Smart city a ‘wholesome’ concept: Dr Jitendra

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh posing for group photograph with the recipients of the Smart City Summit Awards at New Delhi on Friday.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh posing for group photograph with the recipients of the Smart City Summit Awards at New Delhi on Friday.

Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 29: Smart City is a “wholesome” concept and cannot be practised in piece-meal or in parts.
This was stated here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, while addressing the Smart City Summit as chief guest. On the occasion, officer bearers and officials from both government and private sector, were also presented awards for their distinguished performance in the Smart City programme.
Dr Jitendra Singh said , Smart City initiative is one of the flagship programmes of the Modi Government, for which, the Urban Development Ministry has developed a very objective and scientific qualifying criteria for a town or city to be included in this programme. However, he observed, he will take up with the Urban Development Ministry, the possibility of having a little more liberal criteria for inclusion of North-Eastern cities in this programme, considering the typical topographic and developmental status of the eight States in the region.
At the same time, Dr Jitendra Singh said, a progressive approach in the Smart City initiative is not confined only to the construction of buildings and roads, but also to providing of optimum infrastructure for various facets of life, particularly health and education sectors.
In addition, a “Smart City” is not smart only on the basis of its physical appearance, but also on the basis of its people who are smart enough to live up to the requirements and expectations of contemporary times, he added.
In order to make the programme more wholesome, Dr Jitendra Singh called upon the private stakeholders participating in the conference to come forward in partnership with the Government and encourage in Northeast entrepreneurship through vast unexplored potentials. He said, for any new Startup initiative in Northeast, in addition to the provisions and facilities provided by the Government of India, the Ministry of DoNER has also announced the additional incentive of providing a Venture Capital Fund.

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