The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was launched in 2015 on the key objective of developing the digital infrastructure of Indian cities. Under the mission, the transformation of cities into “smart cities” has been facilitated by the collection, storage and exchange of critical urban data among various stakeholders. This enables effective communication for better decision-making and e-governance, which is made possible with the integration of information and communications technologies (ICT) in smart city projects. To this end, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India published a framework for ICT infrastructure for Indian smart cities in September 2020. It stresses the need for city administration, consulting companies and service and technology providers to use various ICT components across sectors. It was further strengthened by a set of standards released by the Bureau of Indian Standards in association with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the implementation of ICT solutions in the SCM, in December 2020. These standards were formulated to allow city authorities to expand their ICT infrastructure by incorporating them into requests for proposals for technology solutions.
Since then, smart cities have been exploring a wide range of ICT solutions in different avenues. These range from optical fibre cable (OFC) networks to smart poles, intelligent traffic and waste management through new-age ICTs such as artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT), and real-time monitoring and assessment of various city functions through integrated command and control centres (ICCCs).
OFC network
Smart cities are expanding their city-wide bandwidth-intensive services such as CCTV surveillance, WiFi, and mobile data networks. This requires their integration with OFC network for a faster and more reliable connectivity with lower attenuation for transmission over long distances. Under the SCM, several cities have started deploying citywide OFC networks by initiating ducting work and laying cables. An example is the development of the Srinagar Data Network by Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) through a 175 km long network of 960 million OFCs. The project was inaugurated on August 3, 2023, and is expected to address digital connectivity issues in Srinagar.
In addition, telcos such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and ATC Telecom are actively engaged in related works under the public-private partnership mode. For instance, RailTel Corporation of India Limited was issued a work order by Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City Limited (PCSCL) in August 2023 to develop PCSCL’s “City Network Infrastructure” on a revenue sharing model for 10 years. The project includes the development of OFC and telecom duct network infrastructure covering major areas such as PCMC offices, police stations and other critical junctions, as well as setting up a network operation centre (NOC). Similarly, as part of the first phase, Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation Limited plans to install 800 CCTV cameras at 335 locations, of which 700 cameras have been installed as of October 2023. It also plans to start the second phase of installing 265 CCTV cameras at 150 locations in the city connected through a 50 km long OFC network. This network would be further linked to an emergency centre.
Smart poles
Many smart city administrations have undertaken the conversion of existing street infrastructure, such as street lights and traffic lights, into smart poles. These smart poles are installed with 4G/5G equipment to expand the WiFi network across cities without the need for setting up new communication towers. They are also equipped with air sensors, energy-saving LED lighting and alert sensors similar to those installed by New Delhi Municipal Corporation in Connaught Place. The smart poles in Connaught Place feature sensor-based lighting technology, which dims the lighting during non-peak traffic hours to save energy. Further, they are equipped with panic buttons near schools, metro stations and other sensitive areas, allowing communication of emergency events to the ICCC. This enables two-way communication with the speaker on the poll to share grievances, along with 360-degree-view CCTV cameras with a footage range of 100 metres.
SSCL has also proposed similar plans to install 50 smart poles with integrated WiFi hubs, electric vehicle charging points and advertisement boards. They will be installed with LED lights powered by solar panels, along with CCTV cameras and sensors to measure environmental parameters such as the air quality index and other weather conditions. These facilities will be managed by the ICCCs in Srinagar and are expected to be installed by March 2024. Similarly, in January 2023, RailTel secured a work order worth Rs 1.7 billion from the Puducherry government for various ICT-related work for the Puducherry Smart City. The contract, lasting till 2028, includes the installation of smart poles with CCTV, Wi-Fi, air quality monitoring and digital billboards, apart from the design, operations and maintenance of ICCCs.
IoT and AI-based ICT solutions
The installation of IoT devices significantly enhances communication between different areas of a city, which can further be analysed through AI. Both these ICT solutions, AI and IoT devices, aid in the real-time tracking of services such as intelligent traffic and waste management. For instance, the installation of AI-powered traffic cameras in Delhi has improved the management of traffic violations. These cameras utilise number plate recognition technology, which has resulted in a 20 per cent reduction in violation cases. In another case, Mumbai launched a similar system in May 2023, which is expected to reduce traffic congestion by 15 per cent. This system also incorporates IoT sensors to track the flow of traffic and predict its patterns. This information is further used by city authorities to manage traffic signals and routes. Likewise, IoT sensors are also being employed to make waste management more efficient in smart cities. They have been installed on bins in Surat for improved waste collection. These sensors monitor the amount of waste collected in the bins and send alerts to authorities when they are full. This helps in preventing the overflow of waste by ensuring its timely collection.
Other ICT solutions
Digital-twin technology is an emerging component of ICT that creates an information database in a virtual model, thereby improving service delivery and e-governance. For instance, Thiruvananthapuram Smart City Limited is planning to incorporate this technology to map its physical assets such as residential and commercial buildings. They will map the information related to the property tax submissions on the digital twin model and identify gaps in the tax collection process.
Other ICT solutions such as environmental sensors, public address systems and smart water meters are also being integrated through many centralised systems like ICCCs, NOC, city operations centres (COCs), edge-data centres and on-premises data centres. For instance, Nippon Electric Company Corporation India Private Limited has undertaken the implementation work of ICT solutions and the setting up of COC for the Tirupati Smart City project. These solutions are aimed at facilitating real-time data collection, analysis and two-way communications to tackle challenges associated with safety, security, healthcare, environment, and other aspects in the city. Similarly, an ICCC is planned to undergo a trial run for Thiruvananthapuram Smart City in November 2023, aiming to streamline similar communications. It will monitor public messaging systems at 14 spots, adaptive traffic systems at 113 junctions, intelligent traffic management systems at 35 locations, 10 emergency call boxes and smart CCTVs at eight locations. It will also manage parking areas in the city through a grievance redressal system, with a 24-hour call centre and a mobile application accessible by citizens and city authorities.
Challenges and the way forward
The main focus of the SCM is the digitalisation of 100 smart cities under its ambit, however, the methodology to achieve this has remained ambiguous. Its targeted completion timeline has been extended twice in the past eight years and is now set for June 2024. There has been imbalanced development under the mission, with approximately 68 smart cities unable to achieve their targets and 32 smart cities exceeding their targets. The emphasis is primarily on completing smaller projects that are less time-consuming. Therefore, the mounting number of unsuccessful milestones can be attributed to other critical reasons as well. These include the lack of basic infrastructure in cities required to enhance their technological reliance. For instance, the timely installation of the OFC network and smart poles would be possible with an effective operational mechanism in place and a robust maintenance strategy. Further, these projects require substantial investments, which were intended to be equally funded by the central and state governments. However, this has not been entirely followed through. A significant burden of project funding has primarily fallen on public-private partnerships, where private players aim to derive profitability from the ventures. This has resulted in premature exits or higher project costs than anticipated. Moreover, the increased surveillance in the city is raising concerns about the privacy of citizens’ information. These solutions are usually developed in silos and the non-standardisation in features such as device security, authentication and communication security leads to breach of information.
In response to these challenges, the government aims to rationalise the ongoing projects under the SCM. The plan is to narrow down the number of components that cannot be completed within the timeline and expand those that are already underway. To this end, initiatives such as City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) 2.0 have been approved to be extended to 18 more cities implementing ICT solutions at the city, state and national levels, among others. The application of ICT in smart cities would be further supported by the announcement of funding worth Rs 9 billion by the French Development Agency for the CITIIS programme.
Shubhangi Goswami
