For Siemens, the Future Dialogue’s about better cities

Building sustainable cities is a major challenge for the government, given the rapid urbanisation in the country. However, the challenge could also be an opportunity for the private sector — to participate through public private partnership programmes.

This was the broad theme of a day-long conference organised on Saturday by Siemens AG, titled ‘Future Dialogue’, as part of the 15-month-long celebrations to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and India.

The conference drew participation from several experts to deliberate on the problems related to the country’s rising urban population.

In the session ‘Imagining India’s cities in 2030’, former Tata Sons director Jamshed Irani called for innovative ideas to deal with the dynamic problems of the municipalities. He also drew attention to the issue of corruption.

Sheela Patel, chairperson, Slum Dwellers International, emphasised the inclusion of slum dwellers in the growth process of the urban areas.

Shirish Sankhe, director, Mckinsey & Co, urged corporates to look for ways to promote affordable housing. “The corporates think about producing $1,000 car. But they need to think of providing a housing solution of $1,000,” he said.

Creation of other urban infrastructure also came up for discussion.

In the session on ‘Developing clean transport systems in Indian cities’, Sanjiv Rai, managing director, Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon Ltd, emphasised the need for having a robust public transport system in the metros to deal with the problem of hours-long traffic jams.

In the concluding session Peter Loscher, president and CEO, Siemens AG, called upon developed nations to share their technology with the developing nations to improve the lives of the people.

The ‘Year of Germany in India’ programme has been inaugurated simultaneously across seven cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata — with various concerts and events. The thematic focus is on ‘StadtRaume - CitySpaces’ and series of events over the next 15 months will take on the issues of rapid urbanisation and challenges posed by the fast changes in cities of both countries.