A panel discussion was held on Smart City and The Urban Challenge at the HANNOVER MESSE fair
Urbanisation is now a global megatrend and by 2050, around 64 per cent of the developing world and 86 per cent of the developed world is expected to be urbanised. Rapid urbanisation is putting a strain on the infrastructure, environment and social fabric of cities. The new Indian government has taken cognisance of this accelerating expansion. Investments required to stabilise, augment as well as build a robust urban infrastructure are at the forefront of the government's current agenda.
This was echoed in the inaugural address at a seminar on "Smart Cities - The Urban Challenge" by Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, where he said, "One of the key challenges for India to grow at 9 to 10 per cent per annum is the challenge of urbanisation. He further remarked that according to a recent study, India will have 700 million people getting in the process of urbanisation by 2050 and therefore, the challenge for India is to create two and a half Americas by 2050 and do it in a far more innovative and sustainable manner."
Further elaborating on India's urbanisation journey, Kant said "The process of urbanisation has ended in America, has ended in Europe and nearly ended in China. But urbanisation has just started in India. India is growing at a rate of 6.5 per cent and in two years time we are aiming to achieve nine to ten per cent growth rate. India is an oasis of growth in a barren economic landscape."
"India has been a very reluctant urbaniser and there are huge advantages of this reluctance. The advantage is: you can learn from the urbanisation practices across the world and use technology to leapfrog. When America urbanised, land, gas and water were easily available. Therefore, they created sprawling cities. These resources are not available cheaply any more. Therefore, India has to create its own model of smartness. Smartness is not just the use of technology alone but making your cities grow on the back of public transportation," he further added.
During the seminar at Hannover Messe 2015, FICCI signed an MoU with Hannover Milano Fairs India (HMFI) at the India Pavilion at Hall No. 6 to organise a platform to discuss and showcase new solutions and innovations in urban development in 2015-16.
The panel discussion on Smart City and The Urban Challenge was illuminated by presentation and insights shared by Sushil Sethi, MD, SPML Infra Limited, Indresh Batra, VC & MD, Jindal ITF Ltd, Sangeeta Prasad, CEO - Integrated Cities & Industrial Clusters, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd, Willfired Wienholt, Global Head - Citu Account Management, Siemens Plc, Adrian Harris, Director General, Orgalime, Frank Stuhrenberg, CEO, Phoenix Contact.
"Smart cities is an important mission for the Government of India and a critical urban challenge in the Government‘s vision for holistic and sustainable urban development in India. Germany and India are already working together to develop 3 smart cities in India, Metropolitain Solutions will further this partnership and opportunities in this sector. HANNOVER MESSE is an important platform for India's Make in India initiatives and we are happy to announce this partnership at such an opportune time," said Pradeep Puri, Chairman, FICCI Urban Infrastructure Committee.
Outlining the top priorities for a smart city, Mr. Kant emphasized, "To my mind, the first and foremost thing for a smart city is embedding public transport. Secondly, how we recycle water, rain water harvesting, and other solutions that ensure zero wastage are critical. Thirdly, the ability to smartly manage waste created in a country of about 1.3 billion is also a crucial."
End
