SMART CITIES

(1) We hear the word 'smart cities' often these days So what is it? Is it a city where evervone is smart or where only smart people are allowed? Or is it a futuristic cns upon entry of which people will become smart?

(2) It is however, something entirely different. Just to give you an idea-Think of sensors monitoring water levels, energy usage, traffic flows, and seCurity cameras, and sending that data directly to city administrators. Or applications that help residents navigate traffic, report potholes and vote. Or trash collection that's totally automated. This is what a 'smart city' will have. In fact, the term generally refers to cities using information tcchnology to solve urban problems. It is also used to enhance performance and well-being, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. It will help in confronting overcrowding, traffic congestion, pollution, resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and the need for continuing cconomic growth. It will also have reduced crime, safer streets and neighbourhood. In all, there will be a general improvement in the quality of life.

(3) The key 'smart sectors include transport, energy, hcalthcare, water and waste. A sImart city should be able to respond faster to city and global challenges than one with a simple 'transactional relationship with its citizens. It engages effectively with local people in local governance and decision by use of open innovation processes and e-participation with emphasis placed on citizen participation and co-design. It makes good use of the creative industries, supported by strong knowledge and social networks, voluntary organisations in a low-crime setting to achieve thesc aims.

(4) The terms 'intelligent city and digital city' are also used interchangeably with smart city.

(5) You may wonder, why there is sudden interest in smart cities. It Is due to maior challenges, including climate change, cconomic restructuring, the move to online retail and entertainment, agcing populations, and pressurecs on public fimances.

(6) So, how does it work? The Smart Cities Council, an industry-backed outfit th advocates the concept in India, describes them as cities that control data gathered from smart sensors through a smart grid to create a city that is liveable, orkable and sustainable. According to the Smart Cities Council, all the data that is collected from sensors- clectricity, gas, watCr, traflic and other government analytics-is carefully compiled and integrated into a smart grid and then led into computers that can focus on making the city as efficient as possible

(7) This allows authorities to have real-time information about the city around them, and allows computers to attempt "pertect operations". such as halancing supply and demand on electricity networks, synchronising traffic signals for peak usage. and optimising energy networks. India is urbanising at an unprecedented rate, so much that estimates suggest that nearly 600 million Indians will be living in cities by 2030, up from 290 million as reported in the 2001 census A McKinsey Global Institute study estimated that cities would generate 70% new jobs by 2030. produce more than 70% of the Indian gross domestic product and drive a fourfold increase in per capita income across the country.

(8) The concept of smart cities' as satellite towns of larger ones was enunciated in last month's budget by the new NDA government which has allocated a sum of 7,060 crores for the plan. In his budget speech. Jaitley mentioned about exactly why the government believes the need for spending moncy on 100 smart cities He claimed that "unless new cities are developed to accommodate the burgeoning number of people, the existing cities would soon become unliveable" According to the urban development ministry, the focus will not be just 100 cities, but all urban areas across the country. 100 cities, however, remain a tentative figure, with much still to be pinned down. The budget speech only officially identified cities along the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Master Plan, which covers seven states. Although they weren't named in the budget, seven cities have also been named along the Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor, some which would overlap with the Amritsar-Kolkata plan. Officially, the budget only pointed out three cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor: Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka.

(9) The secretary. Sudhir Krishna has asked the National Institute of Urban Affairs to work on the smart city project, based on a framework that covers overall smartness and sustainability. For now, the focus will be on a much smaller number of cities in states where conditions are amenable before. The government even attempts to look at expanding to cover 00 urban areas.

(10) Rs.70 crore per city will clearly not be enough, and even if more is added, it's unlikely that the government will have resources to pay for the cities, The government announced that it was relaxing norms for foreign direct investment to make it casier for outside companies to invest in smart citics. In addition, India has spoken to France, Japan and Singapore about collaborating on the projects.