Federal Building Minister Barbara Hendricks and her Indian counterpart Venkaiah Naidu opened the Indo-German conference "100 Smart Cities in India" in Berlin today. The Federal Building Ministry plans to support the three Indian cities of Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Coimbatore in implementing their smart city plans as part of the 100 Smart Cities programme.
Federal Building Minister Barbara Hendricks commented: "With its 100 Smart Cities programme, the Indian government is showing its deep commitment to making cities more liveable, developing them in a sustainable and efficient way and making them cleaner and healthier. We want to support three Indian cities in this process. By doing this we are also helping German companies that want to get involved with Indian partners to assist Indian cities in implementing their concepts".
The mutual interest in a partnership is currently being explored with the three cities of Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Coimbatore in order to discuss the concrete form that cooperation could take. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has started talks in the three cities. The focus is also on tackling existing problems such as housing shortages, poor water and energy supply and overburdened infrastructures. Germany could initially help by offering to carry out feasibility studies. The Indian central government will be providing around 6.5 billion euros over a period of five years for the 100 Smart Cities programme.
The one-day conference "100 Smart Cities in India" is taking place today as part of Metropolitan Solutions at the CityCube Berlin. The conference will present the progress made in implementing the 100 Smart Cities programme. It brings together policymakers and representatives of industry and the scientific sector from India and Germany, providing a platform for expert dialogue and exchange.