The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has recently launched the ambitious DigiThane application, an interactive digital citizen platform, to connect residents with civic services
Smart city slot for Shillong kept on hold due to Meghalaya elections: Puri
The Centre had announced the final list of nine smart cities in January this year and had kept the slot for the tenth city, Shillong, vacant as it could not submit its proposal on time.
Solar Park: A new Sunrise
India’s solar programme has set-up an ambitious capacity addition target of 100 GW of solar capacity addition by 2022. Of this capacity, 40 GW is expected to get installed under solar rooftop segment and balance has come/is expected to come in the form of grid connected solar capacity (with 3.4 GW already installed at time of policy formation as on March 31, 2016).
Up for Grabs: Rs 41,000 crore opportunity in urban development
The government, in its last Budget set the tone for urban development by allocating a whopping Rs 41,000 crore. This…
Smart Cities Mission: Setting a new benchmark in project implementation
Finally, India’s Smart Cities Mission is on the right track and is progressing well. Eighty five out of 90 cities have already incorporated their special purpose vehicle (SPVs) and 61 cities have procured project management consultancies (PMCs); another eight cities are in various stages of hiring their PMCs.
Plugging the water leaks
The burgeoning population, coupled with slow and unorganized development in sewage infrastructure, has posed a major threat to city’s sanitation conditions, subsequent river water quality, and public health of the inhabitants. To tackle this menace, several urban local bodies are taking all the precautionary measures to strengthen their water and sewage infrastructure.
US$ 29.56 Million available for Smart Grid! Where are the takers?
Indian electricity sector has witnessed tremendous growth in its energy demand, generation capacity, transmission and distribution networks. Keeping pace with the recent technological advancements, it is deploying new types of devices and ICT infrastructure, adopting new monitoring, control and energy management tools, and aiming at fast deployment of smart grid concepts at distribution as well as transmission level.
Smart Cities Mission on a roll (Rs 2 lakh cr worth investment in 90 cities)
A total investment of Rs 1,91,155 crore has been proposed by the 90 cities under their smart city plans. Projects focusing on revamping an identified area (area-based projects) are estimated to cost Rs 1,52,500 crore. Smart initiatives across the city (pan city initiatives) account for the remaining Rs 36,655 crore of investments. Besides for ABD and pan city projects, an amount of Rs 1,998.49 crore has been kept aside for O&M cost of the mission and other contingencies. So far, 77 smart cities (including 11 of the round 3 cities) have established their SPVs.
Making solar energy affordable (UP to make it possible)
Even today, about 200 million people do not have access to electricity in their homes in rural India. To address this decisive challenge, it is imperative to establish a symbiotic relationship between IT solutions and energy solutions.
Bhopal gets a one-stop interactive solution for citizens
Following the Indian Government’s Smart Cities Mission, Bhopal is selected as one of the 20 lighthouse cities in the first round of the project. The city is expected to create a replicable model, which shall act like a lighthouse to other cities. The core infrastructure elements in a smart city include adequate water supply, assured electricity supply, sanitation, solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity and digitalization, and good governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation, sustainable environment and safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and elderly.