Smart Planner

01 Jun 2015 CW Team

Now there is one more reason to visit the pink city of Jaipur. The tourist hot-spot is being primed to become a ´smart city,´ much to the delight of its residents and the 40 million tourists it attracts annually. The man behind the ambitious smart city project is Shikhar Agarwal, Commissioner, Jaipur Development Authority (JDA). For the citywide project, eight zones have been selected to deploy and pilot four applications of smart cities in tourist locations, metro stations, bus stands, hospitals, parks and government hospitals. To turn this dream project into a reality, JDA along with Cisco, is drawing up a blueprint that is expected to complete soon. The first phase of the project is set to start from the 25 hectare Central Park, which is located in the heart of the city. Plans are afoot to set up a digital infrastructure that would offer citizens amenities, including connected transport, interactive kiosks, wireless broadband, safety and security services, traffic management and environmental updates. Taking over the reins at JDA last year from the previous position he held as Director General (employment and training), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Agarwal has put immense effort to turn around the fortunes of the debt ridden JDA. When the plans turn fruitful, it would be an interesting melange of erstwhile Rajput charm juxtaposed with cutting edge technological innovation. With an eye on the prize, Jaipur - a smart city, Agarwal is ready to broaden the city´s horizons.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Jan 2026

Dhalbhumgarh Airport Faces 150-km Rule Hurdle

The issue has resurfaced following a recent statement by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who said that under existing aviation policy, a new greenfield airport is generally not permitted within an aerial distance of 150 kilometres of an operational civilian airport. He added, however, that if a formal proposal is submitted, its impact on the existing airport can be examined and relaxations may be considered on a case-by-case basis. While the clarification has revived some hope for Dhalbhumgarh, it has also underlined the scale of the technical challenge facing the project. Unde..

Stakeholders Seek Parallel Ops For Vizag Airports

With road and metro rail links to Bhogapuram still several years away, stakeholders in north Andhra Pradesh have renewed demands to continue civil operations at INS Dega even after the commissioning of Bhogapuram International Airport. The new airport is expected to begin commercial operations from June. Officials said close to 80 per cent of the airport infrastructure at Bhogapuram, including the terminal building and internal approach roads, has already been completed. However, inadequate external connectivity remains a key concern. Making a case for parallel operations, Andhra Pradesh Air ..

Govt To Roll Out V2V Tech To Cut Road Crashes

In an effort to curb road accidents, particularly in low-visibility conditions such as dense fog, the government is set to roll out vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology that will allow cars to exchange real-time data and alert drivers to potential dangers. The announcement was made by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari after the 43rd meeting of the Transport Development Council. The technology involves installing an on-board unit (OBU) in vehicles, enabling wireless data exchange between nearby cars. This will allow vehicles to share information such as spee..