New Delhi, Jan. 21, 2019: The 6th edition of India m2m + iot Forum 2019 (www.m2m2iotforum.com), the national forum on Machine-to-Machine (m2m) and Internet of Things (IoT) focused on applications of these disruptive technologies in smart cities and villages space concluded recently.
The forum was jointly organised by the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (DMS, IIT – Delhi), FI Media (Future Internet and Electronic Media – a prestigious project of the European Union) and India m2m + iot Forum.
The Forum highlighted the need of forward-looking policies and a proactive government to play a role in the development of smart cities & villages on the bedrock of JAM Trinity which has 1bn bank accounts (Jan Dhan) + 1bn Aadhaar + 1bn mobile broadband users, already organised for the technological revolution in this space, thus, Capitalizing the connected World with the help of modern & niche technologies like 5G, GIS, IoT, m2m and others. Likewise, the governments effort to connect 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats with BharatNet project was discussed to leverage the smart villages concept in India, said a press release.
5G vision for India was also one of the major highlights of the 2-day Forum, as 5G technology has the potential for ushering a major societal transformation in India by enabling a rapid expansion of the role of information technology across manufacturing, education, healthcare, agriculture, finance and social sectors. The panelists voiced that India must embrace this opportunity by deploying 5G networks early, efficiently, and pervasively as well as emerge as a significant innovator and technology supplier at the global level.
Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India via her message highlighted, “A city is a complex system, involving many different domains, infrastructure, organisations and activity which need to be integrated for that city to emerge as a smart city. Standardisation forms a critical part of the work that needs to be done. Being smart cities, a new holistic and cross functional standardisation approach is needed, breaking the old ‘vertical silos’ approach, through better cooperation and synergies.”
“While the cities of India are fast progressing towards digitalisation, it is encouraging to note that digital solutions are being readily accepted amongst the rural population of India as well. To support this technology adoption, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India, has initiated projects to provide broadband connectivity for connecting various digital services and solutions across our Urban and Rural Landscapes”, added Aruna.
Elated about the forum Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary (Mission Director – Smart Cities), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs stated, “The forum can make noteworthy contributions to the Smart City Program at large. By sharing and collaborating on topics such as technology, multi-country experiences and innovative approaches, I am sure that we can bring together the best minds, and the surest hands to co-create cities of the future.”