Mumbai : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘100 smart cities’ idea has found takers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The premium engineering institute has announced a ‘Smart City Challenge’ in partnership with various government bodies, as part of its annual ‘TechFest’. A prize of Rs 5 lakh awaits for the best set of the ideas.
Realising that it takes more than engineers to build smart cities, the project has been divided into five domains, viz. Infrastructure, Trade and Commerce, Healthcare, Design and Aesthetics and Policy Making. Entries are being sought from the professionals and students belonging to different fields of expertise. A panel of experts will provide assistance to the participants.
The competition is being conducted in two phases, according to TechFest manager Ayush Bandil. In first phase, preliminary ideas were invited on various urban issues. Subsequently, multi-disciplinary teams will be formed out of the best responses in order to design 10 smart cities. TechFest has recieved around 700 entries.
The initiative is said to have been taken up with the vision of bringing together technology, government and the student fraternity to make the cities more efficient, sustainable and liveable. “PM Modi has spoken about the need of new smart cities. ‘Smart City Challenge’ is such an initiative to engage the youth of the country in the development of their city and prosperity of its citizens”, said Aman Mantri of TechFest.
The project is being implemented in collaboration with CIDCO, MMRDA and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation. The prize money is sponsored by National Campaign for People’s Right to Information. The last day for the submission of entries is September 24.
