Financial sector development and smart cities: The Indian case

• Published in: Sustainable cities and society 2018-10, Vol.42, p.52-58
• Main Author: Arora, Rashmi Umesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Financial development; Financial services index; India; Smart cities
• ISSN: 2210-6707; 2210-6715
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2018.06.013

•The paper examines the level of financial development of initial twenty shortlisted smart cities in India.•Results of the study revealed high inter-state and intra-state inequality as the cities with high FSI values and those with low FSI values are both located in the developed western and southern states.•A similar mixed picture emerges even for the less developed low income states such as Madhya Pradesh.•For a holistic approach to smart city development, a vibrant and developed financial sector is required. The financing aspect in the development of a smart city is often discussed in the smart city literature and policy circles, however, the discussion on how people residing within the smart city could access finance is often missing in this discourse. This study aims to fill in this gap in the current literature on smart cities and examines existing financial sector development of selected smart cities in the Indian context. The study develops a composite financial index (for 18 smart cities) covering the dimensions of access and usage of financial services. Results revealed high inter-state and intra-state inequality as the cities with high FSI values and those with low FSI values are both located in the developed western and southern states. A similar mixed picture emerges even for the less developed low income states such as Madhya Pradesh.