The idea of smart cities is slowly beginning to take shape in India with both central and state governments understanding the need to utilize technology for tackling governance challenges. NEC is geared up to tap this opportunity. By Pupul Dutta
The idea of India soon having smart cities was scoffed at some years ago. Things are starting to change as both central and state governments have started projects to better the quality of life in urban environments by improving city administration.
Japanese technology major, NEC, is planning to cater to this market, offering a variety of solutions including the biometrics engine that’s currently being used by UIDAI, fingerprinting technology for police and forensics departments, etc.
NEC, which has already done a few smart city projects in countries like Argentina, Singapore and various nations in the Middle East plans to implement some of what it’s learned through those experiences in India.
“We wanted to understand the global dynamics first and then move to India. NEC believes that the time has come in India, wherein the country needs to go beyond city surveillance. There are other uses for ICT beyond security such as improving transportation or electricity,” said Bharat Khanna, Head – Public Safety, NEC India.
According to Khanna, the company was in talks with several state governments about the processes that could be implemented for making cities work better and safer.
He added, “Like minded companies will have to come together since no single company can do everything on its own.”
Current projects
NEC is providing solutions to the SCRB (State Crime Records Bureau) of three states and it is in talks with a couple more for the same. “We provide these bureaus with AFIS or Automatic Fingerprint Identification System technology that helps the police collect, digitize and match criminal records faster,” said Khanna.
“Lots of states in India are currently doing fingerprint matching manually but we are now offering to automate the process. Matches or comparisons of images with digitized records can be done much faster and more effectively with our technology,” explained Khanna. NEC apparently holds the maximum number of patents on sensor and matching technologies globally.
The other projects that NEC is involved in includes biometric de-duplication of records for UIDAI and AFRS or Automatic Face Recognition System for some states. The company does the deduplication work for Aadhaar, besides providing the biometrics application. “With AFRS, the police can not only track movements of people or traffic but also identify and live stream records of criminals who might be creating fresh mischief. With the help of this solution, a considerable amount of crime can be prevented or at least reduced,” said Khanna.
The company has been conducting pilots of its own for this technology and has also been invited by many state police departments to do the same.
Khanna added that NEC was in talks with a large public sector bank for implementing a project that establishes the identity of its customers using biometrics. The technology used would not only authenticate the bank’s customers but it would also provide added security against fraudulent transactions.
Upcoming trends
NEC is also looking at acquiring few companies for its Indian portfolio of services. Khanna explained that, though it was at a rather nascent stage, any decision would be taken once the company’s management met in Tokyo during its annual technology show this year.
He said, “We will see lot of consolidation happening in the market around technology, money and vendors. Only the large players with years of expertise will survive; these are the players who would offer an OPEX model.”
“The government had introduced the concept of mega cities project in 2005-2006 for transforming Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad into cities of the future. The project is yet to take off due to red tapism and several conflicting opinions from stakeholders. Khanna concluded that he hoped that change was going to come about within the next couple of years.”
