The 5th Smart Cities India 2019 expo: Providing a platform to ‘India’s Future’

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is expected to be one of the top three economic powers over the next 10-15 years. The country’s real estate sector alone is expected to reach a market size of $1 trillion by 2030, from $120 billion in 2017, to contribute 13 per cent to the country’s GDP by 2025.
The Government of India has collaborated with State governments and at the city level to undertake several initiatives that would encourage growth in the sector. Under the Smart Cities Mission, the Union government is developing 100 ‘Smart Cities’ to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life for millions of Indians. The primary focus is to enable local development and harness technology as a means to create smart infrastructure for the benefit of citizens. Through this initiative, the Union government hopes to tap into digital and information technologies, urban planning best practices, and public-private partnerships to create an environment conducive for holistic development of modern urban centres or smart cities.
As part of the Smart Cities Mission strategy, focus is on core infrastructure elements such as adequate water supply; a strong power infrastructure; sanitation, including solid waste management; efficient urban mobility and transport; affordable housing, especially for the poor; Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation, especially e-Governance and citizen participation; sustainable environment, etc.
The 5th Smart Cities India 2019 expo addresses the core objectives of the mission aptly and compellingly. The three-day event, to be organised from 22 – 24 May at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, will be a unique meeting point for key stakeholders including Union and State government officials, private sector representatives, foreign delegations, businesses, smart city advocates, academics, city leaders, etc., to forge professional relationships with each other. In addition to the Smart Cities expo, the venue will also play host to the Buildings India, Solar India, Transport India, and Water India expos.

Smart Cities India 2019 expo
Taking que from the Smart Cities Mission, the expo emphasises upon technologies, solutions and best practices that can be replicated both within and outside the smart city, catalysing the creation of similar smart cities in various regions and parts of the country. On display will be solutions for home automation/IoT; building intelligence monitoring (BIM) of smart buildings; green building solutions; water/sanitation technologies such as water monitoring applications & devices, metering/billing, water ATMs, solid waste management & toilets; environment-related solutions for pollution monitoring; urban planning and smart IT & communications; security systems; smart transport; smart grid, clean energy & energy storage devices, etc.
Buildings India expo
Sustainable infrastructure is an integral part of the Smart Cities Mission. As the cities expand, it is imperative to invest in smart buildings and housing to enable cohesive development in the future. The pavilion will showcase key aspects such as the ‘Housing for All’ scheme for the urban/rural poor and other government initiatives; smart/green buildings; real estate developers; facilities management; building information modelling; construction equipment & materials; smart appliances; etc.
Solar India expo
India has emerged as a global leader in the promotion of clean and renewable energy. Already, a total of 74.79 GW of renewable energy capacity had been installed in the country as on 31st December, 2018, including 25.21 GW from solar, 35.14 GW from wind, 9.9 GW from biopower and 4.5 GW from SHP. The country is set to become one of the largest solar hubs globally and has, accordingly, set a target to achieve 100 GW solar power by 2021-22. Key elements of the expo will be ground-mounted & rooftop solar; battery storage; solar cities; floating solar applications; micro grids; solar street lighting, etc.
Transport India expo
Presently, there is an urgent need to address the challenges related to transport, such as inadequate capacity of public transportation, road safety, poor traffic management, poor infrastructure, etc., that are hampering the smooth movement of traffic, goods, raw materials and agricultural produce across the country. This expo will showcase end-to-end future solutions for smart transport in the country. The segments that will see participation include electric & hybrid vehicles; connected/autonomous vehicles; storage/batteries; public transport; smart cards; traffic control technology & systems; smart parking; smart railways, highways, waterways; civil aviation, etc.
Water India expo
The expo provides a platform for products, services and solutions available in the water industry worldwide. It gives a comprehensive insight into the water industry: Its best practices, latest technologies, alternative solutions, emerging opportunity and business prospective. The event will see different facets of water in India such as non-revenue water (NRW); irrigation systems; water supply & distribution; STP/WWTP/ETP; government initiatives, and much more.
Source: Smart Cities India Press