The conservation of rainwater and augmentation of groundwater reserve is necessary to meet the increased water de-mands. Precipitation occurring in the smart cities need to be understood for a better water management action plan. There-fore, monotonic precipitation trend analysis was performed for eight smart cities drawn from six monsoon homogeneous regions across India. The precipitation data were investigated for trends using the modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) test and Sen’s slope estimator at annual, seasonal and monthly scales. The trend analysis was carried out over 118 years (from 1901 to 2018) at 95% significance level. The Dehradun city (Northern Himalayan region) showed a significant increasing annual precipitation trend (Z = +3.22). Indore and Bhopal cities from West Central region showed significant increasing annual trend (Z = +2.01) and non-significant decreasing annual trend respectively. Although, Vadodara and Jaipur are lying in the same Northwest region, the trends are opposite in nature. Jaipur city showed a significant increasing annual pre-monsoon trend (Z = +2.44). The winter rainfall in the city of Vadodara is showing a significant decreasing trend (Z = –2.16). The pre-monsoon rainfall in Bhubaneswar (Central Northeast region) and monsoon precipitation in Trivandrum (Peninsular region) are showing significant increasing (Z = +2.56) and decreasing (Z = –2.71) trends, respectively. A non-significant decreasing trend was seen in Guwahati city (Northeast region). The eight smart cities selected for investigation are not truly representing the entire country. However, the study is clearly pointing towards the regional disparity existing in the coun-try. These findings will be helpful for water managers and policymakers in these regions for better water management.