Bengaluru to join G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance

BBMP Commissioner and Bangalore Smart City Limited managing director signed the agreement to join the global alliance

Bengaluru and three other Indian cities have entered the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance that brings together 36 “pioneer cities” under the aegis of the World Economic Forum.

Besides the silicon city, Hyderabad, Faridabad and Indore will join the 36-city alliance from 22 countries to create a roadmap to safely adopt new technology to tackle challenges posed by the pandemic and other disruptions capable of triggering budget crises.

BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad and Bangalore Smart City Limited managing director Rajendra Cholan signed the agreement to join the global alliance, which will also explore the opportunities presented by the pandemic. “Post-Covid, there is an unprecedented need to use technology,” Prasad said.

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“Though we had virtual platforms before the pandemic, we didn’t use them. Now, most meetings in the government happen virtually. So, we need to think of cybersecurity and other issues. The will help us understand the pros and cons of technology, besides correcting the policies.”

The roadmap will be for practical policies to deal with real-world issues.

The World Economic Forum has come up with the initiative since city governments are bearing the brunt of the Covid impact and have to act quickly to curb the spread of the pandemic.