Supporting the Prime Minister’s vision for “Smart Cities”, the capital witnessed the opening of Smart Cities India 2015 expo at Pragati Maidan . Organized by Exhibitions India, this global knowledge platform for the smart cities industry is a three day long conference and exhibition being held at Pragati Maidan, from 20th to 22nd May, 2015.
Guest of Honour for the event H.E. Mr. Harald Sandberg, Ambassador of Sweden said, “It is commendable that India is committed to developing the country in smarter and a sustainable way. Public-private partnership is the way forward for this initiative. Sweden has gained relevant experience through over-coming water and pollution related challenges and thereby transforming Sweden to an eco-friendly country. The ambitious smart cities project in India demands small steps to be taken by every citizen to make it a sprawling success.”
The inaugural ceremony saw key note speakers sharing their vision on Smart Cities. The welcome address included Industry leaders such as Mr. Dinesh Malkani, President, CISCO, India; Mr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman, NASSCOM and Executive Chairman, Cyient, India; along with Mr. Rakesh Kaul, Partner-Government and Public services, PwC, India.
“Urbanisation in India is happening at an accelerating rate. By 2031, the population in the urban areas will increase to 600 million from current 377 million. This will boost the increase in the middle class section of the society that will generate larger aspirations seeking better quality of life and sustainable eco-system. Smart cities concept would require enormous knowledge transfer to devise solutions that are suitable for the Indian scenario” shared Mr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman, NASSCOM and Executive Chairman, Cyient, India.
Mr. Rakesh Kaul, Partner-Government and Public services, PwC, India said, “Smart Cities concept is built on 4 pillars that includes Physical (Infrastructure), Social (Health, Education, and Entertainment), Institutional (Municipalities & City Managers), Economic (Ease of doing business in India). The initiatives should be commercially viable, socially inclusive and maintain ecological balance.”
Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Pvt Ltd, elaborated, “The conference sessions could define India's aspirational goals; the features and functions to be applied; the best practices that will help gain maximum benefits at the minimum cost; and with reduced risk.”
Exhibiting companies included Hewlett-Packard, Wipro, CISCO, Schneider Electric, Lavasa, Barco, Berger Paints India, Basildon Borough Council, L&T Construction, Zippr Pvt Ltd, Volvo, Skipper Ltd, Neo Zeo, Royal Appliances, Newgen Group etc.
