Centre Issues New Advisory to States on Repurposing Smart City SPVs

12 Jun 2025 CW Team

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

Infrastructure Urban

05 Nov 2025

TBO Tek Q2 Profit Climbs 12%, Revenue Surges 26% YoY

TBO Tek Limited one of the world’s largest travel distribution platforms, reported a solid performance for Q2 FY26 with a 26 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to Rs 5.68 billion, reflecting broad-based growth and improving profitability.The company recorded a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of Rs 8,901 crore, up 12 per cent YoY, driven by strong performance across Europe, MEA, and APAC regions. Adjusted EBITDA before acquisition-related costs stood at Rs 1.04 billion, up 16 per cent YoY, translating into an 18.32 per cent margin compared to 16.56 per cent in Q1 FY26. Profit after tax r..

Northern Graphite, Rain Carbon Secure R&D Grant for Greener Battery Materials

Northern Graphite Corporation and Rain Carbon Canada Inc, a subsidiary of Rain Carbon Inc, have jointly received up to C$860,000 (€530,000) in funding under the Canada–Germany Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Programme to develop sustainable battery anode materials.The two-year, C$2.2 million project aims to transform natural graphite processing by-products into high-performance, battery-grade anode material (BAM). Supported by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Programme (NRC IRAP) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs a..

Antony Waste Q2 Revenue Jumps 16%; Subsidiary Wins Rs 3,200 Cr WtE Projects

Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited (AWHCL), a leading player in India’s municipal solid waste management sector, announced a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in total operating revenue to Rs 2.33 billion for Q2 FY26. The growth was driven by higher waste volumes, escalated contracts, and strong operational execution.EBITDA rose 18 per cent to Rs 570 million, with margins steady at 21.6 per cent, while profit after tax stood at Rs 173 million, up 13 per cent YoY. Revenue from Municipal Solid Waste Collection and Transportation (MSW C&T) reached Rs 1.605 billion, and MSW Processing re..