The Record - Issue 20: Spring 2021

120 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om V I EWPO I NT reinforces the importance of cloud computing as a platform that can deliver true business outcomes in the face of ever-evolving challenges. Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, the capital of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is working with AVEVA to become the country’s first metro- politan greenfield smart city and a beacon for smart city planning, development and operation worldwide. In the city, every aspect of urban governance is bridged in a single, integrated command and control centre (ICCC). Powered by AVEVA Unified Operation Center, the plat- form safeguards urban well-being in real time. For Nava Raipur’s administrative authorities, the ICCC acts as a hub of real-time system infor- mation, situational awareness, and response, including water, power, street lighting, public transport, traffic management, CCTV, contact centres, and e-governance. Such a combined smart city solution enhances sustainability and operational efficiency, delivering civic services to citizens, communities, businesses and other stakeholders. This integrated, single-window approach paid off during the recent coronavi- rus crisis, improving decision-making in emer- gency situations. With real-time insight into all of the city’s critical infrastructure systems, Nava Raipur was able to match supply and demand with greater accuracy, and respond to emergencies as they arose, cutting response times by an average of 60 per cent, according to N. N. Ekka, CEO of Nava Raipur. As the area went into lockdown, the ICCC, together with the smart city portal and app, made it easier for municipal author- ities to communicate with the general pop- ulation and respond to the needs of affected citizens, supporting the containment process. Over the course of the pandemic, AVEVA systems kept India’s civic services running, a role that has seen Nava Raipur designated as a lighthouse for the Indian Government around its keystone smart cities development initiative. The pandemic has accelerated demands for digi- tal transformation in every sector. Smart cities can leverage these connected layers to build resilience. As more aspects of a city are connected into an internet of things network, data is collected from smart devices of all kinds. Microsoft Azure joins these dots to accelerate results together with AVEVA, delivering spatially aware solutions in real-world contexts. With an ICCC or a digital twin, artificial intelligence technology can be used “A combined smart city solution enhances sustainability and operational efficiency”