Indian cultural ethos to rejuvenate Japanese cities

KOLKATA: A Japanese research institute is partnering IIT Kharagpur to share its ideas on how to make Indian cities 'smart' and also take back Indian cultural ethos to rejuvenate cities in Japan.

"Japanese cities are already smart and have reached a level of saturation and perfection. They will share their technology, ideas and know how on how to build Indian cities smart," Joy Sen, head of architecture and regional planning department of IIT-Kgp, said.

The Nikken-Sekkei Research Institute ( NSRI) of Japan signed an MoU in this regard with the IIT today.

Sen said the Japanese are also interested in taking back cultural ethos from India.

"Japanese cities are suffering from a deep cultural and social crisis. They need recovery and are looking at India for some inspiration," he said, adding that as part of the partnership NSRI will explore the human relationship element in Indian societies.

After signing the MoU, Shigehisa Matsumura of NSRI said it is a good starting point for collaboration.

Prof Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, Director, IIT Kharagpur, said Japan is a natural partner because of strong historical and cultural ties between the two countries.

"Sustainability is ingrained in India while Japan is about quality," he said.

With Japan the IIT has a multi-tier relationship, including with the University of Tokyo, he added.

The IIT is also preparing manpower to run, design and maintain smart cities, its officials said.