The Making of a Smart India

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here’snolookingpastthefactthatIndia’sproblems here’s no looking past the fact that India’s problems are massive. Our cities pulsate with life but are a chaoticshambles;ourriversaresteepedintradition chaotic shambles; our rivers are steeped in tradition butchokedwithfilth;wearelefthopingoureducation but choked with filth; we are left hoping our education system doesn’t dull sharp minds; and millions struggleforcleanwaterandreliablepower. struggle for clean water and reliable power.

Itmay be beclichédtosaythatinadversityliesopportunity, clichédtosaythatinadversityliesopportunity, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Equally, there’s no denyingthefactthatthere’sacolossalamountofworkand denying the fact that there’s a colossal amount of work and investmentneededtomakeasmart,digitallyconnected, investment needed to make a smart, digitally connected, self-sustaining India; what is beyond dispute is that the dividendswillmorethanpayourway. dividends will more than pay our way.

Technology, coupled with a mature assessment of thebenefitsofsustainableliving,willprovide answers. the benefits of sustainable living, will provide us answers Smart cities are a sign of our soaring ambition; a project tocleantheGangacouldleadtosmartlivingonitsbanks; to clean the Ganga could lead to smart living on its banks; smart grids could help address our power hunger and using usingtheinternettoconnectcitizenswiththingswillalter the internet to connect citizens with things will alter life beyond recognition. lifebeyondrecognition.

We’re on the cusp of something special. Creating a Smart India makes sense economically, politically and socially. socially.Let’snotlosethisopportunity.

Let’s not lose this opportunity.

THE POWER OF GETTING LINKED > By Dinesh Malkani•DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE > By Sunita Narain•STEPPING UP TO A NEW AGE > By Madhav Chavan•ENRICHING AN • ICONIC RIVER > By Onno Ruhl•GRAPHIC: WHAT MAKES A CITY SMART •SEEKING ANSWERS WITHIN > By Harish Hande•INTERVIEW: Nitin Gadkari•MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT > By Naina Lal Kidwai•INTERVIEW: Venkaiah Naidu•BUILDING A BACKBONE > By Anil Sardana•INTERVIEW: Hafeez Contractor•INTERVIEW: RK Pachauri•SITTING ATOP THE PYRAMID > By Raghu Raman Issue editor > Sitaraman Shankar Editorial/coordination > Gaurav Choudhury, Chetan Chauhan, Vineet Sharma, Manan Rathore, Sugita Katyal, Rituparna Kakoty, Pathikrit Sen Gupta and Kaushik Kashyap •Group • • Creative Director > Anup Gupta •Graphic > Malay Karmakar•Design > Ashutosh Sapru, Prijit Sashidharan•Illustrations > Jayanto Bannerjee, D. Dutta

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

GOING DIGITAL DINESH MALKANI

THE POWER OF GETTING LINKED

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Cities face budgetary challenges, including rising costs and he World Wide Web marked its 25th anniversary on shrinking resources. The world’s cities account for 70% of greenMarch 11, an important milestone when we consider house-gas emissions and energy-related costs are one of the bighow technology has impacted our lives and how it will gest municipal budget items, according to UN-Habitat. shape our future.

Innovative platforms, open data and apps can reduce traffic, How fast the world has changed. According to Pew parking congestion, pollution, energy consumption and crime, Research, 42% of adults in the United States had never and also generate revenue and reduce costs for residents heard of the internet in 1995, and an additional 21% and visitors. were vague on the concept.

Consider street lighting, which today accounts for 1.5% of Compare that to now. The International total electricity consumption in India, according to McKinsey.

Telecommunication Union recently observed that three A Navigant Research study shows worldwide street lighting can billion people will be online by the end of 2014. This year alone, account for up to 40% of a municipality’s electricity bill. Cities more people joined the internet than the entire population of that use networked motion-detection lights can the United States. save 70%–80% of electricity and costs, according However, we believe that as much as the TODAY, 81% OF INDIA’S to an independent trial of LED technology. internet has changed our world, it is the next POPULATION HAS Smart street-lighting initiatives can also reduce phase of the Web that will truly transform our crime in an area by 7% because of better visibility lives — the Internet of Everything.

ACCESS TO MOBILE and a more content citizenry, says a Cisco estimate.

The Internet of Everything is the intelligent PHONES, WHILE 10% Another example to consider is buildings. As connection of people, processes, data and things.

USE SMARTPHONES. the ‘Smart City in Indian Context’ report noted, Citizens, companies and governments around the EVERY MONTH, FOR THE buildings account for nearly 40% of total energy world are embracing it and turning to digitisation NEXT THREE YEARS, consumption in India and that will go up to 50% for more efficiency.

INDIA WILL ADD ON by 2030. McKinsey estimated India would need to Today, 81% of India’s population has access to AVERAGE FIVE MILLION build 700-900 million square metres of new resimobile phones, while 10% use smartphones. Every INTERNET USERS dential and commercial space from 2010 to 2020 month, for the next three years, India will add on every year. Buildings outfitted with intelligent average five million internet users and over eight sensors and networked management systems can million networked devices. collect and analyse energy-use data.

Our networked world will include far more than just computers, Traffic congestion costs the country $10 billion a year in wasted tablets and phones. We will see the digitisation of street lights, time and fuel. Drivers looking for parking space cause 30% of parking spaces, beacons, kiosks, sensor-based water defences, urban congestion, not to mention pollution. Imagine if cities physical infrastructure monitoring and controls, and smart enerembedded networked sensors in parking spaces that relay to gy grid services. drivers real-time information about — and directions to — availUnited Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon described the able spots.

21st century as the century of cities. Nowhere will that statement Cisco believes digitisation of a country will depend on be more relevant than in India. By 2050, India will add 404 million people to its cities, according to the UN. Also, at 857 million people, five key areas — visionary leadership, global open standards, smart regulation, public-private partnerships and a new ecoIndia has the largest rural population in the world. system — and India can play a powerful role in the Internet of The government understands the need to address both urban Everything worldwide. and rural India.

In October 2014, the government’s Department of Electronics The Digital India programme focuses on digitally empowering and Information Technology released the draft Internet of Things citizens by enabling broadband in villages, universal phone con(IoT) Policy for India with the intention to create a $15-billion IoT nectivity, public internet access points, wi-fi in schools and uniindustry by 2020. versities, digital inclusion, electronic delivery of governance and The government shared its plans to grow connected services, and job creation. devices to 2.7 billion in 2020 from 200 million today. In a The future of competition is between cities. Citizens, report on the evolution of the IoT ecosystem in India, and especially young people, will want to live in cities Convergence Catalyst said there are now more than two that are economically, socially and environmentally million app developers and estimated that by 2017, the sustainable. IHS Technology estimates that in the next number would go up to three million. According to the 11 years, the total number of smart cities worldwide report, 60 start-ups are already working on dedicated will grow to 88 from 21 now.

IoT solutions and 14 smart grid pilot projects.

In 2013, CII & Cisco released a report titled ‘Smart City The year 2014 signals a major inflection point for the in Indian Context’, which described how the country Internet of Everything, which will have a much bigger needed to embrace information and communications impact on the world than the internet did in its first 20 technology as part of its urban planning to create a betyears. We have the opportunity to live in a Digital India ter and sustainable India. The government understands where everything — and everyone — can be connected. technology is as essential as three utilities — water, gas, DINESH MALKANI Streets will be safer, homes will be smarter and citiand electricity — and has made it clear that broadband President, Cisco India & Saarc zens will be healthier. highways are as important as national highways.

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

STREAMLINED SERVICES SUNITA NARAIN

DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE

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in collecting this garbage, transport it and bury it in landfills. mart cities will work only if they can reinvent the It is built on the premise that there will be land for urban India very idea of urban growth in a country like India. to bury its waste. It then assumes that if we can finance infraSmart thinking will require the government not structure, we will be able to pay for urban services that can only copy the model cities of the already developed efficiently collect and dispose our waste. The vision is to hire Western world, but also find a new measure of livecorporate sweepers to clean our cities. ability that will work for the Indian situation, where But the facts are different. Firstly, we do not have land to disthe cost of growth is unaffordable for most. But all pose of the current waste we generate, let alone the new waste this will not happen, unless we can find the right we will generate. Finding a dumpyard — elsewhere — is always fit for service providers in our cities. We need servthe cheapest and laziest option rich cities in many parts of the ices — everything from water to the management and clean-up world have used. But we cannot. of sewage, waste and public transport — so that we can live Secondly, all city plans do not account for the fact that there healthy lives. The question is, who will provide these services? will be increasing quantities of plastic, non-disWhat is the nature of the public service utility posal waste and toxic waste in our households, that India needs?

SMART THINKING which will require new and much more expenWe know that our current municipal service WILL REQUIRE THE sive ways of disposal. providers are hampered by lack of technical Thirdly, the waste plan does not understand capacity and crippled with poor governance.

GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY In the past few years, there has been a push COPY THE MODEL CITIES that it is the rich in the cities that do not pay for their waste disposal. Not the poor. towards privatisation as the solution for proviOF THE ALREADY Urban services today are stretched because sioning of city services. But this is not as easy DEVELOPED WESTERN they are in the service of the people who generan answer as it would seem.

WORLD, BUT ALSO FIND ate the waste but do not pay for it. In this sceThis is because we have a large population of A NEW MEASURE OF nario, cities cannot under any circumstances poor and relatively poor middle-class, and so LIVEABILITY THAT extend these services to all. public infrastructure has to be affordable to WILL WORK FOR THE So, this is the same when it comes to water build and run. In most cases, the private player is INDIAN SITUATION supply, sewage or garbage management in our unable to run the public asset — be it water supcities. We need to redesign systems for providing ply, public transport or a swanky airport — withservices and then redesign the utility to supply out substantial recurring funds. So the private most efficiently and to all. sector’s interest is to make profit by building the The question then is, what is the kind of contract that is infrastructure and then stay clear of the responsibility of signed between the private entity interested in profits and the providing services. public entity incapable of raising profits?

Take buses. The city of Delhi (and all others) desperately The municipality or local government will either see the prineeds a revamped, modern public transport system, which vate sector as the instrument to recover money from subsidised can provide for the requirements of its exploding population. consumers, or simply see it as a way to provide some efficiency Without a viable and convenient transport system, the growth even as the government continues to subsidise its consumers of private vehicles will choke city roads and poison our lungs. and also pay the private sector its pound of flesh.

But the question, is what will be the shape and organisation of Given all this, we need a different definition of efficiency and this system of the future? certainly a different model of service providers in our cities.

The model of city bus transport in the country is largely pubThe first principle is that whereas the private sector cannot licly managed. Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and solve the water, garbage or transport problems of our world, it Delhi — all have city corporations to run this key commuter cannot be excluded from playing a role in providing these service. services.

Some do a better job than others in efficiency and service but The second key is to accept that the private sector the accounts of all agencies show that they are bleedcan only work within the terms society sets for it. It ing because of higher costs of operations and price cannot own the resource. It certainly cannot be its of tickets. custodian.

The fact is that the price of a ticket in a bus has a The private sector may also be asked to set the price market competitor — it has to be lower than the cost and recover dues. of running a two-wheeler.

But setting the tariff must be fully transparent The price of a bus ticket can only increase if there about the full costs of treating and delivering water are adequate barriers for its substitute. For instance, and waste or providing other services. if there are high rates for parking private vehicles Therefore, the decision of governments to subsiand there is enforcement against unauthorised parkdise their middle-class electorate must not be hidden ing, then there is an incentive to move to the public behind socialist rhetoric. transport mode and pay higher costs.

The most efficient utility for our smart cities will Take garbage. We know that our cities are drownSUNITA NARAIN be about smart design. Let us not lose sight of this. ing in garbage — plastic is surely the curse of the Director General, Centre for Science & Environment Not even for an instant. modern landscape. The current approach is to invest

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REDESIGNING EDUCATION MADHAV CHAVAN

STEPPING UP TO A NEW AGE

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sal enrollment either through public or private services and we he talk of a demographic dividend began gaining may say that problems of learning could be solved through teacher momentum around the turn of the millennium as leadtraining and so on. But is our system designed to meet the needs of ers of Indian politics and industry started sensing that learning in the modern world? It is too restrictive and too slow for a India could become an economic power. fast-moving world with families that have huge aspirations.

Problems of over-population seemed to recede in the Only two decades ago or less, we started talking about the digital background as high GDP growth became a reality, but divide — seen as the result of access to and knowledge of computthe lack of an educated and skilled workforce is probers. Today, the divide needs a relook because more than 75% rural ably not considered a threat to growth at the same level. households and almost all urban households have cellphones, India has historically undermined the importance of smartphones and mobile Internet connectivity. The gap may be creating a foundation of universal good quality education and we closing faster than we think. Children everywhere are more aware could be committing the same mistake even now. The 1986 National of the technology now than ever before.

Education Policy warned us that a linear extension of the prevailing As computers became cheaper, the idea of placeducation system will not help, but it also failed to ing computers in schools became popular. However, foresee the changes that would unfold in the future.

TO USE THE POWER OF the best use of computers, when they are used, has The problems of basic education remained on the INFORMATION only been to teach a linear and restricted syllabus backburner. The Supreme Court declared educaby making it a bit more interesting. This has suption as a fundamental right in the early 1990s but it TECHNOLOGY, THE OLD pressed the true potential of information technology was not for almost a decade that we amended the MINDSET OF LINEAR that allows random and non-linear access to inforConstitution to make it so.

CURRICULUM HAS TO BE mation and can open the whole world to a child.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was created by CHANGED. IDEAS OF To use the power of information technology, the NDA government to assist states in trying to DOMINATION AND the old mindset of a linear curriculum has to be solve the problems of education. When the UPA I INDOCTRINATION changed. The ideas of domination, regimentation, government imposed a 2% cess, funds for the SSA THROUGH EDUCATION and indoctrination through education have no place became available. However, all that was done was a ARE IRRELEVANT in the modern world. A child has to be allowed and linear expansion of the existing system. encouraged to learn, and not just “taught”.

The All India School Education Survey of 2003 The other day a child in an informal English class estimated that an additional one million classrooms shocked the teacher by asking what “hangover” meant. Luckily, the were needed for government schools. Later, the number of schoolyoung teacher knew the Salman Khan song, but found it difficult to teachers needed was also computed based on population projection. explain a word that will not appear in the child’s textbook although Between 2005 and 2011, enrollment in all schools, government and liquor flows around him. The word “rape” is similarly a matter of private, up to class 8 in India rose from 168 million to 199 million as increasing familiarity through TV but never discussed in school. the government spent money on infrastructure.

ISRO does a marvellous job of landing on Mars in the first As Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) noted, attempt but no one talks of the beauty of planning for the land96% children in the 6-14 age group said they were enrolled in school ing to children. Newton and his laws have no freedom to enter a by 2009 when the Right to Education Act was passed in Parliament. child’s imagination. Schools, especially private schools, are too There is a twist in the tale. The governments went about busy “completing the syllabus”. The power of info-tech to help a expanding their school system but enrollment in private schools child know the world remains locked in the grip of the syllabus. for Class 1 to 8 went up from 51 million to 77 million between 2007 If we continue to think along the lines of just expanding or increand 2011. At the same time, enrollment in government schools went down from 134 million to 121 million even as more rooms and mentally improving the system of education, it is unlikely that we will meet the challenges the nation, society, and families are going to teachers were made available. face in future. The public education system is in crisis and the exodus Though overall national enrollment in government schools to private schools will worsen the problems. Skills and knowledge of went down, in Bihar, where education had been neglected for long, teachers, with some exceptions in both government and enrollment went from 13 million in 2005 to 22 million in private schools, are inadequate to teach what is needed for 2013. Most of this increase was in government schools. the 21st century.

However, in other northern states such as Uttar Pradesh, Our examinations still promote the culture of reproducRajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, private school enrolling what books or teachers say without a thought. Our ment jumped from just around 20% to nearly 50%. Tamil system, geared only to select students for higher learning, Nadu and Kerala were already high in private school continues to discard a large majority as dropouts with enrollment. Today, Tamil Nadu has 60% children in prino further avenues for learning. We do not recognise any vate schools while Kerala has 70%. skill or knowledge that is not in our syllabi or textbooks.

Between 2009 and 2013, the poor levels of reading and If we do not think ahead and anticipate correctly, we maths declined dramatically. The result: more children will only pour more money into sustaining a system that went to private schools and fewer children in government is poorly productive and broken. Let us not take the -demoschools learned to read or solve sums even as big money graphic dividend for granted. You don’t get dividend withwas spent on public education. Indian children are now MADHAV CHAVAN out smart investments. The cost of not educating all our divided right down the middle between private and public CEO, Pratham Education Foundation children well will be very high. education. We could be happy that now we have univer-

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

A CLEANER GANGA ONNO RUHL

ENRICHING AN ICONIC RIVER

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skills and resources to maintain modern infrastructure. he Ganga is India’s most important river. The sprawlSTPs lie inactive because financially-constrained urban local boding basin covers more than 860,000 square kilometres in ies are unable to pay for the electricity needed to run them, and sewIndia alone and is home to around 600 million Indians, age networks carry only a fraction of the design load because lastclose to half the national population. The basin genermile connections to individual households have not been made. The ates approximately 40% of the country’s GDP and is sustainability of investments depends as much on innovative models a valuable environmental and economic resource for of financing and implementation as on programmes of urban local India. The Ganga flows from its glacial sources in body capacity-building. If these can be combined, the cities of the the Himalayas and courses through five major states Ganga basin could well become India’s first smart cities. before draining through the Sundarbans — the largest However, the key is ensuring that strategic basin planning, not mangrove system in the world — into the swirling waters of the just investment and projects, is at the heart of the overall rejuveBay of Bengal. nation agenda. A global experience with mighty rivers such as Along its 2,500-km journey, the river enriches huge swathes Danube, Rhine, Elbe and Nile is that strong planof agricultural land and sustains 50 major Indian ning organisations capable of generating basincities and hundreds of smaller towns. Fast-flowing HEAVY POLLUTION, scale knowledge, identifying hotspots, prioritising tributaries in its elevated upper reaches have the OVER-ABSTRACTION IN investments and advising on policy are central to potential to ease India’s power shortages, and in rejuvenating rivers. the plains, the river has the potential to become THE LEAN SEASON, The creation of a vibrant apex-level NGRBA and an arterial waterway ferrying goods and people COMPETING WATER its associated operational-level National Mission across long distances.

DEMANDS AND for Clean Ganga, which the World Bank has been But the Ganga — long an icon of India’s ancient OBSTRUCTIONS HAVE supporting through its long-standing engagement civilisation and a centrepiece in its prosperity — WREAKED HAVOC ON on the Ganga, is an important step in this direcis flailing. Heavy pollution loads, over-abstraction THE GANGA AND ITS tion. Going forward, under the oversight of an in the lean season, competing water demands and ABILITY TO NOURISH empowered NGRBA, it will be important to estabdiversions and obstructions on the main stem and MILLIONS OF PEOPLE lish a well-resourced, evidence-based and particitributaries have wreaked havoc on the health of patory strategic basin planning process that can the river and its ability to nourish the millions of guide and balance both river rejuvenation and people who live and work in the basin. economic development.

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are not just part of the Such a strategic basin planning process requires several elements.

Ganga basin but also the heartland of India’s most pressing socioFirst, the government should establish an ongoing process economic and developmental challenges. Today, despite its great of engagement with key stakeholders. Second, a partnership potential to be an engine of economic growth, the Ganga is a symapproach should be adopted to support Indian technical organisabol of many of India’s modern problems. India needs to develop tions in accessing the wide international experience with stratesolutions in ways that do not compromise river health. This gic basin planning. Third, a comprehensive audit of all pollution includes improving the manner in which critical economic decisources and pollution loads should be done, in order to determine sions and activities in the basin are undertaken — from improved realistic and time-bound pollution reduction targets. irrigation and on-farm practices to careful site selection and enviFourth, clear river health objectives, linked to water quality ronment management for hydropower development, and sustaintargets and environmental flow targets, should be established so able inland navigation. governments and stakeholders can track progress and analyse The recent focus on the river and the inclusion of Ganga rejuvescenarios for alternative options for water allocation, pollution nation as an explicit mandate of the Ministry of Water Resources, control and environmental flows.

River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation bodes well. So does Fifth, a centralised — and publicly accessible — basin information the explicit multi-sectoral approach taken to support implemensystem should be established that combines data from monitoring, scetation of the newly formulated Namami Gange Programme. nario modelling and other activities. Finally, a commitment Reconstitution of the National Ganga River Basin to public annual reporting of river health needs to be made Authority (NGRBA) in September to enable the ministo ensure accountability and inform public debate. ter to call more frequent decision meetings and many This process will enable India to arrive at a shared definter-ministerial working groups created to examine inition of the pollution problem and its multiple sources, issues is noteworthy. and facilitate agreement on what a clean and healthy River rejuvenation should depend in part on urban Ganga would look like. For instance, what levels of polrenewal, as cities and major towns generate close to lution, sediment and flow are acceptable, and by when three billion litres of sewage and 14,000 metric tonnes should these be achieved? What quantum of derived benof solid waste every day, with most reaching the river efits (such as human health, industrial production and untreated. Patna, for instance, is a city the size of Rome off-farm employment) is possible and by when? with three million people and no fully functioning sewThe adoption of a strategic basin planning approach age treatment plant (STP). And yet, new pollution-manwould enable India to answer these questions, reverse the agement infrastructure alone will not help. Past clean-up ONNO RUHL environmental degradation of the Ganga and promote the efforts have shown that urban local bodies that hold Country Director, World Bank India economic prosperity of the basin and her inhabitants. stewardship of these assets should be strengthened with

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s to make 21st-century urban living simpler an e l u r o t e c n e r e h d a d more rew ith strict w d arding. H e n n i w t e b T takes l l wi y g o a peep l o n h c e t into th f ls o e e futu v r a m re e Th

LIFE IN A SMART CITY CAN BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM PRESENT-DAY LIFESTYLES. TECHNOLOGY WILL PLAY MORE THAN AN ENABLER, MAKING MANY THINGS SEMIOR FULLY AUTOMATED

THE DIARY]

Flipping through diary pages will be passé. The ‘intelligent’ TV, besides news, will also read out your personal agenda: Your medical check-up appointment (if any), weather updates broken down to minute-level “now-casting”, and so on

ADDING UP] No need to worry about gas, power and telephonew connections if you are moving houses. A centralised server will maintain all records based on citizens’ biometric information such as fingerprints, collating data of all family members

ENERGY] A fully ‘intelligent’

and ‘networked’ home implies that electrical systems are linked with electronic gadgets such as TVs and refrigerators. The solar-based electrical system ‘knows’ when to put the TV on standby mode as it maintains a log of your timings that you are at home

more than data storage or scalability of network.

Efficient technologies will also dramatically bring down acquisition costs of software and applications. For instance, if a conference is hurriedly convened with a partner at a faraway area, the virtual meeting service can be easily organised regardless of the location in a secure network

Study options that suit individual n eeds QUITE OFTEN WE HEAR STUDENTS AND PARENTS COMPLAINING OF LIMITED CHOICE IN COLLEGE COURSES. IN A SMART EDUCATION SYSTEM, THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED WITH STUDENTS ALLOWED TO MIX STREAMS

NETWORKED]

In a smart city, entrepreneurship ecosystem, particularly for start-ups, will be very friendly. Setting up a business will not require going through the rigmarole of multiple procedures. Besides, scalable cloud computing will ensure that you use and get only that much IT hardware infrastructure, software, database, servers and other resources as you exactly require

SECURE] In a smart city set up, most of the services and the information technology infrastructure that a business needs is available on the network. The critical bit is that the network services are flexible. Cyber-security, therefore, assumes a very important role. The eco-system gives rise to a whole new set of super-specialists in the fields of analytics and related areas

LOW COSTS]

As technology acquisition costs collapse, and quality is standardised, the focus will shift primarily towards output. An encrypted information highway ensures that the network is fully secure. The virtual meetings, conducted through these secure networks, enable output targets far higher than current norms. Overhead costs will plummet as cafes and homes become office spaces

SEAMLESS] One of the primary reasons that people hesi-

NO SILOS] In the fast

evolving education system, it will be normal to take a break from college, become an apprentice, acquire skills and experience, and then rejoin college a few years later to finish an updated course.

It will be possible to combine seemingly unrelated courses such as nuclear physics and liberal arts

tate to move cities is that it upsets children’s educational progress. Mid-session movement of schools is almost a no-no because of the lack of a consistent syllabi across the system. In a connected network of systems schools and colleges follow fully standardised and identical curricula. Students’ information is available online in an integrated network. So, thanks to cloud computing, if a student is moving cities mid-session, the teacher in the new school is fully aware about the strengths and weaknesses in both academic and non-academic areas even before the actual enrolment takes place. Tablets, TVs, storage devices and cameras are must-haves in classrooms

ANYTIME ANYWHERE] A modern office in a smart city requires very little space. Everything is on the cloud, literally. Database, servers, networks.

Setting up an office is almost as simple as assembling a makeshift canopy. With focus on mobility, the people themselves use virtual offices as the need for infrastructure disappears

KYC] There is no need to fill up multiple Know

CUTTING WASTE] Factories that use large amounts of water take a

Your Customer (KYC) forms for multiple purposes. The centralised system can be accessed by public service agencies such as municipal bodies, banks and financial institutions

CENTRALISED] It is not only about utilities.

A cloud-based identification system comes in handy to carry out recovery operations during disasters

ON-TIME DELIVERY] Cloud computing is much

STUDY

DAY BEGINS] It always helps to wake up everymorning listening to your favourite music.

That’s what you can expect in a smart city.

The next generation of cloud-based fuzzy logic tech will play your favourite numbers to help you hum back to life every morning. The room temperature will be set to deal with seasonal extremes, and even keep the water boiled for your day’s first hot cuppa

WHAT YOU SEE IN SCI-FI MOVIES IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. VIRTUAL OFFICES HAVE BECOME THE ORDER OF THE DAY AND BUSINESSES CAN BE REGISTERED AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON

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variety of steps to save energy and improve efficiency. In a smart factory operation, using a turbine to generate power from the water used at a factory for things like cooling or air conditioning, or generating power at a food processing factory from biogas produced from organic waste. For example factory energy management systems (FEMSs) are used to identify all the different forms of power consumption within the factory and perform centralised management in conjunction with the factory’s production plans to ensure that electric power is used efficiently

ON THE JOB] Students will spend up

to half of their time working and earning wages at companies; this will rule out worries about a debt burden or about having to remain unemployed for a long period of time after graduation.

For the company this is a sure-fire way to recruit and train skilled labour

VET] Vocational education and training

or VET institutes will be realistic alternatives to conventional universities. A major roadblock for youth enrolling in vocational schools is the perceived lack of prestige and respectability. In a smart education system, vocational graduates will emerge as the new role models

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u want o y e r e h w d when an k r o w m to Freedo

Trou ble-f ree t rans port atio n ch oice ONE OF THE s th BIGGEST DRAWBACKS at s uit OF CITY LIFE IS THE the EXPLODING VEHICLE POPULATION pat tern LEADING TO DELAYED MEETINGS AND of a LATE ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOLS AND ctiv COLLEGES. A SMART CITY WILL PROBABLY BE ity ABLE TO DEAL WITH IT WITH A PLANNED NETWORK OF VARIOUS MODES OF TRANSPORT

NO JAMS] Time management is a big element in the smart city eco-system. Queuing up to tank up fuel while on way to work will rarely be seen as the eco-friendly electric vehicle will probably be the most dominant mode of transport.

These cars recharge when people sleep.

Equipped with powerful navigation units, these vehicles also perform as real time mobile kiosks giving info about office and home. These cars relay alerts about vehicle movements and traffic congestion, although jams in a smart city will be few and far between MULTI MODAL] In a smart city

the multiple modes of transport complement each other. The likelihood of a jam is anyway remote.

Public and school buses, private cars, metro trains, and electric trams operate in tandem as part of a grand transport network. Besides, a large number of pedestrian walkways and cycling lanes snake through every part of the city.

ECO-FRIENDLY] Sustainability will be the by-word in smart cities. The more fuel efficient the car is, the more it will fit into the smart city system. With focus on strict enforcement, violation of traffic rules and laws will attract hefty penalties.

CO2 will be a dirty word on the roads of smart cities. Keeping the ignition on in traffic signals will not be allowed. Electric vehicle charging stations, similar to current day petrol pumps will dot city roads with pollution control a dominant theme

Among other benefits, such a network also makes the transportation system more or less wether neutral.

For instance, one may take the subway and hop on to the metro to reach school instead of taking the bus if it is raining to avoid getting late because of a likely congestion.

On return from school, however, the student may opt to take the bus back home. Digitally powered road signages that give information related to weather, congestions and parking space availability will also play a big role in integrated traffic management

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

VIBRANT VILLAGES HARISH HANDE

SEEKING ANSWERS WITHIN

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• Discover: When the need-assessment begins, there is a mechandia lives in its villages or, as Mahatma Gandhi said, India’s nism whereby stakeholder perspectives are taken into considsoul lives in its villages. In 2014, I believe we are questioning eration to identify issues relevant to the community and to each that soul. target student group. Critical concerns affecting the community Today, India is caught somewhere between an overdevelcome to the fore. oped country and an underdeveloped one. On the one hand, • Understand: This will include estimating motivation and we talk about high growth, while, on the other, millions still comprehension levels of the target student group. Based on this, do not have access to basic facilities like electricity, clean the knowledge delivery mechanism and relevant activities to supwater and sanitation. plement content will be determined. Simplification of knowledge If resolved, most issues can become the bricks of a healthy society that is conducive for individuals to excel and live a processes and their relevance to context is the key to this part of the process. productive life.

• Local-global analogies: As is the case with any intervention, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked each Member of equipping students with additional information Parliament to adopt three villages and make them is a must. This would include drawing analogies smart by 2019. The aim is to make sure these vilFOR THE YOUTH TO of problems from other parts of the world as well lages are connected to the Internet and have all the BECOME DISRUPTIVE as ways in which they have been addressed. By basic necessities of a healthy life most of us take providing evidence of similarities and differences, for granted. However, the aim should be to make CHANGE-MAKERS, WE there is greater awareness and understanding of much more than just smart villages.

HAVE TO PROVIDE how the problems manifest in different parts of India’s problems are not homogeneous in NECESSARY TOOLS. the world. nature. That is because its residents are scattered THERE NEEDS TO BE A • Plan: Once motivation is built and exposure across numerous geographies and varied ecosysPARADIGM SHIFT IN THE provided, the ideation process to plan possible tems. Issues can vary widely across different conEDUCATION SYSTEM AND solutions is undertaken. This ideation will begin texts. For instance, urban populations would find THE ACCOMPANYING with discussions among student groups, where it difficult to relate to the problems plaguing tribal ECOSYSTEM peer-to-peer interaction and brainstorming sespeople. Therefore, solutions will also vary dependsions allow them to explore various possibilities ing on the culture of the targeted segment, income and options. The newly acquired knowledge, techstreams and existing (or lack of) ecosystems. niques and discussions will spark innovation.

One needs to be careful when defining a smart village to avoid • Build: Here, students are encouraged once again to engage compartmentalising the concept in narrow confines. A village in with stakeholders and village practitioners to determine the feasiitself cannot be self-sustaining and needs to be connected to its bility of their plan. While working on solutions, they take note of ecosystem, which, in turn, is defined by its connection to other various factors affecting the issues and attempt to address them villages and external stakeholders. Knowing and understanding in an integrated manner. Relevant experts within the village and all connections is critical if one wants to create a holistic developoutside will mentor student groups to bring out more innovative ment model or a smart village. solutions. Here, there will be a certain extent of invention Smart villages are where innovative, sustainable and replicable taking place. solutions for problems are conceived at the local level itself keep• Connect: Solutions coming out of the invention phase will ing in mind the existing ecosystem and stakeholders. have the potential to be implemented on the ground. A sustainA village comprises multiple ecosystems. One set is individuals ability lab or society created within the learning institute would with different needs, varied skill sets and income streams. The be an ideal space to incubate these solutions and see them through other set is the local environment — dry, wet, tropical, etc. The to the next step. This lab will also serve as a live demonstration third set could be connections to the outside world — from transspace and knowledge reservoir in the engagement and awareness portation to the Internet. The problems and solutions would vary phases for the next batch of students with whom the intervention from each stakeholder’s perspective and the connection one has to is undertaken. the core village itself.

The village can become self-reliant in finding soluWe need to create each village as a potential knowltions if we provide avenues for the youth to become edge hub — an innovation centre. The key drivers of empowered to find solutions. these solutions are the youth who should be provided Many villages in India have a human development with the platform to be inventors, innovators, entrepreindex similar to some African, Latin American and neurs, implementers and thinkers.

South East Asian countries. Many problems that are For the youth to become disruptive change-makers, prevalent in those geographies exist in different forms we have to provide necessary tools. There needs to be in our own country. By the same logic, many of the a paradigm shift in the rural education system and solutions that come out from our smart villages and accompanying ecosystem. The present ecosystem communities can become role model solutions for other encourages rote-based learning with little margin for improvised areas of the world, making India the knowlfailure and encourages migration. edge or solution capital globally.

The following points outline a fundamental step In the end, this is what smart villages should aim for creating “smart youths”, the foundation stone for HARISH HANDE MD, SELCO India to become. smart villages.

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

NITIN GADKARI

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Transport minister

‘OUR TARGET IS TO BUILD 30 KM OF ROADS PER DAY’

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nion road transport, highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari wants to turn around a flailing sector and make it a driver of economic growth. Quoting former US president John F Kennedy, who said: “American roads are good not because American economy is good, but American economy is good because American roads are good”, the minister tells Moushumi Das Gupta how good transport infrastructure and quick decision-making can put India on the fast lane to development. Edited excerpts from the interview:

Experts say India needs a more integrated approach to the transport sector. Do you think there is a need for a more coherent policy involving the integration of the highways, railways and waterways sector?

Yes, we need a paradigm shift. An integrated approach for overall infrastructure development, particularly transport infrastructure, including roads, railways and shipping, is required and we have already started doing that. All infrastructure ministries are meeting at regular intervals under my chairmanship for better coordination in intraministerial issues. This has resulted in faster clearances and better coordination.

The government has estimated an investment of `60 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector during the 12th Five Year Plan, a major chunk of which will have to come from private players. What is it doing to ensure private investment?

Investment in sectors like highways will have to increase exponentially if we are to realise the true potential of the infrastructure sector. The government alone cannot bring in all this investment. The private sector will have to play a major role. Unfortunately, in the past 10 years, private investors lost confidence in the highways sector because of delayed decision-making, problems in land acquisition and other regulatory clearances. When I took charge, more than 180 projects worth more than `2.5 lakh crore were under dis-

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pute. We gave the highest priority to resolving these disputes by bringing in dispute resolution mechanisms and fast-tracking the decision-making process. We are also exploring the possibility of cheaper finances available globally.

confidence back with specific policy interventions and fast decisions. Private developers are already showing renewed interest and this confidence will grow. Though our target of building 30 km of roads per day is ambitious, I am sure we will be able to achieve it within two years.

What is the government doing to address regulatory hurdles that are keeping investors away?

Only 0.5% of India’s traffic moves through waterways compared to We have decided we will not begin a project until mini20% in China. How does the government plan to harness the potential mum 80% of the land is acquired and all clearances are of our waterways? in place. We are also fast-tracking clearances stuck with Waterways are the cheapest, safest and greenest ways of ministries like railways. Besides, we are developing a transport. The cost of transport is only `0.50 per tonne/ shelf of projects that can be undertaken at km, whereas by road the cost of transport the earliest. In this shelf, we are preparing is `1.5 per tonne/km and by trains, it is more than 500 projects for which detailed `1 per tonne/km. We have already started DELAYS AND project reports are being readied, and land work on National water way-1 between LITIGATIONS HAVE acquisition and various other clearances Haldia and Varanasi. A detailed plan of AFFECTED PRIVATE are being obtained. over `4,500 crore is in the works for develSECTOR CONFIDENCE, oping the river Ganga for passengers and BUT WE ARE MAKING goods transportation. We are also developYou have said that your target is to ensure the ALL EFFORTS TO BRING ing terminals and river ports on the Ganga highways and shipping sectors contribute 2% of THAT CONFIDENCE BACK and Yamuna. Passenger terminals are India’s GDP two years from now. How do you plan WITH SPECIFIC POLICY being built at existing ports for cruise and to achieve this?

INTERVENTIONS AND ferry operations. National Thermal Power Infrastructure is a driving force for ecoFAST DECISIONS Corporation is already using the Ganga for nomic development. Construction of transporting coal from Haldia roads gives impetus to economic activity, to Farakka. which in turn, drives growth. We have an ambitious target of building 30 km of roads per day in the highways sector. Besides, we are planning to double the India loses 1.5 lakh people to road accidents every year. What is the capacity of our ports. We are giving emphasis to inland government doing about it? waterways, multi-model transport, connecting district India has a total road length of 48 lakh km of which headquarters with national highways and tourist circuits. approximately one lakh km is national highways and 40% of the accidents take place on this stretch. We are making Building 30 km of highways per day is a tough ask. How will you achieve a list of all accident-prone spots on each particular stretch this ambitious target when there is such a tepid response from private and have so far identified 258 such stretches. We are also developers? coming up with stringent norms that will bar people who Delays and litigations have affected private sector do not have the required training and experience from getconfidence, but we are making all efforts to bring that ting driving licences.

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

SECURING WATER NAINA LAL KIDWAI

MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT

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premises or at a horizontal or vertical distance of not more than ater has defined the survival and growth of civi50 metres by 2022. lisations. Availability of water is and will conThe Ministry of Urban Development has also implemented the tinue to be a major driving force for meeting the Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme for small towns in growth imperatives of any nation. At the same India. However, one of the major challenges is to make people time, for households, it would mean fulfilling the aware of the need to consume safe water. basic needs of life.

There is renewed interest in building toilets as we look at the India is facing a serious and persistent water water and sanitation programme announced by Prime Minister resource crisis due to the simultaneous effects Narendra Modi on Independence Day. The shame of being the of agricultural growth, industrialisation and highest open defecating society in the world does not help our urbanisation, coupled with declining surface and groundwater image. Worse still, the health hazards posed by this are well quantity, intra and interstate water disputes, and inefficiencies known as it contaminates water and adds to the risk of waterin water-use practices. borne diseases and diarrhoea.

The per capita availability of water fell to 1,545 We need to ensure the government, NGOs and cubic metres in 2011 from 1,820 cubic metres in THE GOVERNMENT, NGOS corporates work together. The government needs 2001. Trends indicate by 2050, India will move AND CORPORATES MUST to support civil society organisations involved into the category of a water-stressed economy. A in increasing awareness and ensuring effective study by the Water Resources Group predicts that WORK TOGETHER. THE in 2030, the gap between demand and availabilGOVERNMENT NEEDS TO implementation. An integrated campaign can result in widespread information dissemination ity of water in India will be 50%, with demand SUPPORT CIVIL SOCIETY on the ways and means of preventing contaminatouching 1,498 billion cubic metres and availabilORGANISATIONS tion of water sources. ity at a mere 744 billion cubic metres.

INVOLVED IN INCREASING As an example, HSBC has partnered with three Most water sources are contaminated by sewage AWARENESS AND globally admired NGOs — Earthwatch, WaterAid or industrial effluent discharge. A study by the ENSURING EFFECTIVE and WWF — with a $100 million commitment to Central Pollution Control Board says about 38,000 IMPLEMENTATION deliver water provision, protection, information million litre of sewage is generated per day (in and education across the world during 2012-2017.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities), although treatment capacAll three NGOs have a significant presence in ity exists for only about 12,000 million litres.

India and are implementing large-scale programmes across Only 20% of domestic and 60% of industrial wastewater is seven states. treated; the rest is discharged without treatment. Groundwater Earthwatch has commissioned long-term freshwater research resources in vast tracts of India are contaminated with fluoride projects at ecologically important urban water bodies that need and arsenic. Fluoride problems exist in 150 districts in 17 states in the country, with Odisha and Rajasthan being the most severe- to be conserved in the face of increasing pressure. HSBC employees have been trained as Citizen Science Leaders (CSLs) and ly affected. The presence of arsenic in the groundwater of the engaged in freshwater quality monitoring in these key urban Gangetic delta causes health risks to 35-70 million people in West water bodies across the country. CSLs are collecting data to help Bengal, Bihar and Bangladesh. scientists with research that will inform policy-making and The increase in water pollution has resulted in an increase urban water resource planning. in water-borne diseases that leads to loss of man days, in turn, WaterAid is working with partner organisations to make commuaffecting production. An Infrastructure Development Finance nities aware of their fundamental human right to safe water and Company (IDFC) report states India loses 90 million days a year sanitation. A total of 634 schools will benefit from the NGO’s work due to water-borne diseases with production losses and treatunder the HSBC Water Programme in India with potential propagament costs of `6 billion. tion of the programme values from schools to communities.

Although the provision of water and sanitation has improved WWF India is doing exemplary work in Uttar Pradesh towards in the past few years, it is still not satisfactory. As per the 2011 conservation of the river Ganga. River conservation is census, around 31% of rural households and 71% complex and requires a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeof urban households in the country get tap water. holder approach. WWF India’s Rivers for Life, Life for However, this access to tap water does not ensure Rivers initiative envisions the Ganga and Ramganga adequacy and equitable distribution. In India, around as healthy river systems rich in bio-diversity, and aims 18% of households still have to fetch drinking water to provide long-term water security to communities, from a source located more than half a kilometre away businesses and nature. It has effectively brought on in rural areas and 100 metres away in urban areas. The board government officials and citizens to make the lack of municipal water supply has resulted in overprogramme a success. exploitation of groundwater through tube wells.

The city of Moradabad has seen people taking oath Providing safe drinking water to all in rural India as friends of the rivers Ganga and Ramganga. Notably, is a challenging task. The Ministry of Drinking the city’s top public officials have led the programme Water and Sanitation has tried to meet this chalNAINA LAL KIDWAI with WWF to set an example. lenge through the National Rural Drinking Water Chair, FICCI Water We need to create many more such partnerships if we Programme that aims to provide every rural houseMission; Chairman HSBC India want clean and pure water to become a reality for all. hold access to 70 litres of water per day within its

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

VENKAIAH NAIDU

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Urban development minister

‘A SMART CITY SHOULD ENABLE BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE’

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ith 40% of India’s population expected to live in cities by 2030, the country’s urban landscape is in need of major transformation. The Modi government has announced an ambitious programme to develop 100 smart cities across India that will not only give world-class facilities to residents but will also become the hub of economic growth. But giving a makeover to India’s cities will not be an easy task for M Venkaiah Naidu, India’s urban development and housing minister.

Naidu shares his vision on transforming Indian cities with Moushumi Das Gupta. Excerpts from the interview: What will a typical smart city have? And how will it help improve the quality of life for city residents?

To put it simply, a typical smart city should enable better quality of urban life. It should enable a life experience that is much superior to what most of us have at the moment.

What is the present experience in urban areas? Not enough water or electricity supply, garbage dumped all across, filthy public conveniences, traffic jams after a drizzle, no public places for recreation, poor drainage and sewerage systems, growing slums and aspirations of migrants not being met are the hallmarks of urban life today. A smart city should take life beyond these deficiencies. At a basic level, a smart city should provide 24x7 quality water and power supply, easy mobility, quality and affordable health care and education, total sanitation and scope for renewal of the creative faculties of residents. Alongside, such cities should offer employment opportunities to the aspiring, including migrants.

What are the major challenges you foresee in making smart cities a reality?

Major issues are men, minds and money. Present day urban governance in India is marked by some serious deficiencies. From maintaining land records to planning

for growing urbanisation and delivery of public goods and services, there is a deficit of capacities and governance.

So, we need quality manpower for planning and management of urban growth. There is a need for an entirely different mindset among the urban leadership at the political and bureaucratic level. Money will come if we create the proper climate for it to flow. What is most important is capacity-building and smart governance.

to know the status of traffic movement and management through Intelligent Transport Systems, out-patient rush at any hospital etc.

The government has been studying smart city models across the world.

Do you think they can be replicated in the Indian context?

Broadly, urbanisation as a process has a similar path curve in all contexts. Various studies show that until the 30% level, the urbanisation rate is slow and picks up momentum thereA concept note prepared by your ministry estimates that an annual after. With an about 31% urban population in India at the investment of `35,000 crore will be required to develop the proposed moment, we are at an inflection point. This is the moment smart cities. Where will this money come from? to be seized and prepare ourselves for an These figures are a conservative estimate. exponential growth in urbanisation. We The actual investment needs would be can draw from the experiences of others STUDIES SHOW THAT much more in my view. This is certainly a and leapfrog in properly addressing the UNTIL THE 30% LEVEL, challenge. We need to unleash the investchallenge of urbanisation. Since we have THE URBANISATION RATE ment potential available with individuals, the benefit of various models like that of IS SLOW AND PICKS UP institutions and international agenSingapore, Barcelona, Seoul and Yokohama, MOMENTUM THEREAFTER. cies. We need to take the Public Private we can evolve an India-specific model based WITH AN ABOUT 31% Partnership (PPP) model to a new level of on the present challenges and desired goals.

URBAN POPULATION IN actualisation, learning from recent and INDIA AT THE MOMENT, Have cities been identified for the project? How past experiences. The PPP mode should WE ARE AT AN many of them are going to be greenfield cities? be the first and preferred option for asset INFLECTION POINT The vision of Prime Minister Narendra creation, operation and maintenance of Modi is to develop 100 smart cities as satelurban utilities. State governments and lite towns of larger cities by modernising urban local bodies need to gear up by levexisting mid-sized cities. Experience shows that building eraging various available means. Land is one huge asset entirely new cities is time-consuming and costly. Also, in urban areas and this should be properly leveraged. there is a need to convert emerging cities into smart cities, What role will information technology play in the making of smart cities? which is relatively easier and more practical. In the end, A smart city should deliver public and civic services to it has to be a mix of both greenfield and brownfield citizens and businesses in an integrated and resourceprojects. No cities have so far been identified under efficient way while enabling innovative collaborations to the smart cities initiative; but, broadly, we want to take improve quality of life. This is where the role of IT comes up development of satellites to mega cities like Delhi, in. It can be effectively used to reduce travel by providing Mumbai and Chennai, some cities with a population of online platforms for making various payments, market1-4 million and cities that are important from the point of ing, information access etc. Technology can also be used view of tourism and economic potential.

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

PROMISE OF POWER ANIL SARDANA

BUILDING A BACKBONE

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more are in the pipeline — lined up for the coming years. magine a blackout that stretches three consecutive days, To accelerate development and satiate people’s power needs, stopping everything in its tracks from essential services like smart grids are going to be the new energy vision because any hospitals, to transport lifelines like Delhi Metro, to routine increase in per capita electricity consumption has a 90% correlaactivities like warming homes or heating water. Not to mention with increasing per capita GDP. tion factories and industries.

Uninterrupted and affordable power can be backbone for allPower packs a powerful punch in our lives and it is the driving force that can propel our nation into a truly modern, inclusive growth since it will help uplift every section of society, smart India because this sector contributes 1.8% to GDP and especially low-income households who spend a chunk of their energy and resources on fuel sourcing. facilitates development across the spectrum — manufacturOnce this burden is removed from citizens belonging to economing, agriculture, commercial enterprises and railways.

But to make power the pillar on which India’s development push ically weaker sections, they can focus more on income-generating opportunities. can stand, the country needs to start from scratch: expand its elecThe all-encompassing power of power is best tricity-generation capacity, build smart grids to illustrated by a UNDP report which says access to reduce the demand-supply gap to zero and pursue INCREASING ELECTRICITY electricity increases maternal and child lifespan much-needed reforms in right earnest.

CONSUMPTION HAS A by over 60%. Again, not to mention power’s power For the country’s GDP to grow at 8-9%, the power sector needs to grow at 12-13% because 90% CORRELATION WITH to boost the literacy rate, skill-development, manufacturing and agriculture! there is a direct link between development and INCREASING GDP. ONCE Access to dependable and reliable power supply access to electricity.

THE BURDEN OF FUEL is essential to ensure digital connectivity — someIt is heartening to see the urgency with which SOURCING IS REMOVED, thing that a nation striving to be smart cannot do the current government is working towards LOW INCOME GROUP without. addressing challenges faced by this crucial sector.

CITIZENS CAN FOCUS ON All said and done, a smart grid will lead The country’s development story can be written INCOME-GENERATING nowhere if electricity generation is not ramped only if there is reliable 24x7 power supply — not OPPORTUNITIES up. Energy and demand trends indicate India will an unachievable target if the government is willremain heavily dependent on coal-fired power ing to make large investments. International plants, which doesn’t augur well for a country Energy Agency (IEA) projections say about $1,631 billion cumulative investment will be required in the power sector facing a slowdown in domestic coal production. The country has also become more reliant on coal imports, a commodity that has value chain from 2011-2035. recently experienced unprecedented price rise.

The power sector is poised at a crucial stage as it is expected To take growth plans out of the confines of a boardroom, the to meet the growing challenges of the future. But for every penneed of the hour is to attract substantial private investment in nyworth of power produced in India, the country loses many the power sector. Announcements made in the Union budget on pennies to an outdated supply grid — the weakest in the world.

Coupled with flaws such as a poorly planned distribution network, energy security offer hope that holistic measures will be taken up to make power plants sustainable, including those running on overloading of system components, lack of reactive power supexpensive imported coal. port and regulation services, and low metering efficiency and bill The challenge is to solve the crisis over shortage of fuel collection, the supply chain is on the brink of a massive collapse. required to turn the turbines. There are problems of archaic minIncreasing share of renewable power is making the grid more ing technology, undeveloped mines, pending approval for new unstable. mines, litigation over forest destruction by open-cast mining and To avoid that happening, maintaining grid stability is crucial. inadequate number of coal washeries. More than these, India’s Herein are opportunities to build smart grids that can support coal and natural gas reserves are depleting. Given the scenario, overall development of the sector. The benefits from smart grids it will be prudent to adopt procedures to augment mechanical are not just better meter readings but reduction in equipment failefficiency in tandem with judicious use of available ure, superior supply quality and greater use of renewresources. able energy.

The government was aware of the ticking power It takes societal cost-benefit analysis, beyond return bomb and tried to reverse the back count by proposing a of investment calculations, to justify the use of a smart network of ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) to boost grid. The government has come up with a roadmap, electricity generation. But, of the 16 UMPPs planned, constituted by the India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF) only one in Mundra run by Tata Power is generating in alignment with the Restructured-Accelerated Power 4,000MW with coal imported from Indonesia.

Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP).

It is the most energy-efficient, coal-based thermal This acts as the basic building block for smart grids in power plant in the country. urban areas across the country and it can be effectively Unfortunately, that’s the only one we have despite the leveraged to transform into smarter grids with low focus on smart initiatives. The key, then, lies in retiring incremental costs. plants that have completed more than 30 years of servThe programme will help utilise R-APDRP assets in a ice, build UMPPs and link them to a smart grid. “Light” better way. At present, 14 pilot projects have been identi- ANIL SARDANA the nation and see it grow.

MD & CEO, Tata Power fied that are in various stages of implementation and

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HAFEEZ CONTRACTOR

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Architect

‘IT’LL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO CREATE ANOTHER DELHI’

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afeez Contractor is one of modern India’s most accomplished and well-known architects. He spoke to Hindustan Times on a range of issues on the government’s new smart cities project.

Excerpts:

What are your views about the government’s plans to develop 100 smart cities in India?

First of all, this is the first time at the level of the Prime Minister that the political system has shown the will that it wants to do something for the cities. It is an extremely important initiative and shows that the government is trying to understand the need to prepare for rapid urbanisation. There is ample evidence in world history to show that under-prepared urbanisation can hurt economies badly. Currently, 30% of India’s population lives in cities and towns. This will go up to 60% in the next 10-15 years. History has shown that in every country it takes years for the proportion of urban population to reach 30% of the total, but the jump from 30% to 60% is very rapid.

Will it be possible to create new cities like Chandigarh or New Delhi?

I don’t think it will be possible create another set of new cities similar to Chandigarh or New Delhi. There has to be a new typology of construction. The new typology has to think in terms of lakhs of square feet within a small plot of land. This is very different from the typology of a `ground plus two floor’ concept. Each building has to be a new town. The days of a 10,000-acre town or cities are as good as over for the simple reason that there is no land available for it. For the sake of building cities, we cannot indiscriminately keep on gobbling farmland. Such an approach will destroy the environment because it will eventually lead to gobbling up of forest land. We have to find places to build new cities that will not face any acquisition problems. Importantly, cities will have to come up in areas where there is ample water. There is no need to create a ring road across 30,000 hectares of land encircling a city. For building new cities, it is about time to set the tone on what we see in science fiction movies.

RK PACHAURI

etition, let me again say that completely new cities will not be like ‘cities’. We have seen from experience, both in India and overseas, that industrial townships take decades to stabilise and become well-functioning cities. Building a city is just not about building residential blocks and dwelling units. A well-functioning city should offer sustainable and growth-oriented job and career opportunities. It should have appropriate infrastructure such as schools and colleges that also offer higher educational opportunities. Besides, there are other social infrastructure issues that need to be taken care of. For instance, a city should have sufficient infrastructure for funerals and cremations.

What are the fundamental issues that need to be addressed in building There should be hospitals and other healthcare facilities these smart cities? that are of a certain standard. There should be sports, As I said, to begin with, the smart cities recreational and entertainment facilities. should be appendages to existing cities, Most of these services are private indusand not absolutely new cities that are try-led initiatives. Unless the corridors SMART CITIES SHOULD located far away from existing large cities. are located within a 10-30 km radius of an BE APPENDAGES TO A smart city, or any city for that matter, existing city, such infrastructure will be EXISTING CITIES, AND should be environmentally-friendly, offer difficult to build in the new towns in a susNOT ABSOLUTELY employment opportunities, be attractive tainable manner.

NEW CITIES THAT ARE for living, have palatable housing prices, LOCATED FAR AWAY and should be are powered with proper What are the kinds of urban pricing pressures that you infrastructure such as roads, water foresee in our cities?

FROM EXISTING and power.

The biggest problem is the kind of pricLARGE CITIES ing that everyone is talking about. Given Can our cities take this influx? the current pricing trends, the people who That is the core question. Are our cities move in from villages to cities will not equipped to take the flood of people? Clearly not, if the be able to afford these prices. How many of these houscurrent situation persists. First and foremost, our urban ing units will be affordable for people, is a question that bylaws need a complete overhaul. Most cities in India, for town-planners and policy makers will have to address on a instance, do not have density laws that clearly define the priority basis. The rising price of land clearly is one of the number of dwelling units that can be built within a parmajor constraints in development of new cities. When I go ticular area. The biggest fallacy in our approach to town to a village, I can start building a house with even bricks planning is that people who are moving from villages to and mud. To build a house in a village is relatively very cities will be able to stay in a house of about 300-350 sq ft. easy and cheap. The cost of infrastructure is virtually zero. For instance, unlike cities building civic infrastrucWhat are your views about the industrial corridors such as the Delhiture such as drainage and sewers in villages do not involve Mumbai Industrial Corridor? Do you think the smart cities will locate high capital costs. However, creating new houses, which around these corridors? are far smaller in size, in cities will cost manifold because I don’t think the industrial corridors can turn out to be of a variety of reasons such as land cost and the cost of the main hubs for creating new cities. At the cost of repbuilding infrastructure.

What should be the structure of these smart cities?

The Prime Minister talking about building 100 smart cities is a great move. Having said that, we need to keep one thing in mind: cities anyway would have been flooded by transitional population for employment, better income and a better standard of living. So, the government and policy-makers first need to decide whether these 100 smart cities will be separate cities or appendages to existing cities. In my view, making these cities as appendages to existing large cities will be more easily implementable, and also liveable and palatable.

Chairperson, IPCC

‘CITIES CAN BE SMARTER ONLY IF PUBLIC HAS A SENSE OF PRIDE’

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cities reeling under increasing air pollution? r RK Pachauri, co-chair of the 2007 Nobel winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate I believe smart public transport options would require Change (IPCC), is a votary for adopting clean creation of appropriate capacity in our local government technologies and renewable energy for lowbodies, because even if they enter into public-private carbon growth. The director general of The partnerships they have to be capable of selecting the Energy and Resources Institute tells Chetan most appropriate public transport systems in our towns Chauhan what making a smart city entails, and cities. Quite apart from the harmful levels of air how cleaning the Ganga could set the tone pollution in almost all our cities, traffic congestion, for cleaning other rivers in shortage of road space and high levels of the country and how renewable energy accidents require a change in the mode of could grow exponentially in India. Edited urban transportation and a level of disciMY ADVICE TO THE PM excerpts from the interview: pline that is currently missing. Perhaps WOULD BE TO LOOK AT the Prime Minister could launch a traffic THE SCIENTIFIC REALITY Prime Minister Narendra Modi has outlined a series discipline campaign throughout the counOF CLIMATE CHANGE. of initiatives to bring change in the country from try because here again much poorer counINDIA IS CLEARLY smart cities to Clean Ganga to Swachh Bharat. Will tries are far better off than our country.

VULNERABLE TO THE these initiatives help in making a new India?

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE All these are important elements to develWhat steps should the government take to make our CHANGE AND WE SHOULD cities smarter and more liveable? op the country. However, it is also imporEMBRACE A LOW-CARBON All stakeholders, including businesses and tant to fully understand the concept and GROWTH STRATEGY content of what a smart city should be. industry as well as civil society, should I think a programme towards creating get involved in such an effort. Cities can smart cities would give us unique opporbecome smarter and more liveable only if tunities to make our cities sustainable, resilient to climate the public has a sense of pride and feels responsible for change and sensitive to the needs of those who are at the their development. bottom end of the income and wealth ladder. The cleaning of the Ganga could be an important forerunner of cleanAs co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ing up other rivers in the country. As for Swachh Bharat, you have been a proponent of renewable energy. How can India harIndia has really become a disgrace even compared to coun- ness the benefits in this sector? tries with lower income levels. We need to bring about a As IPCC chair, I am not expected to be a proponent of total change in mindsets. any form of energy. However, as its recently concluded Fifth Assessment Report clearly shows, if we are to limit What should the government do to introduce smart public transport in rise in temperatures by the end of this century to 20

degrees centigrade, then by 2050 we would have to bring about a 40%-70% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions relative to 2010 levels. If we wish to do that, renewable energy would certainly be a major option. India has a large potential for development of renewable energy, and with a responsive policy framework, it could grow significantly.

How will Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives help in mitigating the ill effects of climate change?

Prime Minister Modi, when he was chief minister of Gujarat, showed appreciation of the need to develop clean and renewable sources of energy. He has also authored a book on climate change. Also, the new government has expanded the role of the earlier ministry of environment and forests by explicitly adding “climate change” to define the portfolio of the new ministry.

What would you advise the Prime Minister to do to redefine the Indian growth and environment-sustainability story?

My advice to the Prime Minister would be to look at the overwhelming scientific reality of climate change. India is clearly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and if we need to adapt to them, we should embrace a low-carbon growth strategy. That way, we would also be harnessing the benefits of higher levels of energy security, lower levels of air pollution at the local level, higher agricultural productivity, protection of ecosystems and possibly higher levels of employment.

The Supreme Court recently said the government’s Clean Ganga plan will take 200 years to implement. Your take on it?

In the 1960s, a large number of rivers in the developed world were terribly polluted and toxicity levels were seriously high. All of these were cleaned up within 15-20 years.

Why can we not clean up the Ganga in this country?

This would require a huge amount of dedication and an approach that goes beyond government action, which should ensure the involvement of communities, industrial units and all stakeholders in the vicinity of the river.

I believe we are capable of cleaning up the Ganga, and it would be tragic if we do not achieve this in 10 years.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014 AN

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THE MAKING OF A SMART INDIA

DEFENCE DIVIDEND RAGHU RAMAN

SITTING ATOP THE PYRAMID

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owe their invention and maturity to defence. bout a decade ago, a buzzword started appearing So, if Indian manufacturing industries climb the pinnacle of amongst city planners, bureaucrats, and politicians — this pyramid, its downstream applications in areas of electronthe promise of a utopia called smart cities. A decade ics, metallurgy, high-precision engineering, and a host of other later, the promise has remained largely that. Cities still high-end manufacturing will leapfrog India’s IP, skill-building and groan under grossly inadequate infrastructure. Our competency journey by decades. For instance, any industry that metros swallow millions of man-years, fuel and quality can produce a fighter aircraft can easily branch off into civilian of life each year. Increasing crime, pollution, disparity aircraft manufacturing or their servicing. We can achieve our amongst classes and, quite simply, the levels of brutalaspirations of becoming a global superpower not just by military ity in our cities prompt the question whether our cities are getting smarter or stupider? Countless committees and citizen self-reliance, but by also building a super-strong economy in the process. And that’s where the second reason kicks in. bodies extol the virtues of smart cities and lament the inability of One of India’s strengths is the plenitude of relatively cheaper our governments to deliver — largely to no avail. intellectual calibre of blue and white collar jobs.

The establishment, on its part, continues to do With ample coastlines, located on oceanic highwhat it does best — announce schemes, execute WITH AMPLE ways and plenty of natural resources, Indian scattered development projects, dig up more COASTLINES, LOCATED manufacturing costs can be lower by up to half of square feet than it builds and, even in this cenits Western counterparts. This means that any fortury, somehow manage to be a country that sends ON OCEANIC HIGHWAYS eign company bidding for an Indian weapons platspacecraft to Mars but cannot build roads that last AND PLENTY OF form becomes globally competitive in its pricing if even one monsoon. And while usual excuses like NATURAL RESOURCES, it bases its manufacturing lines in India. corruption, political agendas, apathy, etc, can be INDIAN MANUFACTURING Thirdly, our existing industrial and defence paraded, perhaps it’s time to go back to the basics COSTS CAN BE manufacturing capabilities are strung along the to discern how cities were built in the first place.

LOWER BY UP TO HALF mid-India belt. Starting from the west coast of Every major civilisation emerged on the banks OF ITS WESTERN Gujarat, the swathe encompassing Maharashtra, of rivers — stands to logic as the fundamentals necCOUNTERPARTS Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal to the essary to support any community had to include eastern coast is home to over half of our induswater, drainage, sunlight and ventilation. But it trial and defence production units. So, if India also had another pre-requisite — the ability of the could plan and stud its future defence industries along this belt, it community to agree on some basic synergies to enable the city to will leverage existing synergies, pool its talent, create educational grow and flourish. At a fundamental level, such synergy would institutions, lower logistics costs and exploit natural movement not permit upstream homes’ drainage to flow into drinking water corridors, thus becoming efficient and cost-effective. sources of houses downstream. Similar synergies were determined The last and most pressing reason for considering this strategifor design even within the house. Some portions had to be brightly cally purposeful plan is a looming security crisis that hasn’t been lit to promote hygiene and prevent diseases while others had to be addressed meaningfully so far. One of India’s major demographic dark and cool to store food. These rules, often laced with doses of divinity to ensure compliance, were the earliest forms of city syner- strengths is also its Achilles’ heel. We have one of the youngest populations in the world. Our societies disgorge over a million gies or, as we now know it, Nagar Vaastu or simply Vaastu. young aspirants every month, most of them grossly ill-equipped to Those tenets offer inspiration while designing the smart cities find employment matching their aspirations. of the future — finding a core purpose and developing synergies That is where defence manufacturing can become a game around it. And rather than talking about this in abstract terms, changer. Almost as if by design, the mid-India belt is also a major let’s take the concrete opportunity staring us in the face.

Indian defence requirements are pegged to cross $80 billion over catchment area for India’s largest security threat — the Maoists. As the defence and allied industries begin to kick-start, they will start the next decade or so. This makes India one of the largest buyers a suction effect that will soak out unutilised and idle capacity — of defence hardware, software and intellectual property in the which is what the Maoists bank on for their cadres. foreseeable future. Defence procurement regulations But, to achieve this, our nation’s planners must start mandate an offset policy, which, simply put, requires thinking strategically. Smart cities are not simply cities an overseas seller to procure or manufacture up to 50% that have high-bandwidth Internet, CCTV surveillance of the equipment indigenously. This means that Indian or broader roads. Instead, they are potential engines industries have an opportunity to absorb up to $40 bilto jump-start India’s quest for her rightful place on the lion of defence and allied manufacturing dollars and, of global stage. course, the services that accompany such quantum of Therefore, if this $40-billion opportunity is to be investments. leveraged, all key stakeholders — the central and state The story gets better because of four reasons. governments, respective ministries, policymakers, Defence manufacturing is at the top of the pyramid industries, industry bodies and concerned PSUs — when it comes to technological prowess. Most highmust have the vision to craft and leverage the synergies end technologies we use in our daily lives were either RAGHU RAMAN of our core purpose. Else, despite having all the buildinvented or mass-produced for defence purposes. X-ray, Former CEO of ing blocks, our bad Vaastu will fritter away a paradigmsonar, telegraph, aviation, navigation, flight-control sys- the National Intelligence Grid shift opportunity. tems, computers and, yes, even the ubiquitous Internet,