New urban spaces under Modi’s digital India – digitization of urban governance and state-citizen relationship

Bibliographic Data

ID7153138
AuthorsFalguni Mukherjee (0000-0001-9073-2608, Sam Houston State University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume43
Issue1
Pages95-112
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironment and Planning C Politics and Space (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2399-6544 • E-ISSN: 2399-6552
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/23996544241259316
OpenAlexW4399354054
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited47

Few studies have examined how Indian urban local bodies (ULBs) have responded to the government’s informationization agenda, particularly the use of geospatial technologies for urban governance. Drawing upon insights from Critical GIS, neoliberalization and governmentality studies, this article addresses this gap by examining the case of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the evolution of their modernization efforts that have progressed from office automation practices to active use of GIS technology for urban governance. SMC’s regional and political environment have favored their modernization efforts. However, as ULBs are expected to manage a diverse urban population and shoulder responsibilities with fewer resources they must adapt. Surat Municipal Corporation has adapted by aligning local political agenda with national agenda and adopting a strategy that echoes the dominant political discourse of utilizing technology to govern from a distance and as a modality of biopolitics. Use of geospatial technologies serves as an important tool for the ULB to introduce new modes of bureaucratic governmentality

Business · Corporate governance · Digitization · Geography · Political science · Telecommunications · Computer Science · Public Administration · Smart Cities and Technologies

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