The Smart Cities Mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has won the Platinum Icon Award for its initiative “DataSmart Cities: Empowering Cities Through Data” under the Data Sharing and Use for Socio Economic Development category at the Digital India Awards (DIA) 2022.
- Objective of DIA 2022: To inspire and motivate not only government entities but also startups to fulfil the Digital India vision.
- 2022 marks the 7th edition of Digital India Awards (DIA).
About DataSmart Cities Initiative – Smart Cities Mission
The DataSmart Cities Initiative is an important step in creating a robust data ecosystem that enables evidence-based decision-making in cities. The initiative focuses on developing a culture of data driven governance in smart cities.
Objective: Harnessing the power of data for better governance in India’s 100 smart cities
iii. This initiative encourages cities across India to establish building blocks of data culture at the urban level such as Smart City Data Alliance, Smart City Data Network and City Data Strategy etc.
iv. It uses a “people, process, platform” approach to assimilate a culture of data awareness and data use into the functioning of the city.
To promote the importance of data to accelerate the power of the city’s existing initiatives, digital platforms such as Smart Cities Open Data Portal (SCODP), India Urban Observatory (IUO), India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX), Assessment & Monitoring Platform for Livable, Inclusive & Future-Ready Urban India (AMPLIFI) and Geo-Spatial Management Information System (GMIS) have been developed to better manage data. to enable sharing and leveraging.
vi. These platforms host more than 55,000 datasets and over 1400 Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), connecting with over 1.5 million users for evidence-based planning, cross-city assessments, multidisciplinary research and improving socio-economic outcomes.
About Digital India Awards (DIA):
Digital India Awards (DIA) have been instituted under the aegis of The National Portal of India to honour and encourage innovative digital solutions by government entities at all levels (Central, State and Local Bodies) to fulfil the Digital India vision.
- The National Portal has been designed and developed as a mission mode project by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
Digital India Awards are presented under 7 categories:
- Digital initiatives at the grassroots level – Recognizing initiatives that use digital technology in areas such as agriculture, health, education, employment, labour, skills etc. at the level of panchayats, local bodies, sub-districts.
- Digital Empowerment of Citizens – recognizes universal access to digital resources anytime, anywhere and promotes collaboration in participatory governance and digital literacy that helps make life easier.
- Digital Initiative for Ease of Doing Business – recognizes digital initiatives that create impact by reducing time, cost and effort in setting up, operating and operating business activities.
- Public Digital Platforms – Central Ministries, Departments and States – recognize excellence in the design and implementation of public digital platforms with wide-scale coverage and high impact in society
- Data Sharing and Access to Socioeconomic Development – Recognizes initiatives used by Ministries/Departments/Organizations, States, Cities and ULBs for sharing government data to create a vibrant data ecosystem in India for analysis, decision making, innovation, services, economic growth and public good.
- Digital initiatives in collaboration with startups – Excellence recognized by government entities in collaboration with startups to enhance digital governance, improve digital services experience and digital empowerment of citizens
- Recognizes the best web and mobile initiatives – web and mobile initiatives that comply with the Government of India Guidelines for Websites (GIGW) and Accessibility Guidelines that ensure universal access, rich content and barrier-free access to any device.
Winners of Digital India Awards 2022:
About Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY):
Union Minister – Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha- Odisha)
Minister of State – Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Rajya Sabha- Karnataka)