Indra has been present in India since 2007. Among the main technological solutions it has implemented in the country are air traffic solutions–its technology is used to control 80% of Indian air space–as well as the systems employed in the operation and safety of the longest tunnel in the South-East of Asia, the Chennai-Nashri tunnel. In November, the company
partnered with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to collaborate in the 100 Smart City Vision programme.
To give the Indian Leaders an insight into this company, its smart city-oriented systems and its presence in India, the Leaders Programme organised a meeting with Íñigo de Palacio, Indra’s Head of Institutional Relations; Alberto Bernal, Head of smart cities global business development and Sergi Tió, from Indra Transportation Market.
Indra has invested 600 million euros in smart cities R&D over the past three years, which makes them one of the three largest Spanish investors in the development of new technologies. Dr. Manvendra Deswal showed his interest in collaborating on research projects, which Íñigo de Palacio said he felt was a strong possibility, thanks to the constant growth Indra is undergoing in India.
Going forward, the company plans to apply its Urban Platform technology in India, which integrates every process related with smart cities: transport, safety, energy, telecommunications, financial services and public administrations.
This technology adapts every solution to the needs of every client and project, which the participants in the Programme described as fundamental. Shri Sahadeva Singh agreed, adding that “flexibility will be key to smart city programmes” in India and pointing out the difficulty of making a pre-defined programme fit a specific situation.
The Leaders valued the use of social media as another element of useful information to manage smart cities. To Akshima Tejas Ghate, these networks contribute to providing a significant amount of information before smart city plans are launched. However, they can only be efficient if there is extensive social penetration.
After the presentation, the representatives of Indra and the Leaders continued their discussions over a working lunch, which was the last activity of this edition of the Indian Leaders Programme.
5th Indian Leaders Programme report.
Indian Leaders profiles.
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