Smart City Shimla: Citizen Friendly Initiatives Proposed for Improving Quality of Life
Smart City is the buzz word these days and generally it is taken to imply free Wi-Fi connectivity to citizens all over the city area. However, it is the usage of ICT technologies to offer better services to citizens to enhance well-being, transportation, education, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. The paper studies these aspects with a view to provide a concept to improve various services in the heritage city of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. It puts forth ideas to improve public services in the city like health, education, transport, sports, Internet services, disaster management, employment, security and waste management plans for a better quality/ standard of living. Although Shimla is the recipient of the Best City Award-2014, there are a number of problem areas which can be addressed with the help of digital technologies. As a Smart City, Shimla needs to identify its unique advantages and core competence in specific areas and promote such activities, thus developing the required environment for creation of economic activities and employment opportunities. Smart city practices around the world have been analysed for adoption in Shimla with this objective.