New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and New York City’s former mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday announced a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and India’s urban development ministry to advance the “Smart Cities Initiative”.

The Smart Cities Initiative is aimed to promote economic growth, improve governance, and deliver more effective and efficient public services to India’s urban residents.

Under the partnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide assistance to the ministry to select cities for Smart Cities Mission funding on a continuous basis, said an official statement.

This approach is different from the conventional approach, which involved preparation of detailed project reports, and their appraisal and approval by the central government. It will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans.

This will actualize the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism, it said.