State governments have been working to get their Smart City projects off the ground for sometime. While technology will be the enabler for services, states have to spend on creating infrastructure initially. While some cities are still creating Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), others have moved ahead to bring out request for proposal (RFP) to implement the projects. Maharastra which has 10 cities government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Oracle. Niraj Prakash, director, solution consulting, Oracle India spoke to Anup Jayaram on the Smart City initiave.

Q: What does the MoU that you signed with Maharashtra on Smart Cities entail?

A: The MoU that we signed with Maharashtra in the US is a way forward on a partnership that we want to create with government. We will create a centre of excellence (CoE), which can help generate solutions around modern government. The CoE which will be located in a government of Maharashtra premises or real estate is where we can test and develop newer solutions which can help in Smart Cities. It will leverage cloud solutions and entrepreneurs can come and test newer solutions there. The internet of things (IoT) is a new technology and there are numerous use cases. You need to connect the new technology with the use case to see what works best and has maximum impact on citizens.