Smart Cities: hope glimmers amid roadblocks

Realising the need for physical, social and economic infrastructure to enhance livability, government introduced the ambitious Smart City Mission. The urban renewal and retrofitting program has a mission to develop 100 cities across India making them citizen-friendly and sustainable. The country hinges hope that the initiative would not just drive economic growth but also improve the quality of life by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.

Around 31 per cent of India’s current population resides in cities forming 63 per cent of GDP (Census 2011). Urban areas are likely to have 40 per cent of houses and would contribute 75 per cent of India’s GDP by 2030. Development of smart cities is a move towards attracting investment, as also creating a virtuous cycle of growth and development.

Thrust is on the most pressing needs as well as on the greatest opportunities to improve lives. Industry is tapping approaches like digital and information technologies, urban planning best practices, public-private partnerships, and policy change, keeping people at centre stage.

Industry players, with their latest innovations strive to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘smart’ solutions. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development with the idea to look at compact areas, creating models skin to a light house to aspiring cities.

While slated to continue for five years, (FY2015-16 to FY2019-20), the Smart City Mission may be continued thereafter in the light of Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD)’s evaulation and incorporating the learnings into the mission.

Getting skilled workmen hard, but our product is designed to work with available workforce as well.
Manikandan Mahalingam, General Director, Paschal Formwork (India) Pvt Ltd

More inclusive and integrated pathways to city and urban planning development has to be made in order to increase the opportunities.
Ar. Er. S. P. Anchuri, Chief Consultant, Anchuri and Anchuri

Managing overall efficiency is becoming increasingly challenging due to independently-operated systems.
Ar. S.K. Goel, Conarch Architects

There is a need for seamlessly interconnected systems that can be retrofitted over existing infrastructure.
Ar. Ajay Nahar, Chairman & Managing Director, Nahar Projects (part of Nahar Group).

Cities become smart only when they are adaptable and self-sustaining to the changing needs of the city dwellers.
Architect Alex Joseph, MYSPACE ARCHITECTS

Smart cities implementation should leverage a lot of construction activity.
Ar. Prem Nath, PremNath& Associates

There is likely to be positive increase in exchange of finance and migration locally as well as internationally.
Shashi Prabhu, Founder & MD, Shashi Prabhu& Associates

Linking the building management system with CCTV, access control systems, provides higher value and safety to occupants.
Mukund Patil, Head PFA, B&R Industrial Automation India

Smart city involves extensive construction with concrete as mainstay, raising need for batching plant, concrete pumps, etc.
V G Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter Sales and Services Private Limited.

Whether it is IoT or urban infra, we have to understand the future needs as well as be ready for the same.
Anup Nair, VP and Business Head, Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd

There is an increasing demand for ‘green’ elevators that capture energy which would otherwise be wasted.
Sebi Joseph, President, Otis India

Gearless and MRL elevators offer more flexibility to design and saves times and cost.
Nimish Deshpande, Sr. Vice President Technical, Schindler India & South Asia

The upkeep and safety of gadgets will always remain a challenge in smart infrastructure.
Ratan Lal Kashyap, Sr. Vice President –Procurement, G R Infraprojects Ltd.

Smart city uses ICT so as to make its critical infrastructure and components more interactive and efficient.
Prof. Charanjit Singh Shah, Founding Principal, Creative Group

Smart city is about building large-scale living communities that optimise human comfort and well-being while holistically uniting sustainability with technological advances.
Mala Singh, Chairperson & MD, PEC Greening India, Vice-Chair IGBC- Mumbai Chapter

Market trend is now towards materials that are safe, non-deteriorating, non-fibrous, flame-retardant, fungi-free.
Tushar Dastane, Manager Marketing & Training, Aerolam Insulations Pvt Ltd

By 2030, 60 per cent of people will live in cities and there will be close to 70 billion light points in the world.
Sumit Padmakar Joshi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Signify Innovations India Limited

Majority of upcoming smart lighting systems are expected to be wireless.
Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group

PEB construction could be used as a synonym to smarter way of construction adding utmost value in making the cities smart and more sustainable
Vishwa Murthy KM – CEO, HalleysBlue Steels Pvt Ltd India I Africa

We are working towards augmenting and upgrading the skills of artisans, plumbers, carpenters and tradesman.
Dattatraya Joshi, Executive Director & Secretary, HiKoki Power Tools India Private Limited

Use of modern technologies like precast construction helps construct new housing facilities faster and more efficient.
Paul Wallett, Regional Director, Trimble Solutions – India and Middle East

There are a number of exciting new trends that are likely to impact the steel market in some capacity.
Ashish Beriwala – Director Marketing at SRMB Srijan Pvt Ltd Group

Artificial Intelligence will play a critical role in intelligent traffic management and advance video analytics.
Ashish P. Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India Pvt Ltd

Water and waste water management are two of the main pillars of a progressive smart city.
Mahathi Parashuram, Regional Head – Public Affairs, Communications & Engagement, Grundfos Asia Pacific Region

Design and development of housing and commercial structures in smart cities are critical.
Amit Shah, Managing Director, Classic Mable Company

There is demand for low-maintenance, green and energy-efficient windows and doors.
Manish Bansal, Director, Window Magic India

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