Smart Cities Fellows bring passion and energy to the tough but exciting work of implementing cutting edge, high-impact solutions to key urban problems. The development of Smart Cities is a step in the attempt to create an urban ecosystem that represents a comprehensive development of institutional, physical, social, and economic infrastructure to improve ease of living and attracting people and investments to urban areas. The India Smart Cities Fellowship is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Smart Cities Mission to cultivate youth leadership and usher vibrancy in the design of India’s urban future.

In 2019, a pioneer batch of 39 young professionals was inducted as Fellows, who applied their skills and experience to 12 projects in cities across the country by providing creative solutions to pressing challenges being faced by India’s urban sector. Of these, 7 projects have been identified by MoHUA for product development. The second cohort of the Fellowship consists of 57 Fellows, who were inducted into the Fellowship Programme in March 2020. The Fellows of the present cohort have developed tentative projects to impact the sectors of spatial planning, citizen engagement, tourism, local economies, urban mobility, environment, disaster management, water, education, migration, and health.

Training: Fellows are introduced to the programme via a two-week induction programme, wherein the fellows are oriented to the Smart Cities Mission philosophy, its strategy, and its focus areas. The programme provides the incoming Fellows with an understanding of the urban development sphere, enabling the Fellows to take on the assigned tasks with confidence and enthusiasm. Relentless problem solving, perseverance, dedication, hard work, and creativity would be the key traits needed for Fellows to succeed.

Eligibility: Graduates with 1st Division or minimum 60% marks; or, Post Graduates with 1st Division or minimum 60% marks; or, PhDs from premier institutions/universities.

The candidates to be considered for the Fellowship should be from an institute of repute in the following fields, but not limited to:

• Urban Planning
• Urban Design
• Engineering and Infrastructure
• Information and Technology
• Data Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Data Governance
• Urban Mobility
• Social Development
• Environment
• Climate Resilience
• Disaster Management
• Health
• Finance
• Education
• Urban Competitiveness

Role Description and Responsibilities: The India Smart Cities Fellow will be engaged in city-specific projects, through the Smart City Special Purpose Vehicles to provide solutions to city-specific issues. The Fellows would be based out of Delhi for the first 5 months and out of a Smart City for the rest of the months. During their initial stay in Delhi, the Fellows will be involved in project ideation, workshops, and review meetings. They will subsequently relocate to a Smart City for project development and pilot.

The India Smart Cities Fellow will also provide the necessary support to Mission Director, SCM and/or, CEOs of selected Smart Cities in terms of analytics, research, documentation, independent assessment, visualization, or any other related activities including reports, posters, dossiers, etc.

They will submit following documents on the activities carried out by them in the form of:

• Monthly Progress report
• Quarterly Progress presentation
• Mid-Term Progress presentation
• Annual Progress presentation
• Project report
• Compendium report
• Individual report

Work Experience: Preference will be given to persons with work experience in the relevant field supported by published work/ policy papers/appraisal/monitoring of projects & schemes etc.

Other Attributes: Applicants should have excellent computer skills and the ability to work on ICT applications. They should also possess strong communication and interpersonal skills. Exposure to data analytics would be an added strength of the candidate.

Age limit: Maximum age of the candidate should not be more than 35 years as on the last date of receiving the applications.

Remuneration: A consolidated amount of Rs. 60,000 per month per Fellow (inclusive of local transport allowance) will be paid to selected Smart Cities Fellows.

Place of Posting: The Fellows will be deployed in New Delhi till their projects are finalized. The Fellows may be required to be stationed in any of the Smart Cities as per requirement. The decision of the project city will rest on the Mission Director (SCM).

Period of Engagement: The period of engagement will be one year.This engagement may be extended up to 1 additional year on the basis of the Fellows’ performance, with approval of Mission Director (SCM).

Leave: Leave of 8 days shall be allowed in a year on pro-rata basis.

TA/DA: The Fellows who undertake domestic tours from their city of posting will be allowed Travel Allowance for traveling by air in economy class or by rail in AC Two-Tier, subject to approval by the appropriate authority.

Reimbursement for hotel accommodation of up to Rs. 1,500 per day, and a consolidated amount of Rs. 350 per day for travel within the city and food bills shall be allowed during domestic tours.

Number of Fellows: 60 Candidates will be selected for Fellowship. Of this, a predetermined fraction of Fellows will be those who’s Fellowship will be extended from the ongoing cohort.

Experience Certificate: A certificate regarding successful completion of fellowship shall be issued by the Mission Director (Smart Cities Mission), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt of India. In case a person leaves before completion of the contract period, he/she will not get any work certificate.

Procedure for Selection: Applications will be invited in a prescribed format online, via this webpage. This application will be open to the general public for up to 45 days. The applications will undergo the necessary scrutiny via checks for de-duplication and ineligibility and will be marked based on pre-decided criteria for educational qualification, prior research experience, and work experience provided, along with a Statement of Purpose and a Concept Proposal requested in the online application. The final selection of candidates will be done via personal interviews.

Annual Performance Appraisal: An Annual Performance Appraisal of the Smart Fellows will be undertaken by the Performance Appraisal Committee, to be constituted by Mission Director (SCM). Based on the appraisal, the extension of tenure and provision of experience certificate will be considered by the Mission Director, (SCM).