Smart cities are taking advantage of modern technology to enhance infrastructure function and safety, and improve things like traffic and air quality. The business of becoming a smart city is booming, and almost every large municipality has embraced this smart city concept.

Singapore’s Smart Nation Project

Blockchain technology could also be used to share information between networks in a smart city securely. Many cities are exploring how to use blockchain to alleviate traffic jams. Singapore’s Smart Nation project hopes to use the mobile phones of its citizens to measure the conditions of their bus rides, and then analyze the data to see when roads need to be upgraded. Singapore has been a leader in smart city development and has begun developing smart cities in other countries.

Smart Cities Mission Of India

The Indian government launched its Smart Cities Mission in 2015, with the intention of building 100 new smart cities. Many of these developments will be in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, which is a 620-mile (1,000km) stretch between Delhi and Mumbai. Infrastructure worth $11 billion has already been planned across 33 cities, and most of the development will be funded through a public-private model. The project is expected to attract $90 billion in foreign investment, which will be used to create business parks, manufacturing zones and smart cities, all of which will be situated along a delegated rail freight corridor.

The smart cities are being developed as India’s economy is becoming more industrialized and the population is becoming more urbanized. State intervention in the form of centrally planned cities is necessary in order to prevent the existing cities from becoming overcrowded and unlivable. India is particularly vulnerable to climate changes because of its immense and impoverished population. Because of all these, it’s very important that these cities are sustainable and smart. They need low-energy housing materials, intelligent grids, planned transportation, integrated IT systems, e-governance, and innovative water harvesting.

Andhra Pradesh and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have announced a financial technology (Fintech) innovation partnership, with the primary focus on blockchain and digital payments. Singapore aims to develop a marketplace for Fintech solutions in India.

The Start of a Meaningful Collaboration

Singaporean leadership has shown interest in partnering with India to develop a smart city as well as a new capital for Andhra Pradesh, a state in the southeast. It is setting up committees to analyze the potential for collaboration in India’s plan to build 100 new cities, as well as further develop the infrastructure across 500 existing towns and cities.

India’s minister of urban development has been in talks with both Singapore’s current prime minister and its former prime minister. He has been seeking Singapore’s expertise in smart cities, particularly focusing on intelligent transport systems, enhanced water management, and e-governance. The minister of urban development has also been examining Singapore’s public housing schemes, as well as their private housing regulations. Funding structures for transport infrastructure have been looked at as well.

Indian authorities have also engaged a team of Singaporean experts to assist the development of a satellite town in Himachal Pradesh. The 49-acre (20-hectare) project aims to help decongest Shimla, a town that has had a massive population rise in the past few decades. The Singaporeans will assist in educational, residential, and commercial aspects of the town during the development.

Both Singapore and Malaysia have shown interest in investing in another satellite town near Jathia Devi. The Singaporean government is undertaking a study that will assess different options. The state government of Himachal Pradesh is looking at developing five satellite towns near the existing cities, using a private-public funding model.

Singapore’s Ascendas-Singbridge launched its eighth IT Parks in India. The 59-acre (24-hectare) International Tech Park in Gurgaon is expected to have its first building completed in the middle of the year. The $400 million project aims to offer 8 million square feets of business space to help accommodate India’s burgeoning IT sector.