Smart Cities: UN envoy Michael Bloomberg meets PM Narendra Modi, Venkaiah Naidu, to help India in project
According to an official, they took note of the fact that while in India the central government is more pro-active in urban sector, it is the other way round in the US.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New York's three-term former mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a joint Smart Cities initiative that will entail the government working together with Bloomberg Philanthropies to improve governance and public services for urban residents.
Referring to his government's commitment to build 100 smart cities in the country, the PM said, "The Smart Cities initiative is a challenging task, which nevertheless has to be undertaken to improve the quality of life for India's urban citizens with stakeholder's participation."
As per the plan, Bloomberg Philanthropies will assist the urban development ministry to select cities for its smart cities mission funding. A statement from the Prime Minister's office said the approach of this joint initiative would be different from the "conventional approach" of preparing detailed project reports.
"It will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualise the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism," the PMO statement noted.
Bloomberg has just committed $125 million in a new global road safety initiative to cut fatalities due to accidents. India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world and Mumbai has been selected as one of 20 cities in the world where Bloomberg Philanthropies will work with local governments to tackle the menace.
India has also been selected as one of the five countries to receive technical support for reviewing and strengthening road safety legislations from the Bloomberg trust.
"We can prevent millions of road traffic fatalities and injuries through stronger laws, more effective enforcement and better infrastructure," Bloomberg said in a statement last Thursday.
"Road traffic deaths will become increasingly common in the years ahead, unless we take decisive action now to prevent them."
Referring to his government's commitment to build 100 smart cities in the country, the PM said, "The Smart Cities initiative is a challenging task, which nevertheless has to be undertaken to improve the quality of life for India's urban citizens with stakeholder's participation."
As per the plan, Bloomberg Philanthropies will assist the urban development ministry to select cities for its smart cities mission funding. A statement from the Prime Minister's office said the approach of this joint initiative would be different from the "conventional approach" of preparing detailed project reports.
"It will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualise the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism," the PMO statement noted.
Bloomberg has just committed $125 million in a new global road safety initiative to cut fatalities due to accidents. India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world and Mumbai has been selected as one of 20 cities in the world where Bloomberg Philanthropies will work with local governments to tackle the menace.
India has also been selected as one of the five countries to receive technical support for reviewing and strengthening road safety legislations from the Bloomberg trust.
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"We can prevent millions of road traffic fatalities and injuries through stronger laws, more effective enforcement and better infrastructure," Bloomberg said in a statement last Thursday.
"Road traffic deaths will become increasingly common in the years ahead, unless we take decisive action now to prevent them."
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Moinak Mitra, ET Bureau
As the Chief Globalisation Officer at Cisco, Wim Elfrink prides himself on applying digital overlay to physical infrastructure.
He's also the brain behind the 2.18 million square feet Cisco Smart Campus in Bengaluru that houses eight glass-and-concrete buildings showcasing a digitally connected and sustainable environment where 8,500-odd techies don't have an assigned workplace.
The campus ecosystem resembles a smart city and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big idea of digitising India by setting up 100 smart cities.
As the Chief Globalisation Officer at Cisco, Wim Elfrink prides himself on applying digital overlay to physical infrastructure.
He's also the brain behind the 2.18 million square feet Cisco Smart Campus in Bengaluru that houses eight glass-and-concrete buildings showcasing a digitally connected and sustainable environment where 8,500-odd techies don't have an assigned workplace.
The campus ecosystem resembles a smart city and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big idea of digitising India by setting up 100 smart cities.
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