Pune Smart City was invited to be a part of the Smart Cities Asia 2019 conference held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Accordingly, Manojit Bose, Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) of Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) presented a Case Study at the Conference.
The fifth edition of this international conference was attended by Smart City experts from different countries in the world including Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Netherlands and host country Malaysia, amongst others.
The two-day conference witnessed wide-ranging talks and discussions around the ‘Smart City’ concept, including Governance & Planning, Smart Mobility & Connectivity, Urban Intelligence and Smart & Sustainable development.
Bose presented a case study on ‘Data and Technology led Innovation in Pune Smart City.’ He remarked that Digital is clearly the pivot for development of Smart Cities; increased awareness and focus around data, ubiquitous connectivity, advances in technology and affordable access to computing infra is catalysing innovation in Smart Cities like never before, benefiting the citizens and the city government alike. Bose also took part in a fireside chat on ‘What should city leaders do to embrace and capitalise on disruptive innovations.’
YB Jagdeep Singh Deo, Penang State Executive Councillor (EXCO) for Local Government, Housing and Town & Country Planning, Penang, Malaysia, presented his vision for developing Penang as a Smart State.
Other prominent speakers from the administration and intelligentsia included Abhishek Ranjan, Chief Technology Officer, CSC E-Governance Services India Limited, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, who brought forward his story on how Common Service Centres (CSCs) are inspiring rural India; Dr Avik Sarkar, Former Head – Data Analytics Cell at NITI Aayog, Government of India, spoke on empowering cities through data; Mahesh Moroney, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited, shared his experience on the implementation of Nagpur Smart City project through Town Planning scheme.
Dr Umamaheshwaran Rajasekar, Chair, Urban Resilience – 100 Resilient Cities, National Institute of Urban Affairs, delivered an address on ‘Sustainable landscape in smart-funding to fuel smart-infrastructure’. Karuna Gopal, Global Thought Leader, President of the Foundation for Futuristic Cities, India, gave a talk on re-envisioning smart cities in the context of emerging global needs.
Girish M Ramachandran, Executive Director, 27 Advisory & 27 Projects, Malaysia, spoke on smart city framework for implementation. BK Sinha, Founder and Director, C2C Project Managers, Malaysia, delivered a presentation on ‘Circular economy 2.0: evolving the linear model for a sustainable future.’ Praveen Lala, Director of Digital Services, GE Digital, Singapore, gave a talk on ‘Smart power generation, digital transformation, driving ROI and sustaining benefits’.
The discussions were focused on smart governance instruments that city administrators can utilise to advance the development of their cities. They were also focused on how cities can better prepare themselves to embrace disruptive innovations and adapt to the latest technologies.
