City assessment
How smart is Varanasi?
Varanasi scores 43% against the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework in 2026, ranked #320 of 386 by smart reach and #320 on the evidence alone, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Each criterion counts in full where the evidence shows it present, half where partial and nothing where absent, weighted by its category. 33 of 86 are not yet assessed and count as nothing until a finding is made either way. Last assessed 4 Sept 2026.
Smart reach rank
#320 / 386
Smart score
43%
Evidenced rank
#320 / 387
Criteria present
24 / 86
Evidence coverage
59.3%
Varanasi's smart city score by area
3 present · 7 partial · 2 absent · 3 not yet assessed
2 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 6 not yet assessed
2 present · 3 partial · 0 absent · 8 not yet assessed
2 present · 5 partial · 1 absent · 3 not yet assessed
9 present · 2 partial · 2 absent
4 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 3 not yet assessed
2 present · 6 partial · 1 absent · 5 not yet assessed
Where Varanasi is strong
- ▸Culture, Tourism & Recreation
- ▸Housing & Urban Planning
- ▸Health & Digital Health
- ▸Education & Digital Skills
- ▸Public Safety & Emergency
Where the evidence shows gaps
- ▸Open Data & Transparency · 1 absent, 3 partial
- ▸Water & Sanitation · 1 absent, 2 partial
- ▸Critical Infrastructure Resilience · 1 absent, 1 partial
- ▸Urban Data Platform & Digital Twin · 3 partial
- ▸Digital Government Services · 1 absent, 1 partial
Not yet assessed
33 of 86 criteria have no finding yet, either way. They count as nothing in the score until one is made, and they are not gaps.
- Active & Shared Mobility4 of 4
- Connectivity & ICT Infrastructure3 of 4
- Energy & Smart Grid3 of 4
- Climate Action & Emissions2 of 3
- Climate Adaptation & Heat2 of 3
- Disaster Risk & Resilience2 of 4
- Green Space & Biodiversity2 of 3
- Innovation & Economic Development2 of 4
- Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles2 of 4
- Solid Waste & Circular Economy2 of 4
- Air Quality & Monitoring1 of 3
- Food Security & Urban Agriculture1 of 2
- Governance & Smart-City Operating Model1 of 4
- Water & Sanitation1 of 4
Evidence highlights
Digital Government Services · Digital identity / single sign-on
India has a national single sign-on service called MeriPehchaan, which allows users to access multiple online government applications and services with a single set of credentials and reuse their profile information.
https://meripehchaan.gov.inPublic Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network
Varanasi has a public transport network, with buses being a listed mode of transportation for getting around the city.
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/VaranasiPublic Transport & Real-Time Information · Real-time arrivals (GTFS-RT)
Real-time arrival information is available for buses in Varanasi through the Chalo App, which offers "Live Bus Tracking."
https://chalo.com/Air Quality & Monitoring · Air-quality monitoring network
Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) data is available for Ardhali Bazar, Varanasi, indicating the presence of air quality monitoring.
https://aqicn.org/city/india/varanasi/ardhali-bazar/About this assessment
Varanasi was assessed against the 86 criteria of the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework on 4 Sept 2026 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, or left not yet assessed, and every finding links to where it was found. Cities are re-assessed in runs, not continuously: the latest finished on 24 Oct 2026.