India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC), 2022:

India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC), 2022:

1. It was launched to reward the cities, projects and innovative ideas promoting smart development in cities as an outcome of Smart Cities Mission, which was launched in 2015 to transform 100 cities into sustainable and livable urban centres.
2. The awards are announced by The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
3. The Contest, launched in April last year received 845 nominations from 80 smart cities across the country
4. Indore (Madhya Pradesh) has emerged as the best Smart City in India for the 4^th consecutive term for its initiatives in urban mobility, solid waste management, water supply, sanitation, citizen engagement, social welfare and urban governance.
5. Indore was followed by Surat (Gujarat) and Agra (Uttar Pradesh).
6. Madhya Pradesh topped as the state for exemplary performance in the Smart Cities Mission with four of its cities - Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur - winning awards in various categories.
7. Tamil Nadu was ranked 2^nd, followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh jointly sharing the 3^rd rank.
8. award for the best Union Territory was topped by Chandigarh for its exceptional performance in urban planning, green mobility, e-governance, smart education and health care.
9. The winners were selected by an independent jury panel comprising experts from various fields related to urban development under 6 categories:
   1. Social Aspects
   2. Governance
   3. Culture and Economy
   4. Urban Environment
   5. Transportation and Mobility
   6. Water and Sanitation.