Four Indian cities including Bengaluru, Faridabad, Indore and Hyderabad have been selected to develop a roadmap for adopting new technology as part of the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. These are among the 36 cities across the world that have pledged to adopt new technologies to help the government in managing the COVID-19 pandemic despite constrained resources. Apart from Bengaluru, Faridabad, Indore and Hyderabad, cities such as London, Moscow, Toronto, Brasilia, Belfast, Manila, San Jose, Lisbon, Istanbul, Dubai and Melbourne have also been selected.
In a statement on Tuesday, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said COVID-19 is accelerating adoption of new technologies by cities as governments struggle to manage the growing pandemic with constrained resources. The statement said the WEF has selected 36 cities from 22 countries and six continents to pioneer a new global policy roadmap for smart cities developed by the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance.
The policy is designed to give cities the procedures, laws and regulations they need to use new technology responsibly, the statement said.
The G20 Global Smart Cities alliance has recruited a group of 36 “pioneer cities” that will collaborate with global experts to enhance their policies in areas such as privacy protection and cybersecurity to improve services for differently-abled people and better broadband coverage.