Venkaiah Naidu discusses mechanisms for Smart City cooperation with Germany

Amidst global interest in the initiative of development of smart cities in India, a three day ‘100 Smart Cities India’ Conference got underway in Berlin, Germany yesterday. It was inaugurated by the Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu and Germany’s Minister of Nature Conservation, Forests, Building and Nuclear Safety Dr. Barbara Hendrics. Leading global companies, policy makers and experts are attending the conference being organized to highlight investment opportunities in smart city development set in motion in India. Later, Naidu and Dr. Hendricks discussed mechanisms for bilateral cooperation in the country’s Smart City Mission. Germany has earlier agreed to associate itself with the development of Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Coimbatore as smart city through technical and financial assistance. Venkaiah Naidu suggested that German companies can organize as consortiums to take advantage of investment opportunities by undertaking different aspects of smart city plans for execution. Naidu later went around the exhibition that showcased latest technologies in urban mobility, solid waste management, ICT solutions, solar technologies etc.