The government has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Smart Cities signed   between Urban Development Ministry and New York-based Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Under this Bloomberg Philanthropies will work as Knowledge Partner and support development and execution of Cities Challenge under the Smart Cities Mission.

The   Smart Cities Mission, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25,seeks to facilitate creation of quality urban infrastructure which will lead to improvement in the quality of urban life.

There will be a total of 100 Smart Cities across the country out of which 20 will be selected in the first phase in 2016.

Bloomberg Philanthropies will equip mayors and local leaders with practical tools and approaches to solve major challenges and enable public sector innovation to flourish. It will also assist in designing and managing the cities challenge.

There is no financial implication to the Centre as the cost implications to the activities done in supporting the Mission will be incurred by Bloomberg Philanthropies.