Author
Chahat Jain is a Video Producer with Political Science background. She has worked in Business News Channels like ET NOW and ZEE Business. She loves travelling and socialising
A charismatic leader and a youth icon for many, Nara Lokesh, Cabinet Minister for Information Technology, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Andhra Pradesh has taken the state on an unprecedented developmental path. Taking to Chahat Jain and Manish Arora of BW Smart Cities, the minister talks about leveraging technology and supporting young entrepreneurs as a key to push the Government’s development agenda and guarantee a quality life to the rural population.
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Technology is a big enabler and core for any smart city to supplement its citizens’ lifestyles whilst making a city more efficient and robust. Advanced technology can be leveraged to a city’s utmost advantage creating an enabling environment for its Government, residents and authorities alike. Sudarshan Boosupalli, Country Head, India and SAARC, Ruckus Networks in a candid interview to Chahat Jain, BW SmartCities exemplifies the importance of a connected city that can create a vibrant community of connected stakeholders.
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City governance is a complex system. The governance framework at the city level must be in sync with the with the culture, heritage, economy, competitiveness and institutions. That is the reason just constituting special purpose vehicle is not enough for the success of the Smart Cities in India. D. Dhanuraj, Chairman of Centre for Public Policy Re-search (CPPR), a think tank dedicated to research on current economic, social, and political issues, in conversation with Chahat Jain of BW SmartCities talks about the city governance, the need for financial and administrative autonomy of the cities and the various transportation models, which are required for the success of Smart Cities in India. An edited excerpt:
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The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is a nodal agency of US government that provides funding to partnering countries in the areas of infrastructural development. The agency had been very active in the field of aviation and energy and has also extended their support to the ambitious Smart Cities Mission Project, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. Mehnaz Ansari, Country representative, South Asia, USTDA, talks to Chahat Jain of BW SmartCities about the progress of smart city project in these cities and about the future focus areas of the agency in India. Edited excerpts.
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Sikkim being a fortunate state having beautiful tourist destinations and a part of 100 smart cities of India is situated at a strategic location for defence. “We see the existing conditions as an opportunity where we can strengthen the value proposition of the city and provide more economic opportunities to the young entrepreneurs”, said Navin Rai, Joint Chief Town Planner and Nodal Officer, Smart Cities Mission, Sikkim in an exclusive conversation with Chahat Jain of BW SmartCities.
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Policing became smarter in the state of Uttar Pradesh with UP Dial 100, the emergency response management system. The project is jointly implemented by Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Defence Systems to provide integrated emergency services relating to public safety across the State on 24×7 basis. A centralized contact center has been established at Lucknow for receiving all emergency calls directly from across the State, including remote rural areas. The results were encouraging. In about one year of its operation, UP100 provided assistance in more than 42 lakh cases and is currently catering to around 1.2 lakh citizen calls on daily basis. Chahat Jain of BW SmartCities talks to Aditya Mishra, ADG UP-100, about changing police perception in the state.
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Ahmedabad was amongst the first slot of cities to be selected for the Smart Cities Mission. Ranked at sixth, the city was be-hind Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur Kochi and Surat, however, the recent tag of becoming India’s first heritage city has boosted the enthusiasm of the city officials who are trying their best to maintain the status of India’s first heritage city and at the same time transform it into a smart city. According to Rakesh Shankar, CEO- SPV (Smart City), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in the last few months, the city has taken many steps to transform the city. And he feels that with its latest prepaid Jan Mitra card, the city has really taken a smart leap in this direction.
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With a proposed investment to the tune of Rs.20,000 crore, Varanasi Smart City, the high profile constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is all set to transform itself from the sleepy heritage city to a modern city with all modern infrastructure.
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Varanasi, also known as Banaras or Kashi, city on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, India, is set to roll out they key projects in the city for areas based and pan city development.
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