India: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) predicts that the Indian government’ smart cities initiative can generate business prospects to the tune of $30-40 billion for the IT sector over the next decade. To tap into this opportunity, experts and leaders from 40 countries recently got together in New Delhi to define the roadmap for smart cities.
The Smart Cities India 2015 expo witnessed product displays and solutions by 207 national and international participants from across the world. Sweden, with its expertise in urban planning, power, sustainable transport and waste management, sees business opportunities with India. Poland has also expressed interest to partner with India’s smart cities and industrial corridors. Moreover, the European Business and Technology Centre is facilitating city-to-city experience sharing and matchmaking sessions between European delegations and Indian representatives. Exhibiting companies included Hewlett-Packard, Wipro, CISCO, Schneider Electric and Lavasa.
India is on a quest to build 100 smart cities to accommodate the country’s extensive urbanisation. Each selected city will receive an assistance of $16 million (approx) annually from the Centre for a period of five years.
Source: Smart Cities Expo 2015
