Cisco to help develop IoT innovation hub, smart city in Gujarat

Gandhinagar, Dec 15 To help accelerate the digital transformation of Gujarat, global networking giant Cisco on Thursday announced to explore setting up an Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation Hub and deliver a smart city in the state.

Cisco signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the state government which aim to establish an IoT Innovation hub with the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology (iCreate) at iCreate's campus near Bavla, Ahmedabad, and deliver a smart city project in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT).

"The announcement underlines Cisco's commitment to enable Gujarat to capitalise on digital opportunities, strengthen the vibrant innovation ecosystem in the state, enhance quality of life of citizens and accelerate the digital transformation of the state," said Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India and Saarc, at the event.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitin Bhai Patel and Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India and Saarc, among others.

"My vision is to digitally empower every citizen, enhance the quality of life, enable ease of doing business and become an innovation and knowledge hub for the country. We are happy to have Cisco partner with us to help build Gujarat's economy of the future," Rupani said.

The IoT Innovation Hub at iCreate's campus will enable startups and entrepreneurs build smart city and IoT-based solutions. 

"We are excited to partner with Cisco for the IoT innovation hub, which will be a tremendous accelerator for startups to develop digital solutions that reach global markets," added Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate.

GIFT City, being developed as India's first greenfield smart city, has many unique features like District Cooling solution - a first-of-its-kind utility tunnel and ready availability of a next-gen data centre.

Cisco and GIFT are exploring deployment of smart city applications including public Wi-Fi, smart parking, smart transport, traffic analytics, Remote Expert Government Services (REGS), smart kiosk, smart environmental sensors along with the City Digital Platform (CDP).

"GIFT is using ICT as a strategic differentiator - putting technology at the foundation of its expansive community. As India's first operational smart city, GIFT has helped transform how cities are built, managed and experienced," noted Ajay Pandey, MD and Group CEO of GIFT.