SCM Policy BriefThe newly elected federal Government of India (GoI) launched the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) in 2015 with the stated purpose of improving the governance and infrastructural defciencies that plague Indian cities. The Mission categorically states that there is no one defnition of a ‘smart city’ and implies infnite liberty for cities to self-defne their understanding of ‘smartness’. Towards demystifying the Mission, the researchers utilised government documentation from the 99 cities to answer one question – What constitutes a smart city in India?