Bhubaneswar, July 31: The municipal corporation would invite suggestions from residents on how to improve the city, so that it can pitch harder for the smart city status.

The move coincides with a USA-based company's plan to provide technological support to the state government to develop Bhubaneswar.

One of the criteria to get the status is that the city must witness adequate economic activities and should be well developed on all fronts.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation commissioner Krishan Kumar said: "Citizens have a larger role to play in the smart city challenge and they can also give their ideas. We will invite entries, which could be submitted online or offline after August 31. Later, we will take the help of institutes such as the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, to judge the entries."

The details will be notified on the corporation's official website on the Local Self-government Day, which is on August 31.

"Senior citizens, who are not computer savvy but want to suggest their ideas, can send a hard copy inside sealed envelops at the commissioner's office," said a corporation official.

On the other hand, Semtech Corporation, a leading manufacturer of analog and mixed signal semiconductor platforms for high-end consumers, today announced to invest Rs 100 crore in India with focus on Odisha in the next two to three years.

The company's vice-president Roger Levinson inaugurated its new centre at the Fortune Tower and announced to recruit more people from the state. Semtech director Satyajit Mohapatra said: "We will submit our proposal to the government on how to use technology to reduce the power cost of the street lights and pitch Bhubaneswar as the most IT-developed city of the country."