data systems. Meanwhile, ICCCs are envisioned to function as city operating systems and analytical hubs for states, with a preference for urban development departments to retain operational control.

Although the ₹48,000 crore Smart Cities Mission has seen uneven success across regions, prior reports indicated that such guidance was expected following the official closure of the mission in March. As of March 2025, the government reported that over 93 per cent of the 8,000+ projects under the mission had been completed, and nearly 99.44 per cent of the total central budget had been disbursed.

News source: Hindustan Times