Singapore will help India to have smart cities and smart people. Some of the top companies of Singapore will now partner with India in Urban Development and Skill Development projects to help the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government achieve its manifesto promises.
The BJP manifesto has talked about building 100 new smart cities enabled with the latest technology and infrastructure: where people can walk to work and schools, have state-of-the-art traffic and transport systems, have automated building security and surveillance systems, are completely wi-fi enabled and high-speed internet connectivity, with 24x7 water supply, along with a 30 per cent cheaper water and electricity.
Already, France and American companies have shown interest in the Government’s dream project, and now India has sought expertise from Singapore. The matter was discussed during Singapore Foreign Minister K Shanmugam’s meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Singapore is the second largest foreign investor in India, which plans to involve Singapore expertise in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. “Their expertise will be used in designing and development of ecofriendly green cities,” said an Indian official. The joint venture will be in developing smart cities in Dholera (Gujarat), Shendra Bidkin in Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Global City (Haryana).
Besides, Singapore will also help in setting up a world class skill development centre called ‘Hunar’ in Jonapur near Delhi. Sources said the Singapore Government will help in running courses focusing on retail merchandising, hospitality and tourism, IT & IT enabled services, food processing, automobile, health care, accounting and banking etc.