Bengaluru, Dec 12 (IANS): The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs asked the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to design a data site for information exchange among smart cities, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The Ministry has asked IISc to lead the effort to create a data exchange platform for smart cities through a collaboration with industry, NGOs and government agencies," the city-based IISc said in a statement.

The 'Smart Cities Mission' started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 aims to develop 100 citizen-friendly and sustainable cities using technological solutions across the country.

"The city administrators and officials are looking at leveraging the volume of data being generated by smart sensors deployed in their cities to improve their operational excellence," the statement noted.

The data exchange framework will enable easy exchange of data between various city departments and organisations, it added.

"Such a framework will enable a true data empowerment for the city's administrators and other stakeholders and bring in the phase of data-driven, smart operations for our cities," the premier institute for science and technology research said.