Mumbai, July 20, 2026: Varanasi has announced the winners of the Sustainable Cities Challenge (SCC) Varanasi, an initiative led by Varanasi Nagar Nigam in collaboration with the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), Challenge Works, and WRI India, to scale innovative mobility and crowd management solutions across the city's historic core, Kashi.
The winning solutions, CityFlow by CITYDATA.AI and Nippon Koei and Janjatra by The Urbanizer—will receive financial and advisory support to expand their implementation. Behtarway by VOGIC AI and Nayichaal by Prameya Consulting were recognised as Honourable Mentions for their contributions to improving accessibility and pedestrian mobility.
The initiative aims to address the movement of millions of pilgrims, tourists and residents through Varanasi's dense heritage precincts. CityFlow uses big data, computer vision and generative AI to monitor crowd movement in real time, while Janjatra combines colour-coded wayfinding, digital signage and tactical urban interventions to improve pedestrian navigation. Behtarway offers AI-powered hyperlocal navigation, and Nayichaal focuses on improving accessibility for vulnerable groups.
The selected teams emerged through a two-year challenge involving innovators, city authorities, mobility experts and local stakeholders. The solutions are expected to support safer, more efficient and accessible movement across the city's historic areas.
Himanshu Nagpal, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Varanasi Nagar Nigam and CEO, Varanasi Smart City Limited, said, "Managing the movement of millions of pilgrims, tourists, and residents through a dense and historic urban fabric requires new approaches that balance heritage preservation with modern city management. The solutions emerging from the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Challenge demonstrate how data-driven technologies, wayfinding innovations, and human-centered design can help cities anticipate and respond to crowding challenges more effectively. As Varanasi continues to evolve as a global cultural and spiritual destination, these interventions will support safer, more efficient, and more accessible movement across the city's historic core."
Prasanna Ganesh, Executive Program Director, Toyota Mobility Foundation, said, “The innovators recognized today have successfully transformed the challenges of a historic city into opportunities for innovation. Their solutions have progressed beyond pilot concepts and now help city authorities manage overcrowding, while providing residents and visitors with a smoother, safer, and more convenient mobility experience in Varanasi. At Toyota Mobility Foundation, we focus on practical and scalable innovations that combine technology, sustainability, and collaboration. Our goal is to help create mobility ecosystems that improve quality of life and ensure Mobility for All.”
The Sustainable Cities Challenge is supported in India by Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which has worked alongside the Toyota Mobility Foundation to facilitate on-ground implementation and outreach.
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