“It is important for cities to get smarter to meet the rising expectations of the urban population. Cities must find ways of deploying technology for increasing efficiency, reducing expenses and improving the quality of life,” Shankar Aggarwal, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. In conversation with Express Computer
The government is initiating programmes like Digital India, Smart Cities and Make in India. Effort is also being made to start electronics manufacturing in the country. Do you think that India is on the cusp of an IT revolution?
Absolutely. There is no doubt about it. Today we have a government that is stable and capable. We have a leadership that is passionate about nation building. We also have the knowledge derived from experience of last few years that if you want to bring real positive change in India, you have to facilitate large-scale deployment of technology. When I talk about technology, I am talking about ICT. We are regarded as a world leader in IT software. Our private sector IT companies are doing very well. Now it is the time for us to take the major step for implementing ICT in the public sector and ensure a holistic development of the country.
The Ministry of Urban Development has taken the initiative of building 100 smart cities in the country. What is the vision behind the smart cities project?
As the population in the country grows, more and more people will move towards the cities. We need more cities for catering to the needs of the new generation of urban dwellers. So the key idea behind Smart Cities is to create many more jobs for the people, revitalise the economy, and to improve the quality of life substantially. When I say quality of life, I am essentially talking about the creation of high quality urban infrastructure, in which cutting edge technology is used to provide all the basic services that people need. ICT is already available, expertise is available, knowledge is available. Lets now take advantage of those resources and create many more jobs in the country. Many new jobs can come up in the 100 Smart Cities that are being planned.
What will be the key features of the Smart City?
A Smart City can have different meaning for different people. But the foundation of a Smart City is made out of the judicious amalgamation of competitiveness, capital and sustainability. For efficient delivery of life’s most basic needs, the Smart City must use latest technological innovations for providing water, sanitation, reliable utility services, transportation, healthcare, etc. It is important for cities to get smarter to meet the rising expectations of urban India. Cities must find ways of deploying technology for increasing efficiency, reducing expenses and improving the quality of life.
Do people living in a Smart City also need to be smart? By smart I mean digitally literate.
People are generally smart. That is not a problem. They can acquire digital literacy. Knowledge and expertise can be acquired. The key theme behind the Smart City project is to create an environment that is conducive for personal as well as economic development. Hence the Smart Cities must also be seen as a vehicles for promoting economic activity in the country.
The success of the Smart City projects will ultimately depend on the amount of private investment that these projects can attract. But the experience of the private sector of investing in infrastructure projects in India has not been good. What initiatives can be taken to encourage private sector investment in Smart City projects?
This is exactly what we are trying to figure out. How to attract private investment? People are enterprising in this country; if they see a good opportunity in Smart City projects, they will come forward to invest. Even outside the country, people are willing and they want to make investments, especially in the area of infrastructure. In return they need two things. First, they don’t want to take any policy related risks. So they want to have a stable policy. And as I said earlier today we have a very stable government and a very outstanding leadership—so under these circumstances people are willing to invest. Secondly they want some kind of assurance from the government that they will get their licences, clearances, NOCs in time. Today the approvals take too much time and at times the investors get so harassed that they loose interest in the project. But if we can have in place a regime of good governance in India, then the private sector will be encouraged to invest. This good governance can only come from eGovernance. Why eGovernance? Because eGovernance guarantees transparency and efficiency.
Is land an issue for the success of Smart City projects?
Land is an issue because this is a very populous country. But the problem of land can be solved, because lot of land is already available with the private sector. If we can develop a policy that allows land pooling by different entities, then the problem of land will be solved to a large extent. People will be able to get together and develop Smart City on their pooled land. The Smart Cities project will be a game-changer for the Indian economy and we are focussed on ensuring the success of this project.
