Future of extensive Smart City projects uncertain

November 16, 2016

Smart City projects in the country are based on an unintegrated framework-based approach and a non-viable revenue model, and can thus get delayed, media research firm Gartner has announced. The firm has forecasted that through 2020, less than 10 per cent of the smart city projects implemented across the country will be of a sizable nature.

“While many Indian cities have announced smart city projects, a structured approach in selecting these projects has thus far been missing from most city councils,” Ganesh Ramamoorthy, Research Vice President at Gartner, said in a statement. “To succeed, technology product management leaders of smart city products and services must focus on a long-term, consultative approach and innovative revenue models,” Ramamoorthy added.

According to Gartner, engaging early on with the key decision-making officials in city and state departments beyond IT will help product managers of smart city products and solutions to not only gain entry into large-scale physical infrastructure projects but also offer the Internet of Things (IoT) component. “The good news is that central government has now appointed a CEO for every designated smart city to ensure long-term continuity and a more holistic approach to smart city development,” Ramamoorthy noted.

The city CEO office will need time to establish the necessary protocols, policies, procedures and mechanisms, as well as other modalities for interdepartmental communication, transaction and functioning with respect to smart city projects.

Gartner stated that of the current funding, only about 20 per cent will be used for IT-based smart city product, solution and service implementation, while the remaining 80 per cent will be used for physical infrastructure development. As a result, city officials will likely look to the service providers to fund initial projects.”City council are low on budget and that can pose a challenge, as then it does not really permit the city to build, operate, maintain and support the entire smart city infrastructure,” Ramamoorthy noted.

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Financiers express interest for Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway

November 4, 2016

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation – the nodal agency for the Rs 46,000-crore Mumbai Nagpur Expressway – is in talks with SBI Caps and lenders like State Bank of India (SBI) and IDBI Bank to fund the project, according to senior bankers and government officials. Reportedly, a host of sovereign wealth funds have also evinced interest in part-funding this project.

According to a banker, representatives from SBI caps and SBI met MSRDC officials early last week to discuss the proposal. Confirming the development, Radheshyam Mopalwar, vice-chairman and managing director, MSRDC said that it has sent the proposal to government and is awaiting approval. “SBI caps is proposing to be the arranger and will bring in seven to eight banks on board. They are already in discussions. Now we will soon officially sign up with SBI Caps,” he explained but declined to disclose the names of interested foreign investors.

SBI Caps recently informed MSRDC that foreign investors are interested in the project. Mopalwar said due diligence for the project would be conducted by the likes of KPMG, E&Y, etc. and they would in turn rope in the likes of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, etc.

“We require $4 billion. Our engineering cost is around Rs 27,000 crore and SBI Caps is giving some indicative figures what they can get us from the domestic market but let’s see what the exact amount is,” Mopalwar said.

The Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway, also called the Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor is the first project in Maharashtra being set up by pooling land rather than by acquiring it. “This is the first effort to get into partnership with the farmers, wherein we are giving them developed land more than even what a real estate developer would offer. Since, the land being offered is along the 24 inter-changes planned along the highway, the value realisation of the land on completion of the project will be exponentially higher,” Mopalwar had earlier said.

The proposed prosperity greenfield corridor between two major cities of Nagpur and Mumbai will be a 710-kilometre long four-lane super fast expressway. It will cut the distance which presently takes up to 16 hours to just 8 hours. The expressway will run through 10 districts, 22 talukas and 345 villages. However, the benefits will spill over to as many as 27 districts since other areas too will be connected to the main road.

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Indian start-ups to double by 2020: Nasscom

November 4, 2016

The start-up ecosystem in the country is expected to double in the next few years and could cross the 10,000 mark, a recent report by Nasscom said. The report which allayed concerns of a slowdown in the Indian start-up activity said the country continues to the third largest base for start ups globally.

The Nasscom- Zinnov report titled “Indian Startup Ecosystem Maturing – 2016” which was released recently said the ecosystem is poised to grow by an impressive 2.2 times to reach more than 10,500 startups by 2020, employing over 2,10,000 people. The report finds that Bengaluru, NCR, and Mumbai continue to lead as the major start-up hubs in the country.

According to the report, the number of tech start-ups in India is expected to grow by 10-12 per cent to over 4,750 by the end of 2016. The report further said that there is a 40 per cent increase in the number of active incubators and accelerators in 2016 with impetus from government and the corporate sector.

Over 30 new academic incubators have been established under the government’s ‘Start-up India Stand-up India’ initiative this year, and tier-II/III cities have established 66 per cent of the new incubators, the report said.

So far as investments are concerned, the report said that investors are increasingly looking at opportunities in start—ups in areas other than online retailing. Ventures in Fintech, Healthtech, Edutech, data analytics, B2B commerce and artificial intelligence, are seeing interest, according to the report.

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SBI inks pact with IIT-Kharagpur for fintech innovation

November 4, 2016

State Bank of India (SBI) – the country’s largest lender which has been on the forefront of technological innovation among state-run banks – has decided to collaborate with the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for promoting innovation and collaboration with fin-tech companies.

The wider programme includes ideation, incubation, experimentation and commercialization of new technology driven products and services for the banking sector. IIT Kharagpur, one of the premier technology institutes of the country and having a number of initiatives for spotting, incubating, setting and channelizing new technology ideas and start-ups, has been taking collaborative steps with industries to further the national cause of “Make in India” and “Start-up India”.

These institutions of national importance have come together to bring the benefits of synergy and complement each others’ capabilities for innovation and fin-tech for the benefit of every Indian citizen. For this purpose, an MOU was signed between the State Bank of India and IIT Kharagpur at Mumbai, delineating a broader road-map of detailed cooperation, SBI said in a statement. “The action plan includes collaborative research, Centre of Excellence (CoE) and running proof of concepts in various areas,” it added.

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Supreme Court refuses to stay Allahabad HC order of making DND fly-way toll-free

November 4, 2016

The Supreme Court has refused to stay the Allahabad High Court order which made DND (Delhi-Noida-Direct) toll free. The apex court said no toll should be collected until further orders.

Following a public litigation interest (PIL) filed by Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Association in 2012, the Allahabad High Court, last week, ruled that no user fee can be collected by the private concessionaire from the commuters of the 9.2 km-long, eight-way flyover that connects New Delhi, the capital city of India, to Noida and its neighbourhood. The PIL had challenged the levy and collection of toll by Noida Toll Bridge Company any further as it argued the company has already made sufficient profit.

The Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd – which operates the toll way – filed a plea in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court’s order. Noida Toll Bridge Company had asked the apex court to get its accounts audited by CAG. The court said the accounts of DND toll company will be audited either by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) or by an independent auditor to find whether the profit recovered was adequate.

The Supreme Court will pass an order on November 7 about auditing the account and till the audit report is submitted, there will be no toll on the expressway, an SC bench comprising justices AR Dave, RK Agrawal and AM Khanwilkar said. The toll for the fly-way, opened in February 2001, was Rs 8 initially but it was gradually hiked to Rs 28 per trip. About 1.5 lakh vehicles use the DND fly-way on a weekday.

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