Cisco keen on smart cities in Bengal

Calcutta, Aug. 6: Cisco India may invest in smart cities in Bengal, besides projects in healthcare and education.

"The interactions were extremely fruitful. We discussed their (Cisco's) possible participation in a range of projects - from smart cities to healthcare and education in rural areas. They know what they want to do in our state. I am very positive about the outcome of our discussions today," Bengal's information and technology minister Amit Mitra said after a meeting with Dinesh Malkani, president of Cisco India and Saarc, on the sidelines of an ICT East event today.

"I have set a 60-day deadline for our discussion to fructify, and I hope we will start working together very soon," Mitra added.

The Bengal government has sent its final list of the proposed smart cities to the Centre. Of the 100 smart cities coming up in the country, four will be in the state.

"We have shortlisted the cities and the list has been sent to the Government of India. We are hoping that 100 smart cities will be declared by the end of this week," Debashis Sen, principal secretary at the department of urban development in Bengal, said.

States in the eastern region, such as Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, may contribute $750-$900 million to the Internet of things (IoT) revenue, which is nearly 5 per cent, says a CII-PwC report released at the event today.

IoT, which needs sensors, refers to the network of physical objects that can be accessed through the Internet. More and more businesses are adding sensors to people, places, processes and products to gather and analyse information, take better decisions and increase transparency.

The report explains how IoT can help consumers improve their decision-making capacity.

Bengal's share in the country's IT and ITeS revenue is around 4 per cent, says the report.