India, Sept. 29 -- LUCKNOW Six Uttar Pradesh cities - Agra, Ayodhya, Lucknow, Mathura-Vrindavan, Prayagraj and Varanasi - have been selected under the Centre's Pragati-50 initiative, which aims to develop 50 cities across the country as models of cleanliness, modern civic infrastructure and sustainable urban development.

The announcement was made during a virtual meeting of state urban development ministers chaired by Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday. UP urban development and energy minister AK Sharma participated in the meeting and sought the inclusion of Kanpur, describing it as a major industrial and historic city.

The initiative comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the Union urban ...