Residents of Vadodara, the 10th cleanest city in the country has created a new Guinness world record with maximum number of people sweeping the ‘floor’ (single venue). Vadodara municipal corporation commissioner Vinod Rao said around 5,058 people came together to sweep the venue – a bridge connecting Akota with Dandia bazaar – spread over one kilometre. The record was achieved by participants who swept the place in groups of 50.

Mumbai has been ranked the world's second most densely populated city with 31,700 people per sq km, by the World Economic Forum (WEF) citing UN Habitat Data. Bangladesh's capital Dhaka topped the list with 44,500 people per sq km. Rajasthan's Kota has been ranked the world's seventh most densely populated city with 12,100 people per sq km.

The capital of Bangladesh “Dhaka” is the world’s most crowded city with a population density of 44,500 people per square kilometre, released by World Economic Forum (WEF), citing UN Habitat data. According to UN Habitat data, of the top 10 most densely populated cities in the world, six are in Asia, three are in Africa and one is in South America. India’s financial capital Mumbai, home to 31,700 people per square kilometre has acquired second place, where as Kota in Rajasthan with 12,100 people per square kilometre was ranked seventh. Others in the list include Medellin in Columbia (3rd), Manila in Philippines (4th, 14,800), Casablanca in Morocco (5th, 14,200), Lagos in Nigeria (6th, 13,300), Singapore (8th, 10,200) and Jakarta in Indonesia (9th, 9,600).

India’s first multi-modal electric vehicle project has been inaugurated by the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Nagpur Airport Complex to promote eco-friendly transport. With this, Nagpur became the first city in India to have electric mass mobility system with a fleet of 200 electric vehicles, including taxis, buses, e-rickshaw and autos.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has collaborated with the British Geological Survey (BGS) to turn Varanasi into a smart city. As part of the project, three dimensional geological modelling of the geology under Varanasi will be prepared to help improve the building of new transport and service infrastructure. The project includes application of geo-scientific methods like drilling, geological, geophysical, tectonics, hydrogeological and remote sensing. It would be the first major 3D subsurface urban study and planning of its kind in India, with the ultimate aim of developing methodologies and input of suburban geology for planning and hazard risk assessment. The purpose of the project is to develop the methodologies and approaches of urban geosciences and engineering of Varanasi as a pilot for other Indian cities.

With India's pledge to go all electric by 2030, Nagpur will be the first city in the country to adopt electric cabs as the country moves a step closer to its goal.

The pilot project will see around 200 e-cabs in Nagpur with the local body to provide for the charging stations across the city.

Currently, Mahindra and Honda are few of the car-manufacturers who have electric and hybrid vehicles in their line-up. We do hope that the situation changes, as hybrid and electric vehicles will help in the growing pollution in India. Countries such as France, Netherland and Belgium have already started to adopt electric and hybrid vehicles.

i. The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The total 434 cities of India were surveyed. Indore in Madhya Pradesh is India’s cleanest city while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is the dirtiest.

ii. Gujarat has the maximum of 12 cities among the top 50 clean cities, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Andhra Pradesh with eight. Uttar Pradesh accounted for half of the bottom 50 cities in the cleanliness ranking.

Top 10 clean cities of India in 2017 are:

Indore (MP)
Bhopal (MP)
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
Surat (Gujarat)
Mysuru (Karnataka)
Tiruchirapally (Tamil Nadu)
New Delhi Municipal Council (New Delhi)
Navi Mumbai (Mumbai)
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)
Vadodara (Gujarat).

Top 5 Dirtiest cities of India (with Rank) in 2017 are:

Gonda (UP)- 434,
Bhusawal (Maharashtra)- 433,
Bagaha (Bihar)- 432,
Hardoi (Uttarakhand)- 431,
Katihar (Bihar)- 430.