Security and Interoperability is key to the success of Smart Cities in India

New Delhi [India] August 23(ANI/NewsVoir): Security and interoperability of Smart Cities in India are the key components of the success of Government of India's agenda of 100 Smart Cities.
The Smart City initiative by the Government of India is under various stages of development. According to various industry reports, by 2050, there will be a considerable population in India living in cities and two factors which are crucial for a sustainable smart city would be security and inter-operatibility of various platforms.
"In the initial stages, it is very important for the Master System Integrators (MSI) to not to change the Original Equipment Manufacturers, who were part of their initial tender process", said Shashi Dharan, Managing Director, Bharat Exhibitions (organizer) to the Summit.
"MSI should take the responsibility of holding the umbrella and bring together all the departments and municipal authorities together, rather than working silos. A holistic approach should be taken in building a smart city", said A Seshagiri Rao, Chairman and Managing, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd.
"We are building smart cities and we have to make sure that these cities continue to stay smart in the future. Currently, for each smart city, we are working in silos. This in itself is a challenge. We need to share information between Smart Cities, we need to have inter-operatibility in place", said Sushil Kumar, DDG (IoT) Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC).
According to him, security is the biggest challenge which has to tackle on a priority basis.
"In the European Union, there are over 50 platforms which are being used in various cities. While they all operate on different technology platforms. NSGI has identified the need for a reference architecture for bringing together of all platforms across EU's smart cities", added Sushil.
"There is a need to have digital ranking index as a sort of competition between various smart cities in India to enable them to improve year on year in implementation of newer technologies", said Vikram Tiwathia, Deputy Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
During the discussion, it was pointed out that it is important to involve the citizens in developing a sustainable Smart City. The challenge is not only how to handle the data, but the volatility of the data. Accountability of processes is an important factor in the functioning of Smart Cities.
During the panel discussion on 'emerging technologies, innovations, surveillance and development for smart cities'
"With the combination of technology, people & data there is bound to be a disruption. Data is critical for effective function of smart cities. The amount of data which is received from various sources and how this data is used for productivity, efficiency & operations in the smart cities is critical", said Vineet Kshirsagar, Director for Government Business, NetApp Marketing and Services Pvt Ltd.
"The citizens who get into the smart city would be looking at a seamless integration of their entire basic amenities fulfillment with added features of secure and safe environment and effective solid waste management. The municipal authorities must stress on the ability to integrate different types of data originating from heterogeneous equipment including voice, video, data sensors", said Teevra Bose, Founder and Executive Chairman, Athenta Technologies.
The 5th National Summit on 100 Smart Cities, India 2019 was organized by Bharat Exhibitions.
5th National Summit on 100 Smart Cities India 2019 was sponsored by Qognify, NetApp, Savitri Telecom Services, Secura, Allied Telesis, Athenta Technologies, Bharat Electronics Limited, TCIL, UTStarcom, Lenovo, Megahertz Infotech, Astrikos Consulting, F5 Networks, Shaildhar Telecom Services, Netka System, Lion Services and Collaborative Intelligence Technology Innovation. The event was supported by CEN, CENELEC, ETSI, COAI and WiFi SPFI.
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