Cites an independent survey; ICT adoption by civic agencies crucial to convert existing cities into Smart Cities
Schneider Electric India – the global energy management specialist – cited a November 2014 India Infrastructure Research report titled, ‘ICT in Urban Governance – Survey’, to take real-time stock of ICT adoption in various cities, its importance as perceived by city administrations and as reflected in allocated budgets and actual spends.
If the NDA Government’s vision of 100 Smart Cities is to become a reality, the relevant data will be invaluable for Central and State Governments. Schneider Electric believes ICT deployment is crucial to convert existing cities into Smart Cities announced the press release.
From hundreds of eligible cities, the first most likely 53 have been surveyed initially out of the 100 brownfield cities that would be on the Government’s agenda for conversion into Smart Cities. The report said the scope and scale for ICT varies across cities, depending upon their size, needs, financial resources and approach to ICT by the city’s top management, which included Municipal Commissioners and IT heads. Presently, most civic agencies have implemented IT modules in E-governance.
Elaborating on the highlights of the ‘ICT in Urban Governance – Survey’ report by India Infrastructure Research, Anil Chaudhry, President and Country Head, Schneider Electric India, said, “The major benefits from ICT adoption would be efficiency and transparency, with about 94% of civic agencies mentioning this. Around 84% of survey respondents believe costs savings and promoting citizen participation would be the other benefits. Moreover, ease of monitoring, better accessibility and standardisation of services are cited as additional benefits by 78%, 74% and 71%, respectively.”
