Rapidly increasing urbanisation in India has brought much needed focus on the urban development policies in India. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was the first programme to provide substantial funds for urban local bodies to improve their infrastructure and bring in better governance systems. This article tries to look at the mission from a new public management perspective. The performance of ULBs in project implementation shows delinking from the reforms agenda of the mission. The efficiency enhancement goal of the mission has not been achieved completely and uniformly across the ULBs, states and sectors. With the new government planning to invest Rs 7,060 crore in 100 smart cities across the country, the learnings from JNNURM can be instrumental in contributing towards a successful new programme.
