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The government has allocated Rs. 98,000 crores for 100 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/5-pillars-of-Smart-Cities-Top-honchos-finally-unveil-the-key-to-the-lock-called-Smart/articleshow/48544126.cms">Smart Cities Mission</a> in India. Clearly it is not enough, agrees <keyword id="2827654" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pratap-Padode">Pratap Padode</keyword>, founder and director of <keyword id="2827653" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smart-Cities-Council-India">Smart Cities Council India</keyword>. So this is where the private players come in and a lot is dependent on them. Are they willing to take risk? What is the current status of their involvement in this project? Here it from a player itself; <keyword id="1488022" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pratap-Pradhan">Pratap Pradhan</keyword>, Director, Smarter Planet Business, <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> India and South Asia, who is leading IBM’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/India-to-soon-get-100-Smart-Cities/articleshow/47095969.cms">Smart City plans in India</a>, in talks with Business Insider India.
 

	What challenges will be faced in implementing the internationally accepted reference models of Smart Cities in India?
 

	We have to first consider what the legacy setup is. Most of the data may not be digital, a lot would be in pen and paper. Just getting the whole operation digitised would be the first challenge. 
 

	Second issue is the process discipline. There are books in India on disaster management. But it is not feasible that everybody who is in the middle of a disaster has read and memorised it. It can be done through command and control. This is where video analytics comes in.
 

	Third is institutional capacity, which means that there are people in the department who may not be typically trained in these areas. Most cities in US have Federal Emergency Management Agencies. Technology is a challenge but there also needs to be functional experts in these areas. This is one of our closest programmes with the Indian government.
 

	The government funds allocated for the project is not enough. So a major chunk of investment is expected from the private players. Are the private players willing to take that risk?
 

	The whole concept that smarter cities mean more money is a fallacy. Most of these projects would pay for themselves because the benefits that they reap would bring money. 
 

	It can be explained with an example. In one of the cities in US, sewage water was leaking into drinking water. US govt imposes fines for that. The civic authorities were mandated to create infrastructure which would have cost $100 million. So through analytics we installed sensors and found out which are the main blocking areas. We were able to open up 10 million additional capacity of water in the same sewerage system that they already had. So this investment was no longer required.
 

	Another instance was in the city of Sao Paolo in Brazil. The city wanted to understand where are all its civic issues were? Instead of installing hundreds of sensors and cameras, we gave the citizens a mobile app. We said wherever you go, if you are having inconvenience in terms of waste, sewage, traffic, potholes, street lights, click a photo, the app geo codes it and sends it to the city. 
 

	In 3 hours we were able to map 4 sq kilometres area of the city and each and every civic issue of that area was noted. The city did not spend a penny because of citizen participation. 
 

	Our brains are actually a better asset than our money.
 

	What is the global perception of India’s smart cities mission? Does India have the necessary infrastructure to make the cities smart, considering even the remotest areas?
 

	From a technology deployment perspective, India’s situation is very good. For most brown field areas that we are targeting, there is a fair bit of readiness.
 

	And, through Digital India campaign, government is trying to create a seamless communication system between the government, gram panchayats and the citizens of the remotest areas.
 

	What smart technologies are available?
 

	The technology is predominantly in two categories. One of these is highly vertical solutions like water management, waste management, disaster management etc.
 

	The other thing is horizontal technologies like mobile engagement, city wide command and control.
 

	Where technology and analytics comes in, the question of cyber security comes in. And India’s security system, both physical and cyber, is abysmal. How is IBM playing a part in the solution?
 

	Cyber security is one of the key element which is part of all of our solutions. Enterprise security is our key element. We design for security. We also have threat assessment programmes in an existing system through penetration analysis. For example if you are entering a legacy system which you need to improve and also have to fix some loopholes, we have a team called X-Force Exchange, comprising of threat assessment specialists, who can do threat assessment on any given system, find loopholes and plug those loopholes.
 

	In terms of physical security, we implement video analytics to solve problems like crowd management, traffic management and accidents.
 

	For instance, we deployed a surveillance system during the Navakalevara festival of Orissa. The city basically needed a much more advanced way of surveillance. Through analytics we solved the problem. What it solved was that if you have 100 cameras you can’t have 100 eyes constantly focussed on that. Analytics are very important because you manage by exceptions. Video analytics are able to speak out specific exceptions from the feed itself. They are able to alert somebody to take action.
 

	What difficulties would be faced if this needs to be implemented on a pan India basis?
 Smart cities get thrown around as a little bit of generic concept, you put in technology and you will get a <keyword id="513113" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="smart-city">Smart city</keyword>. 

	Smart City is about local context and tapping what is best in that particular city. The issues are unique at each city. There isn’t a one size fits all solution. 
 

	We did a study in Vishakhpatnam post Hudhud. The city has a vibrant MSME sector. When Hudhud came there wasn’t that much loss of lives but there was lot of loss of livelihoods. So, in Vizag before we try any other smart city interventions, the very first intervention required is to make it a resilient Vizag where there is an integrated command and control. Another reasons of such massive damage was lack of adherence to building codes. Other coastal cities like New York have put in strong norms to protect the city from these climate related disasters.
 

	We can really be the drivers of that city if only digitally it becomes easier for us to engage with that city. Like through a single app, we can promote tourism of Ajmer (as tourism is the strength of this city).
 

	Is IBM working on any such kind of apps?
 

	We have a very strong digital engagement portfolio which includes apps, devices. There is technology and then there is design. One really needs to work closely with the city to design the right solution. How can it really push the economy? Can the city then do analytics? How can it reach all the people living in that city? There are some pockets within Ajmer that are getting left out because of reach.
 

	We have done 2500 Smart Cities projects around the world and these assets are what we are bringing to our India programme
 

	How long will it take to build a Smart City in India?
 

	If you see the roadmap, the roadmap for selection of cities is a three year roadmap. So, say in the first year 20 cities get selected. When the first round of selection occurs, then it will take 2-3 years for those 20 cities to see some progress.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: youtube)

IBM’s India
Head reveals how creating Smart Cities in India is really no ‘rocket science’

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/PMModis-Smart-Cities-Housing-for-All-is-smart-but-ambitious/articleshow/47814233.cms">Narendra Modi</a> government has allocated Rs. 98,000 crore for the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Smart-City-imperative-in-India/articleshow/47831312.cms">Smart Cities</a> project. So, funds have been allocated, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Read-on-to-know-what-makes-a-city-a-smart-city-in-India/articleshow/46986772.cms">blueprints</a> are ready, but what is the blueprint based on? Top players involved in the plan reveals what it takes to build a smart city.
 

	1. Healthcare
 “You can’t dream about being smart without being healthy,” said <keyword id="3009246" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lux-Rao">Lux Rao</keyword>, cto of technology services and country leader of <keyword id="6367983" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="HP">HP</keyword> Future Cities. 

	India is a destination of medical tourism. Yet, the urban poor do not have easy access to even the basic healthcare amenities. For making cities <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Smart-Cities-Are-Good-Idea-But-What-About-Existing-Ones/articleshow/45963855.cms">smart</a>, we must make healthcare affordable first. The way forward is Telemedicine, which is in simple definition a doctor or specialist remotely monitoring a patient via an intermediary who is perhaps an intern or a doctor.
 

	This virtual doctor or ‘studio doctor’ (the term given to them) would need access to medical records in real-time. What if one loses their medical records, which is more likely with the urban poor with all their immigration from one place to another?
 

	HP introduces the solution to this- Digital locker within EMR, which stores all the medical records. So one just needs to biometrically access the locker and the virtual doctor can get access to the patient’s details immediately, hassle-free.
 

	“We have executed e-healthcare centres meeting the needs of 140,000 patients in 44 locations in 6 states throughout the country. We have 25 ‘studio doctors’ who are in remote locations addressing the needs of patients,” he informed.
 

	This is just the start of smart healthcare! With introduction of IoT and mobility technology, a lot more can be done.
 

	2. Education 
 

	How can we make education an egalitarian platform?
 

	The answer is ‘Future Classroom’, which is not only having a virtual teacher, but the contents are available online too. So what one need is an internet connection and education can reach even the remotest place in India.
 

	Besides, though India has immense potential in the young generation but the educational resources are limited.
 

	“Does an engineering student have such an ecosystem to make him walk into a lab and turn his idea into a product instantly?” Lux raised the question.
 

	3. Quality of life
 

	How can a city be smart if its citizens do not have a work life balance? Easy access to the basic amenities like water, parking space, cheap energy etc makes a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Michael-Bloomberg-soaks-in-Delhi-life-talks-of-smart-cities/articleshow/46273869.cms">smart city</a> literally smart.
 “Smartest cities are driven by local priorities and local interventions. Also, technology interventions should be pragmatic,” said <keyword id="901850" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prashant-Pradhan">Prashant Pradhan</keyword>, Director, Smarter Planet Business, <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> India and South Asia. 

	IBM started a fairly successful pilot project in Bangalore on equitable water distribution and reducing non-revenue water. In Allahabad, they are working on solid waste management as that is the main need of that city to be made smart. It is also working closely with the power sector in generating renewable energy.
 <keyword id="3009245" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aamer-Azeemi">Aamer Azeemi</keyword>, MD, <keyword id="6390344" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cisco">Cisco</keyword> India came up with a simple solution to the traffic problems in India, particularly near Connaught Place, Delhi; solve the parking problem. 

	“Half the traffic is because they are in search of a parking space. This can be solved by allowing free entry into the nearby building (apartment or malls) parking space which remains empty especially in the evening,” he said.
 

	4. Safety
 

	A smart city needs to be safe for citizens to live a smooth life. 
 

	Introducing smart surveillance technology or analytics to manage the crowd, traffic and following the building code (Code to be followed strictly while constructing a building, which sadly is not done in India) to manage natural/man-made disasters would make a city safe and secured for a citizen to live in.
 

	Azeemi said that if we install CCTV in numerous places around the city, a perception of the city being safe is created.
 

	“Even the perception of it being safe helps to attract citizens into the city,” he added.
 

	5. Enterprising solutions
 

	Every company and authorities related to the city needs to participate in the game. There should be seamless communication between the state government, local bodies and the citizens.
 “One central authority (like, one IAS or one CEO of the city) should be there to look into all the issues and integrate it into one,” said <keyword id="2827654" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pratap-Padode">Pratap Padode</keyword>, founder and director of <keyword id="2827653" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smart-Cities-Council-India">Smart Cities Council India</keyword>. 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

5 pillars of Smart Cities: Top honchos finally unveil the key to the lock called ‘Smart’!

A luxurious city with crystalline structures, sumptuous apartments, ritzy malls and shopping arcades—that’s what comes to mind when we think of Gurgaon. But behind the glossy veneer lies a darker side. Built as mandated by the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, which encouraged the private sector to develop huge land parcels and build apartment blocks and office complexes, Gurgaon is an example of poor urban planning, mismanagement and malfunctioning infrastructure. The city that aims to become India’s <keyword id="6356662" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Singapore">Singapore</keyword> by 2021 has poor air quality, roads with potholes and chaotic traffic to show for itself. Also consider the absence of public transport; a water table depleting at an alarming rate of 2-3 m per year; 8-10 hours of daily power cuts; sewage spilling on roads in the absence of waste management; 50 per cent of the population residing in haphazard conditions; and a high crime rate. 
 To make Gurgaon truly smart, all these issues must be considered by government agencies and private developers. For its part, the <keyword id="2970864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gurgaon-government">Gurgaon government</keyword> has come up with a zero-outage target to be achieved within a year; this smart energy grid vision offers scope—and hope—for the city to become smart. Smart water management and conservation and rainwater harvesting would lead to availability of water 24/7 while recharging groundwater. To enhance infrastructure services, smart infrastructure design and planning are needed in sync with local government initiatives. To tackle traffic issues, smart integrated mobility would reduce private vehicular traffic by providing better public transport and last mile connectivity and prediction and mitigation of congestion would lead to better air quality. And the mammoth structures of glass must turn smart, adding intelligence to buildings to conserve energy, and become responsive and interactive in order to fulfil the demands of occupants. 
 
(The article has been contributed by Pratap Padode, Fouder and Director of Smart City Council of India.) 
 
Courtesy: <keyword id="2827653" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Smart-Cities-Council-India">Smart Cities Council India</keyword> 
<a href="http://india.smartcitiescouncil.com/">http://india.smartcitiescouncil.com/</a>

Way to Smart Gurgaon

Everyone believes in Prime Minister Modi’s ‘100 <keyword id="6377036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="smart-cities">Smart Cities</keyword>’ project. And why won’t they. According to <keyword id="2827654" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pratap-Padode">Pratap Padode</keyword>, founder and director of Smart Cities Council of India, smart cities project is just like the umbrella project, which covers NaMo government’s remaining schemes such as Digital India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and thus would result in significant growth of the country. 
 
But can a massive project such as this be financially feasible with a meager budget of Rs 48,000 crore. “The budget allocated for the project is definitely not sufficient. However, it will take the project to a level where it can attract investments,” said Padode. 
 
He explained that the funding for each smart city will depend on many factors which include the area and the size of the population. Some of the key parameters for qualifying for smart city include—sufficient funds in the state coffers, job creation and strong balance sheets. 
 
“Smart cities will bring in financial discipline. We can expect a lot of states to get filtered in the first round itself as most of them do not even have their books in place,” Padode said. 
 
However, one thing that still needs to be understood is how does a criteria such as this promote steady growth of every city in the country? For instance, if Ahmedabad qualifies for smart city while Nagpur doesn’t, it is quite natural that investors would flock Ahmedabad instead of Nagpur as it is a smart city, which will soon be upgraded in terms of its infrastructure and technology. And why would an investor then look at Nagpur for his business when he is assured that he will be getting a conducive business environment for his company. 
 
Padode quickly noted that a criteria such as this would push the states to work on themselves and get to a level that enables them to qualify for smart cities. “It promotes competition among states, which will ultimately force states to pull up their socks and work on themselves. States governments cannot get away now,” he stated. 
 
Coming down the issue of corruption that has led to inefficient execution of schemes, he pointed out that every smart city will have a SPV CEO, who will appointed without any political interference. “He will be an expert in his field and would appointed with the consensus of citizen groups and other agencies involved. He will ensure that the progress is happening on time and there is some new development.” 
 
Interestingly, in order to keep a tab on the progress, each smart city will have to come up with monthly newsletter that will be talk about the new developments and will be made public. The government now plans to shortlist 20 cities for its smart cities project by end of January 2016.

Smart Cities: Need big pockets to fulfil PM Modi's dream!

FDI in construction-development projects fell by over 38 per cent during the year ending March 2015 to $ 758 million compared to $ 1,226 million in FY14. 
 
FDI flow has remained weak this year with just $34 million of investments in the April-June quarter of this fiscal. The poor pick-up in the inflow is owing to the slow approval process. 
 Despite the ‘<keyword id="6354423" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ease-of-Doing-Business">ease of doing business</keyword>’ initiative, even the CM of Maharashtra is struggling to break the mafia impasse that stonewalls the approval process and runs an extortion racket under his nose. Even the Environment Ministry approvals have not improved and remain contentious. In a way this is good as cities barely have any capacity to carry the weight of high-rise towers. Ideally, construction in cities with a population over 5 million should be banned until and unless the municipal corporation can provide proof of the capacity per capita in terms of ability of the city to handle traffic, sewerage, and provide water and power. 
 
These cut-off capacities should be published on their websites permanently and should be sacrosanct in implementation or else all—Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai—will follow Delhi in becoming dangerous cities (Already, 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India). 
 
Delhi is bathing in dust as construction debris and dust are contributing to 45 per cent of the pollution in the city. So while the CM of Delhi is at his wits’ end over the odd-even car scheme, the real culprit goes unchecked. A city administration must develop city infra projects to raise the capacities of services before giving a nod to growth. 
 
As metro projects progress in a dozen Indian cities, as roads projects accelerate to reach 30 km per day, and as real-estate construction gathers momentum to build even higher towers dotting the skyline, we need to set a framework so that the growth of a city is not at the cost of the life of its citizens. 
 
(The article is authored by Pratap Padode, Founder &amp; Director of Smart Cities Council India, an international consortium of smart cities expert practitioners, academicians and solution providers with over 7500 case studies across the world. Please visit www.India.SmartCitiesCouncil.com) 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Why construction should be banned in Delhi

Smart cities are an engine for job creation and economic growth—countries like China and the UAE are betting big on them and have already dedicated billions of dollars to smart city projects. China, in fact, announced an $8 billion investment fund in smart cities last year. India needs to undertake similar measures to augment development and optimise public service delivery. 
 Going ahead, the contribution of cities to India’s <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> will only increase. If cities accounted for 58% of the national GDP in 2008, this figure is expected to go up to 70% by 2030. To adequately leverage this, India needs liveable and productive cities. 
 
The whole purpose of making smart cities is to make people more efficient and globally competitive. We need to look into the character of the city and identify core economic activity that can be further developed with the help of technology and improvement in urban infrastructure. 
 For example, <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> can create a lot of jobs in IT, telecom or the technology-driven services sector. However, for this we will need to figure out how to improve urban infrastructure so the city becomes globally competitive and can create more jobs. We have to look for the gaps in urban infrastructure. A city might require a particular kind of transportation system or a certain kind of effluent treatment system. These must be created to deliver these cities in a smart way. 
 
A positive impact of the smart city and Digital India projects is job creation, which will be, needless to say, ‘smart’. While it is difficult to give an estimate of jobs that will be generated and the reduction in labour migration, one can confidently say that even if work begins on five to 10 smart cities over the next two years, we would have created a favourable ecosystem for thousands of jobs. This will be more inclined towards white-collar jobs as IT professionals will be in greater demand, IT infrastructure being the backbone of any smart city. Data analytics, programming, high-end consulting, system and network integration will be the order of the day and professionals and students in this area can expect better opportunities. 
 In a decade, over 50 billion devices will be connected through machine-to-machine communication and the Internet of Everything (IoE) will be a $1.5 trillion-a-year business globally. There will be another $2 trillion annually in new services; within this market, the global urban services segment is estimated to be around $2 trillion in revenues and savings over the next decade. The <keyword id="6354869" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="make-in-India">Make in India</keyword> initiative and smart cities initiative should be converged with cities becoming living labs for hardware, software and urban services developed and made in the country, thereby creating a base for economic generation. 
 
(Image Credits: Indiatimes) 
 

(About the author: Pratap Padode is the Founder &amp; Director at <a href="http://smartcitiescouncil.com/content/pratap-padode-founder-scc-india">Smart Cities Council, India</a>.)

Will the smart cities project
bring in job opportunities, at what
scale and in which sectors?

<keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> launched his 1.13 lakh crore <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> initiative on July 3 with a vision to digitally empower each and every citizen of the country. Though the plan is ready and we are good to go, but is it that easy to transform words written on a ‘white paper’ into a reality? Know all about the challenges of the grand mission before putting your foot forward to become digitally empowered. 1. The foremost challenge is to increase digital literacy in the country. 
 “When you talk about Digital India, the first step is access to high quality broadband and at least a smartphone. Combination of access to affordable broadband, smart devices and monthly data packages should be there to avail all the facilities of the campaign,” said Rama Vedashree, Vice President of Domestic IT, IT services, <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nasscom">Nasscom</keyword>. 
 
2. But to make broadband affordable and accessible, one needs to keep in mind certain ground realities. India is a diversified country, in terms of language, culture, laws which vary from states to states. Complete integration, that is integration of technology and language, is one of the main challenges the mission would face in its implementation. 
 
“Every state and every community has a different prescribed method by which they address governmental communications from both sides. Standardisation of the network would be a tedious task,” said Pratap Padode, Founder Director, Smart Cities Council India. 
 
3. There are different internet protocols in different states depending on what kind of hardware and software they implement and chances are that this might lead to connectivity glitches. Hence, there must be some sort of a directive to standardise all the software protocols. 
 
“It should be on open source basis, rather than propriety and it should be in the guidelines. If they are to take propriety solutions, it would not only be difficult to integrate it across the states, it would be more cumbersome and expensive,” he added. 
 
4. We live in a world where Internet and cyber crime are inseparable enemies. The entire architecture should be designed in such a way that there is proper authentication done of all the documents put online by citizens and it is available to the right users at any time they want with the right authentication. But how can we ensure cyber security if the country does not have any privacy norms? 
 Rama said that although the entire digital platform is being managed by the government organisation, <keyword id="6373306" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Informatics-Centre">National Informatics Centre</keyword>, we need to understand those rules and regulations. 
 
“I don’t think they have published what the services and the agreements are and how do they make sure that there are no privacy breaches. Security in the platform, at the end users side and conformity with strict privacy norms should be there together to take care of digital hacking,” she said. 
 
Besides, there is not enough information and education of people in terms of what is data stealing and privacy breach. 
 
“Training is needed. There should be some sort of a regulation for training in the industry,” said Pratap. 
 
Rama also added that for a first time user awareness needs to be built on what it takes to be safe on cyber security. Digital literacy should be coupled with country wise drive on cyber security awareness, so that users have a safe experience on the internet. 
 
5. To get the fruits of the Digital India initiative, there should be efficient inter-governmental coordination. Although the Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) is leading it forward, there is an active involvement of telecommunication, justice, finance and planning, health department et al. Without a smooth teamwork between them, this mission would never be implemented to its full strength. 
 
6. Though India has every necessary resource required to implement it, the government needs to realise the strong capability being built in the private sector and needs to leverage that. 
 
“If everything needs to be done by government agencies, I personally think that there would be many bottle necks at some point,” said Rama. 
 
7. The initiatives started under National Optical Fibre networks, which is a very important facet to Digital India that ensures broadband reaches every nook and corner of the country, needs to be accelerated so that optical fibre-reach to the rural villages too. The reach is not yet country wide. 
 
8. Pratap said that in terms of finances, there is the issue of last mile connectivity. We have 250,000 gram panchayats, where we need to establish broadband connection and it is no easy task, especially being one of the worst among the 29 nations in terms of wireless connectivity. 
 
9. The Digital India plan comes at a time when the debate of <keyword id="6391709" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Net-neutrality">net neutrality</keyword> has still not been resolved. Net neutrality is important for entrepreneurs, who play a major role in this whole campaign, said Pratap. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the debate be resolved at the earliest. 
 
These challenges indicate that Digital India has a long way to go on its road to reality in its truest sense. The government cannot overstep them, no matter how trivial they might seem to be. 
 
(image credits: Twitter (@PIB_India))

Challenges of Digital India: Some heads-up for Narendra Modi

Do you know that if one lays down the cities of India in the descending order of their population, the 200th city has only 2,00,000 population. So changing the face of cities through the <keyword id="2738020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smart-Cities-Mission">Smart Cities mission</keyword> and <keyword id="29369" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amrut">AMRUT</keyword> essentially means changing the face of cities with a smaller population. Colonypara in the Sunderbans through sheer determination, hard work, and local leadership of women, spread across 15 villages, joined hands to build more than 10 kilometres of brick roads, connecting several previously inaccessible villages. This has changed their lives as these villages were subject to the fury of nature in the form floods and disastrous cyclones that are frequent in this vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp. In small cities of population ranging from 1,00,000 to 3,00,000, small infrastructure development can turn out to be a big game changer. 

	Providing basic services (water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households and building amenities in cities to improve quality of life for all, especially the poor and disadvantaged, is a national priority. Earlier learnings have shown that infrastructure creation should have a direct impact on the real needs of people, such as providing taps and toilet connections to all households. This means the focus should be on infrastructure creation with a direct link to provision of better services to people.
 Therefore, the purpose of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and <keyword id="2130852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Urban-transformation">Urban Transformation</keyword> (AMRUT) is to: 

	• Ensure every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection
 

	• Increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well-maintained open spaces (e.g. parks)
 

	• Reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorised transport (e.g. walking and cycling). 
 All these outcomes are valued by citizens, particularly women, and indicators and standards have been prescribed by the <keyword id="162100" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Urban-Development">Ministry of Urban Development</keyword> (MoUD) in the form of service-level benchmarks (SLBs). AMRUT has the potential to improve quality of life across segments; thus, it can play a significant role in changing a city’s image. 

	Implementation of this Mission will be linked to promotion of urban reforms, such as e-governance, constitution of professional municipal cadre, devolving funds and functions to urban local bodies, review of building bylaws, improvement in assessment and collection of municipal taxes, credit rating of urban local bodies, energy and water audit, and citizen-centric urban planning. All this would improve quality of urban governance, leading to better citizen satisfaction.
 

	This Mission will be implemented in 500 cities and towns, each with a population of 1 lakh and above; some cities situated on stems of main rivers, a few capital cities and important cities located in hilly areas, islands and tourist areas. Under this mission, 10 per cent of the budget allocation will be given to states and union territories as incentive based on the achievement of reforms during the previous year. Indeed, AMRUT has the potential to revive cities languishing for lack of basic infrastructure. 
	 (The article is authored by Pratap Padode, Founder and Director of <keyword id="3070683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smart-City-Council-of-India">Smart City Council of India</keyword>.) 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Why AMRUT can be a bigger game changer

The vast majority of city street journeys take place in cars. Despite being clean and green with a host of health benefits, <keyword id="6366594" type="SPORT" weightage="100" keywordseo="cycling">cycling</keyword> is really popular in only a few countries. Potential accidents, the lack of a cycle-friendly infrastructure and worries about rain and cold keep many from hopping on a two-wheeled horse, even though bicycles are fast, clean, healthy and inexpensive. In the UK, US and <keyword id="6355478" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Australia">Australia</keyword>, for example, only about 1 per cent of all journeys are made on a bike. But there are exceptions, of course: in the <keyword id="44173" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Netherlands">Netherlands</keyword>, the number is 27 per cent, and in Danish capital Copenhagen, <a href="http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Irresistible.pdf">over half the population cycles regularly</a>. 
 
The main factor that keeps cycling rates low in many cities is that most people are not comfortable sharing space in streets with fast-moving cars and trucks. Most modern cities are designed for cars. Thus, an intelligent city planner while planning a smart city should assume that cycling, walking and public transport would be the main forms of transport while trying to figure out how to accommodate inefficient, polluting and dangerous modes like private car use. 
 Cities such as Delhi and <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> have shown spectacular economic growth, but at a price: traffic has literally come to a standstill. This is not only a cost to society but the economy. A sustainable solution involves a switch to other means of transportation. Amsterdam has shown that a transition in modalities of transport is possible. Currently, 53 per cent of all travel in the city is by bicycle, compared to 23 per cent by car. Investment in bicycle infrastructure is a modern and intelligent move for a city to make. Studies from Denmark tell us that for every kilometre cycled, society enjoys a net profit of 23 cents. For every kilometre driven by car we suffer a net loss of -16 cents. Now, the <keyword id="58906" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karnataka-government">Karnataka government</keyword> and the city of Bengaluru are aiming to make urban mobility more bicycle-inclusive as part of the transition to a sustainable, smart city. 
 
Benefits of cycling 
 
Using the bicycle as an urban means of transport can improve the way cities are enjoyed, both for cyclists and other citizens. 
· A clean, environment-friendly means of transport 
· Silent 
· Improves overall fitness and contributes to reducing healthcare costs 
· Traffic jams not usually a concern 
· Reduces the need for fossil fuels 
· Makes it possible to carry objects around 
· Indirect source of cost reduction for cities and countries 
· Cuts carbon, air pollution and calories 
 
Planning for a cycle-friendly smart city 
 
· If the distance is short between start point and destination, cycling could be preferred. So, streets should be connected in such a way that the distance becomes short. 
· Car-free or limited-traffic streets can become anchors for human-centred activity 
· Bikeways should be smooth and free of obstructions, and preferably separated from traffic by parked vehicles, guardrails, bollards or other barriers that clearly differentiate bike lanes from the rest of the street. 
· ‘Smart’ bike-sharing systems provide the missing link between existing points of public transportation and desired destinations. 
 
Supporting ‘Cycling’ is not only an expression of inclusiveness but of health and harmony with environment. It needs to be part of every development plan of private townships and smart cities. More than 400,000 bicycle sharing schemes are used in dozens of cities on the Chinese mainland only, since 2012. Besides in economic benefits, India is the second largest bicycle producing industry after China. This US$ 1.5 billion industry produced nearly 15.5 million bicycles in 2012–13, i.e., 10% of the total bicycles manufactured globally and employed about 1 million people in the country. 
Cycling can improve the overall health of a city, in every sense of the word. But to make non-motorised transport a reality in the developing world, city leaders must first improve designs to support walkers and bikers. 
 (The article is authored by Pratap Padode, Founder and Director of <keyword id="3070683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smart-City-Council-of-India">Smart City Council of India</keyword>.) 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Why cycling should be mandatory in smart cities

The Cabinet on Wednesday cleared <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>'s favoured 100 smart cities project in a bid to recast the urban landscape of the country to make them more livable and inclusive besides driving economic growth. 
 It also cleared the <keyword id="2829341" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Atal-Mission-for-Rejuvenation">Atal Mission for Rejuvenation</keyword> and <keyword id="2130852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Urban-transformation">Urban Transformation</keyword> (AMRUT) for 500 cities. The Cabinet chaired by Modi approved central government spending of about rupees one lakh crore on urban development under two new urban missions over the next five years. While the <keyword id="2738020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Smart-Cities-Mission">Smart Cities Mission</keyword> will get an outlay of Rs 48,000 crore, the AMRUT mission will received Rs 50,000 crore over the next five years. In comparison, the central outlay for nine years of the <keyword id="2829342" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="JNNURM-mission">JNNURM mission</keyword> was Rs 42,900 crore. 
PM Modi had announced his vision to set up 100 smart cities across the country soon after his government was sworn into power mid last year. Since then a race has been on among cities to land on the smart cities list that the ministry of urban development is compiling. 
Pratap Padode, Founder Director, Smart Cities Council India, said the move will give a much needed thrust to the urban renewal JNNURM programme that went cold under the previous government. "Efficiency and sustainability will be of major focus in the establishment of smart cities. Accountability will be the most important factor in fund disbursal to the states and it will based on the time bound completion of projects," he said. 
 
Under the Smart Cities Mission, each selected city would get central assistance of Rs 100 crore per year for five years. Each Smart City aspirant will be selected through a 'City Challenge Competition' intended to link financing with the ability of the cities to perform to achieve the mission objectives. "Each state will shortlist a certain number of smart city aspirants as per the norms to be indicated and they will prepare smart city proposals for further evaluation for extending central support," said a statement from the ministry of urban development. 
The 100 smart cities mission intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure with the objective of enhancing the quality of urban life and providing a clean and sustainable environment, it said. 
 
Under this mission, special emphasis will be given to participation of citizens in prioritizing and planning urban interventions. This will be implemented through an 'area based' approach consisting of retrofitting, redevelopment, pan-city initiatives and development of new cities. 
Under retrofitting, deficiencies in an identified area will be addressed through necessary interventions, as was done in the case of downtown Ahmedabad. 
 
Redevelopment enables reconstruction of already built-up area that is not amenable for any interventions to make it smart as in the case of Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai and West Kidwai Nagar in New Delhi. Larger city-wide components could be interventions like Intelligent Transport Solutions that benefit all residents by reducing commuting time. 
Explaining the features of the smart cities initiative, the statement said that the focus will be on core infrastructure services like adequate and clean water supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, affordable housing for poor, power supply, robust IT connectivity, governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens, health and education and sustainable urban environment. "The <keyword id="6355512" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Union-Cabinet">Union Cabinet</keyword> decision is a step in the right direction. The infrastructural spend that will happen by way of developing smart cities will give much required impetus to the realty sector and the residential redevelopment that will happen will also support allied industries like cement and steel," said Ganesh Vasudeva, CEO, IndiaProperty.com. 
 
 
The two missions approved by the Cabinet today are interlinked in many ways. 
 
AMRUT adopts a project approach to ensure basic infrastructure services relating to water supply, sewerage, storm water drains, transport and development of green spaces and parks with special provision for meeting the needs of children. Implementation of this mission will be linked to promotion of urban reforms such as e-governance, constitution of professional municipal cadre, devolving funds and functions to urban local bodies, review of building bye-laws, improvement in assessment and collection of municipal taxes, credit rating of urban local bodies, energy and water audit and citizen-centric urban planning in cities other than the 100 smart cities. 
 
Under this mission, 10% of the budget allocation will be given to states/union territories as incentive based on achievement of reforms during the previous year. 
This mission will be implemented in 500 cities and towns each with a population of one lakh and above, some cities situated on stems of main rivers, a few capital cities and important cities located in hilly areas, islands and tourist areas. 
 
Under this mission, states get the flexibility of designing schemes based on the needs of identified cities and in their execution and monitoring. States will only submit State Annual Action Plans to the centre for broad concurrence based on which funds will be released but in a significant departure from JNNURM, the central government will not appraise individual projects. 
Central assistance will be to the extent of 50% of project cost for cities and towns with a population of up to 10 lakhs and one-third of the project cost for those with a population of above 10 lakhs. Central assistance will be released in three instalments in the ratio of 20:40:40 based on achievement of milestones indicated in State Annual Action Plans. 
 
The thinking behind AMRUT is to lay a foundation to enable cities and towns to eventually grow into smart cities. The Cabinet has also approved central <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> under AMRUT to the projects sanctioned under JNNURM but not completed. JNNURM projects relating to urban development sanctioned during 2005-2012 which achieved physical progress of 50% after availing 50% of central assistance released and those sanctioned during 2012-2014 will be supported till March, 2017. Accordingly, 102 and 296 projects respectively will get central support for balance funding to complete these projects. While the government will put in Rs 1 lakh crore under the two missions, states and urban local bodies would mobilise matching resources for development of urban areas over the next five years, taking the total flow of investment close to Rs 2 lakh crore. In addition, substantial private <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> would be mobilized by states and urban local bodies through PPP model as required to meet project costs.

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