Bharat Exhibitions organized the third edition of their industry flagship event ‘National Summit on 100 Smart Cities India 2017,’ which was held on 18th August 2017. In the summit, the roadmap for innovations, sustainability, surveillance and development for Smart Cities was discussed.
According to the industry estimates, by 2050, about 70 per cent of the Indian population will be living in cities. The Smart City programs that are currently under various stages of development and implementation have to keep this shift into account and to ensure that they are able to provide optimal living conditions and at the same time be beneficial to everyone in the society. In effect, the components of a Smart City would include enabling a better life, with services, mobility, environment, e-governance, economy and sustainability.
The 100 Smart Cities India 2017 summit featured the designated heads of municipalities, urban/city planning, research/academic institutes, engineers/consultants, energy and utility experts, mobility and transportation experts, technology providers, and many more.
Mr. Shashi Dharan Managing Director, Bharat Exhibitions welcomed the delegates and said, “The Indian government's vision to create 100 new smart cities to support the rapid urbanization is an important step, as it seeks to provide residents with an efficient and reliable infrastructure, enhanced quality of life and economic opportunities. It is an established fact that without information and communication technologies (ICT) one cannot have a good smart city but there are various other elements too that we need to pay a close attention.”
Everyone on the panel agreed that technology will be a key factor in implementing the smart cities plan but there was also suggestions made on having standardizations in place. The event provided the stakeholders a timely opportunity to discuss the key trends, issues & challenges in smart city development, its market drivers and the outlook for India. Issues such as managing energy crisis, climate changes and disaster risks, challenges in deployment of intelligent transport solutions, role of ICT in E-Governance/M-Governance, the key elements of smart social infrastructure (education, health, etc) and the role of cloud computing in a smarter city were also discussed 100 Smart Cities India 2017 Summit.
Mr. Amit Singh, Director – Smart Cities, PwC said, “The 100 Smart Cities is no magic wand to address all the problems that we have, but a small attempt to address the rapid urbanization that we are witnessing. The success or failure of this lies in our own hands as the citizens are the most important part of the smart city ecosystem”.
Shri Arun Kumar Mishra, Director, National Smart Grid Mission also touched on the same subject as he went on to share that besides processes and technology, people too will be an important part of the Smart City Grid. He said, “Historically, people were not required to contribute to the Smart City Grid. However, the times are now changing and we cannot go ahead and serve to the demands of people as and when it comes. We need them to have an active participation in the smart city process”.
