Cities are under constant stress owing to the rapid rate at which they are growing and changing, whereas technological advancements and solutions in energy, mobility and transport, infrastructure and resource efficiency can help to transform these cities into resilient urban habitats. The Prime Minister’s mission for Smart Cities is poised to enhance the quality of urban life and there is a wide spread support from countries and international organizations to explore investment and collaborative opportunities in this sector.
L to R - H.E. Mr. Harald Sandberg, Ambassador to India, Embassy of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Chung-Kwang Tien, Ambassador to India, Embassy of Taiwan, Mr. Ravinder Pal Singh, Director – Solutions Strategy & Business Development, Smart Cities, IoT & Digitization, Dell Inc., India, Mr. Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Group
The 2ndedition of Smart Cities India 2016 opened today at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The international knowledge platform for smart cities was inaugurated by Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Cabinet Minister, Government of India, Ministry of Railways and Shri Piyush Goyal, Minster of State, Government of India, Independent charge for Power, Coal, New & Renewable energy.
Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Railways, Government of India
Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Cabinet Minister, Government of India, Ministry of Railways stated: “Transport plays the role of lifeline in a smart city and hence soon India will see new railway stations made with impeccable design and friendly human interface. Special attention needs to be paid to management of natural resources so that the ecological balance is not tampered.”
Guest of Honour at the event , Shri Piyush Goyal, Minster of State, Government of India, Independent charge for Power, Coal, New & Renewable energy, said: “India sure has challenges, but in those challenges lies the unparalleled opportunities. A land that has enormous amount of manpower, and youth seeking better lifestyle provides the urging need of smart cities. Smarter solutions need to be scalable, affordable and fast in their implementation so that the country drives benefit from them”
Shri Piyush Goyal, Minster of State, Government of India, Independent charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy
Two keynote address at the inaugural ceremony were delivered by H.E. Mr. Harald Sandberg (Ambassador to India, Embassy of Sweden) and H.E. Mr. Chung-Kwang Tien (Ambassador to India, Embassy of Taiwan).
Speaking at the forum, H.E. Mr. Harald Sandberg, Ambassador to India, Embassy of Sweden, said: “The prominent agenda is sustainable urban development. Sweden has tried to build sustainable solutions utilizing waste as a resource to boost energy as a hallmark of what technology has achieved in Sweden.”
H.E. Mr. Chung-Kwang Tien, Ambassador to India, Embassy of Taiwan, remarked: “India has already come to threshold to move into the next era in which Taiwan would love to participate in future. Taiwan is now a totally changed country where the traffic lights also changed to the LED lights. India is emerging in a way that in future it could lead the world.”
Later in the morning, the conference inaugural session was moderated by Dr. Arunabha Ghosh CEO, Council of Energy Environment & Water, India). The organizers arranged an interesting panel for this session to deliberate on Smart Cities in India: Policy and regulatory environment.
Present during the inaugural ceremony, Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, India, shared: “On the regulatory front, there are many complex issues that needs to be resolved and as a whole, bureaucracy in India needs to be trained and digitization should be incorporated to monitor accountability of the implementation of processes.”
Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, India, explained : “Every City has its own varied essential needs. Degree of efficiency will make every city a smart city. Two key challenges faced in regulating and policy aspect of building smart cities are: Firstly, limited life span of any planning and performance based selection of those plans. Secondly, how we measure performance and hold people responsible for it. It is important to have matrix of goal achievements, holding processes and people in place, transperancy of the entire mechanism and feedback for a better future.”
On participation and association with Smart Cities India 2016 expo, a leading exhibitor from, Ericsson, Paolo Colella, Head of Region India, said: “India and other cities across the globe are experiencing a manifold increase in population moving to towns and cities. The Government of India’s huge focus on smart cities & digital India presents an enormous opportunity for us to contribute to the country’s transformation .With our leadership in ICT and rich global experience, we can enable Indian cities to transform themselves into sustainable and smart cities.”
Post lunch the organizers arranged parallel conference sessions. A key panelists, Y K Jain, Senior Associate (NSEFI) & Smart Consulting – Smart City & Renewables (Antriksh Photonergy) at the session of Green buildings for smart cities, shared, Mr. Sandip Ranjhan, Senior Vice President & General Manager - Mobile & Communications Services, HARMAN , India, at the session of Best practices in procurement of ICT Services from a Smart City standpoint shared: “The Prime Minister’s 100 Smart Cities mission is the key initiative to drive social change and economic growth by leveraging Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology. As a Global leader in IoT solutions with strong India focus, Harman is excited to be a key partner in helping to make Smart Cities in India a reality.”
Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Pvt Ltd, said: “I am pleased at the good turn out from dignitaries and attendees. In the first day of the expo ministries, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Cabinet Minister, Government of India, Ministry of Railways and Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State, Government of India, Independent charge for Power, Coal, New & Renewable energy, inaugurated the expo. Ambassadors and diplomats from 20 countries were present including H.E. Mr. Harald Sandberg (Ambassador to India, Embassy of Sweden) and H.E. Mr. Chung-Kwang Tien (Ambassador to India, Embassy of Taiwan). The exhibition has attracted a large number of trade visitors to the four international pavilions from Holland, Poland, Sweden and Taiwan.”
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