Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi kick started the flagship Smart City Mission into implementation mode in June with launch of 14 projects of Pune’s Smart City Plan, exactly a year after he set off the mission by releasing the Mission Guidelines. Prime Minister said that Smart City Mission is now succeeding as a people’s movement as envisaged. He expressed satisfaction over citizen participation in preparation of smart city plans of various cities with over 25 lakh people giving serious suggestions on MyGov.in. Mr Modi clarified that the central government did not select the smart cities but it was the citizens who enabled their selection in the ‘City Challenge Competition’. Mr Narendra Modi said that an era of competition has been ushered in for improving conditions in urban areas and urged the citizens to rise to the challenge for bettering the conditions in respective cities and towns. He complimented the team led by Minister of Urban Development Mr M.Venkaiah Naidu.