AMRUT 2.0

AMRUT 2.0 (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0) is the second phase of India’s flagship urban‑infrastructure programme, launched in the Union Budget 2022‑23. It expands the original AMRUT’s focus on water and sanitation to a broader, climate‑resilient agenda that includes urban transport, green spaces and solid‑waste management, and it widens the beneficiary pool from 500 to 4,800 statutory towns and cities.

Origins and Evolution

The first AMRUT was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Its statutory basis lies in the National Urban Mission (NUM) of 2015, which earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for improving water supply and sewerage in 500 cities. By 2021, only about 70 % of the targeted population had benefited, prompting a policy review that highlighted the need for integrated services and greater fiscal leverage.

In February 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled AMRUT 2.0, explicitly linking it to Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the “Smart Cities Mission” to create “livable, sustainable, and resilient” urban habitats. The revised mission retains the original legal framework but adds a clause for “performance‑based funding” and a mandate to incorporate climate‑adaptation measures across all components.

Mechanism and Funding Structure

AMRUT 2.0 operates on a 50:50 cost‑sharing model: the centre contributes up to Rs 2,000 crore annually for the fiscal years 2022‑23 and 2023‑24, while states and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) match the amount. Funding is channeled through MoHUA to State Urban Development Agencies (SUDAs), which in turn allocate grants to individual ULBs based on a scoring rubric that weighs project viability, financial prudence, and sustainability outcomes.

A distinctive feature is the “Smart‑Urban‑Finance” portal launched in August 2022, which digitises project proposals, monitors disbursements in real time, and links performance indicators—such as reduction in non‑revenue water loss—to tranche releases. The portal also integrates GIS‑based mapping of storm‑water networks, enabling data‑driven planning and reducing duplication with the parallel Smart Cities Mission.

Scope and Key Components

The mission now targets six service pillars: (1) continuous piped water supply of at least 135 litres per capita per day; (2) sewerage collection and treatment to achieve 90 % coverage in participating cities; (3) storm‑water drainage to mitigate urban flooding; (4) urban public transport systems, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors; (5) creation and revitalisation of green and open spaces amounting to 15 sq km per million urban population; and (6) integrated solid‑waste management, emphasising segregation at source and waste‑to‑energy conversion.

Each pillar carries a set of quantitative targets. For example, the water‑supply component aims to reduce water‑loss ratios from the current national average of 35 % to below 20 % by 2027. The green‑space target translates to an additional 1.2 million sq m of parks and urban forests across the 4,800 cities by the end of the 2025‑26 planning cycle.

Implementation and Current Status

As of March 2024, 1,200 ULBs have received provisional approvals, representing roughly 25 % of the total AMRUT 2.0 coverage. Early‑stage projects include the Delhi‑wide rain‑water harvesting network, Maharashtra’s 300‑km BRT expansion in Pune, and Karnataka’s “Zero‑Landfill” solid‑waste pilot in Bengaluru. Cumulative disbursements reached Rs 1,800 crore in 2022‑23 and Rs 1,950 crore in 2023‑24, reflecting a 2.5 % year‑on‑year increase over the original AMRUT outlay.

Implementation challenges centre on the limited technical capacity of many ULBs, land‑acquisition bottlenecks for storm‑water corridors, and the need for coordinated financing with the parallel Smart Cities and Housing for All initiatives. MoHUA has responded by establishing a “