Smart Cities Council India to announce awards to select cities from PM Narendra Modi's dream project

September 20, 2019, Bengaluru: Four years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a mission to smarten 100 cities in India. With the first list of cities announced in January 2016, the remaining 80 have been progressively selected; the selection process concluded in January 2018.

Assessing it progress and successes, Smart Cities Council India, part of the global consortium of smart cities, is organising the 6th Smart Cities Summit – SM@RT URBANATION – at Hotel Ashok Lalit in Bengaluru from September 24-25 to outline India’s urban reality and future strengthened with technological revolution.

Now in its sixth year, the summit, a highly interactive conference and expo, will showcase cutting-edge technologies, real-world solutions and proven strategies that India needs to build more livable, workable and sustainable cities. It will provide the first-of-its-kind all-inclusive opportunity in India to connect with, be introduced to, learn from, and be inspired by national and international leaders at the forefront of what it takes to become a smart city or smart community.

The summit will see participation from across the globe with more than 2,000 delegates and 20+ start-ups. More than 40 eminent speakers will debate and deliberate on the various opportunities and pertinent solutions with regards to smart cities.

Additionally, awards will be announced under the categories of ‘Smart Projects’, ‘SPV CEO’ and ‘Innovation Hub’. A total of 50 projects from 23 cities have been evaluated for the Smart Projects awards. This plus, 50 city commissioners / SPV CEOs have confirmed participation for the summit.

The 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission have proposed to execute 5,151 projects worth Rs 2,050.18 billion in five years from their respective dates of selection. Cities are working in multiple sectors in an integrated manner like solid waste management, social sectors, storm water drainage, environment, complete streets, waste water/sewerage, water supply, affordable housing, energy, it connectivity, economic development, urban mobility, area development.
Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary & Mission Director (Smart Cities Mission), 
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, said, “Of the 5,000 projects that 100 cities had proposed, we have tendered out 3,880 projects worth Rs 1,418 billion; grounded 3,100 projects worth Rs 1,004 billion; and competed 1,100 projects worth over Rs 201 billion. This is only one aspect of what the mission has achieved. Remaining projects are expected to be tendered out by March 2020.” He added, “Cities need to be built around communities and that we must use technology as a means, not an end – in a way that helps create inclusion and support bottom-up innovation. My focus is on empowering cities to achieve sustainable economic growth so that they become more liveable and safe, with clean air, adequate infrastructure, reliable utilities, and opportunities for learning and employment.”

Speaking on the Summit, Pratap Padode, Founder and Director, Smart Cities Council India, said, “It takes 15 to 20 years to establish a city as a vibrant and significant location. We have got off the ground for since last four years. An estimated amount of $ 19.36 billion has been deployed in projects completed and under construction. Cities are expected to raise Rs 150 billion by 2023 by of which Rs 60 billion to be raised by issuance of bonds. There are 7 billion IoT devices currently which is expected to triple by 2025. Cities at the forefront of this revolution would be able to analyse data and make game changing decisions to enhance lives of millions of people. Since cities are the engines of growth, fortifying them with technology in the face of rapid urban migration is a necessity. Since the first edition of Smart Cities Summit in 2014, SMART URBANATION has succeeded to become a referential event to support the development of Indian cities. Now in its sixth year, the Summit, a highly-interactive conference and expo, showcases cutting-edge technologies, real-world solutions and proven strategies that India needs to build more livable, workable, sustainable cities.”

Key speakers at Smart Urbanation will include:
Shri Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary, Smart Cities Mission Director, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt of India
Shri Anjum Parwez, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt of Karnataka
Prakash Gaur, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Urban Infrastructure Asset Management
Vikash Chandra, Finance & PPP expert, Smart Cities Mission Management Unit, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India
Dr Rajendra Jagtap, CEO, Pune Smart City Development Corporation
Shri Raj Cherubal, CEO, Chennai Smart City
Jagdish Salgaonkar, Senior Vice President, AECOM & Programme Director, Dholera Industrial City
Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat, TERI
Adam Beck, Executive Director, Smart Cities Council Australia
Madhav Ragam, VP - Govt & Healthcare, IBM Asia Pacific
Koh Lin Ji, Group Director, International Development, Building & Construction Authority, Singapore
Michael Jansen, Chairman & CEO, CityZenith
Sophie Walker, COO & Co-Founder, Dsposal
Saloni Goel, Environmental & Sustainability Change Maker, Guinness World Record Holder for Swachh Kumbh Mela

145, Behind Zomato, Sector 44, Gurugram, Haryana 122003

About Smart Cities Council India:
The Smart Cities Council India is the world’s premier consortium of smart city practitioners and academicians and solution providers, which include over 100 members and advisor organisations operating in more than 140 countries with 10,000 smart city projects worked upon. We envision a world where digital technology and intelligent design have been harnessed to create smart, sustainable cities with high-quality living and high-quality jobs.

This release was published on openPR.