A Perspective on Smart Connectivity in the Indian Context · Rakhee Chachra, VP Mergers & Acquisitions Integration, Genpact Bhushan Gaonkar, Senior Manager, Information Services Group

A perspective on smart city connectivity in the Indian context August 2019 www.theiet.in/IoTPanel

Rakhee Chachra, VP Mergers & Acquisitions Integration, Genpact

Bhushan Gaonkar, Senior Manager, Information Services Group

A Perspective on Smart Connectivity in the Indian Context

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Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1

Key Aspects That Constitute A Smart City ................................................................................................................................. 1

Connectivity as a Catalyst for Economic Growth .................................................................................................................... 2

Smart Connectivity ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2

The Scope for Economic Growth ............................................................................................................................................... 2

Relationship of GDP and Connectivity .................................................................................................................................... 2

Implications of Connectivity ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Smart Cities and Smart Connectivity in the Indian Context .......................................................................................... 4

Leveraging Connectivity to Build Integrated and Interoperable Infrastructure ......................................................... 6

Implications of Connectivity ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

Smart City Infrastructure Connectivity in the Indian Context ........................................................................................ 7

Importance of Data Security in the Era of Connected Smart Cities .............................................................................. 7

Implications Resulting from Lack of Security in a Connected City ............................................................................ 9

Global Cybersecurity Index ......................................................................................................................................................... 11

Safety City Index 2017 ................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Future Crimes ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Smart City Data Security from an Indian Context ............................................................................................................ 12

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

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Introduction

This document has been created by Rakhee Chachra and Bhushan Gaonkar. It has been compiled based

on a research carried out on the subject of Smart Cities, ideas and concepts observed as a recurring

theme, which resonate as the key factors for consideration to be included in the Smart City working group

IET 2019 for development of inclusive and sustainable Smart Cities.

Key Aspects That Constitute A Smart City

There is no standardized commonly accepted definition of or set of terminologies for a Smart City. In

2014, an International Telecommunication Union report analyzed over 100 definitions related to Smart

Cities, and the following definition was the outcome of this analysis: “A smart sustainable city is an

innovative city that uses ICTs and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban

operation and services and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and

future generations with respect to economic, social and environmental aspects.” (UNECE, 2015)

As per the government of India Smart Cities mission the definition of Smart Cities is, “Smart Cities focus

on their most pressing needs and on the greatest opportunities to improve lives. They tap a range

of approaches including digital and information technologies, urban planning best practices,

public-private partnerships, and policy change to make a difference. They always put people first.”

In the approach to the Smart Cities Mission (Smart Cities Mission, 2015), the objective is to promote

cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and

sustainable environment and application of 'Smart' Solutions. The focus is on sustainable and

inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which

will act like a light house to other aspiring cities.

Living in or visiting Smart Cities is a reality and there is growing momentum globally and locally to make

this possible. With ongoing Smart City projects in different parts of the country, what would be some of the

key areas that would prove critical to the success of Smart Cities? The focus of this paper is to look at the

some of the key aspects that need to be considered for successful implementation of Smart Cities.

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Connectivity as a Catalyst for Economic Growth

Smart Connectivity

When one perceives Smart Cities, what emerges are smart services ranging from surveillance cameras

for traffic management to connected garbage bins for waste management to connected streetlights,

parking meters, weather monitoring systems etc. The underlying platform that enables this communication

between people, devices and each other is the connectivity platform which essentially forms the

fundamental building blocks in establishment of Smart Cities, i.e. Smart Connectivity.

Under the scope of this study, a connected Smart City will comprise connectivity between entities such as

people to people, people to things, and things to things.

The Scope for Economic Growth

The International Monetary Fund has forecasted that the Indian nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

will reach US$ 2.97 trillion at current prices during 2019 (World Economic Outlook Database, 2019). The

GDP growth in FY2019 has been revised at 6.8 percent as compared to the last forecasted rate of 7.2

percent. In comparison, growth rate in 2016-17 was 8.2 percent and in 2017-18 was 7.2 percent,

indicating a sluggishness in the current economy. Government revenues in 2018 were US$ 570 billion

against expenses of US$ 750 billion indicating a fiscal deficit of US$ 180 billion (World Economic Outlook

Database, 2019). The Indian government plans to contain the fiscal deficit to around 3.4 percent of its

GDP in 2019. On the trade front, India is a net importer with exports estimated at US$ 330 billion and

imports at US$ 514 billion during 2018-19 (Export Import Data Bank, 2019).

The above indicators denote that there is significant scope for improvement and strengthening the Indian

economy. Expenses can be curtailed through digitization of operations, paperless processes and shrinking

lead time for permits and approvals via digital transformation. Revenue accruals can be routed through

mobile banking and payment gateways to ease financial transfers and electronic payments. Digital

platforms can be created to centralized governance, maintenance and operations in a bid to promote

smart governance and improve the overall quality of life for citizens. The success of this transformation is

heavily dependent upon a ubiquitous communications backbone that will help establish connections

between people, devices and things.

Relationship of GDP and Connectivity

A new study published by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations

specialized agency for information and communication technology (ICT), analyzes in detail the positive

economic impact of broadband, digitization and effective ICT regulation on national economies.

Overall, a 1 percent increase in fixed broadband penetration yields a 0.08 percent increase in GDP, while

an increase of 1 percent in mobile broadband penetration yields a 0.15 percent increase in GDP (this

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translates into an increase of 10 percent in fixed or mobile broadband penetration yielding an average

increase of 0.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively in GDP). Also, according to the study, achieving

broadband penetration is only one aspect of required policies. Maximization of the economic impact of

digitization can only be achieved through the adoption of a holistic set of policies ranging from internet

access, computing to electronic commerce. It also recognizes that the digital ecosystem has an economic

impact on productivity. The study provides further evidence of the importance of regulatory and

institutional variables in driving growth in the digital ecosystem. It states that connectivity for digital

services is significantly correlated with the level of advancement of ICT policies and regulations, as well as

the competition and market power regulatory set-up. Further, investment in the digital ecosystem is

directly and positively influenced by the maturity of ICT regulatory frameworks and by ICT competition

frameworks.

Implications of Connectivity

A well-designed connectivity network can provide extensive coverage across the length and breadth of a

city throwing open enormous opportunities for households, businesses, institutes and government bodies.

It can range from a wide variety of benefits such as information, communication, banking, ecommerce,

location tracking, collaboration, entertainment, internet of things, cloud computing and storage, e-

governance, among others.

A robust network of connectivity not just provides an information superhighway but also helps create a

product and services economy that rides over-the-top of the connectivity network. Some industries such

as banking, insurance and telecom services have achieved resounding success in the new digital

economy. This trend has been instrumental in bringing over more industries on the digital backbone to

derive similar benefits as its predecessors. But where are we in terms of network readiness? According to

the World Economic Forum (WEF) Network Readiness Index published in 2016, India’s position was 91

out of 139 countries evaluated. It appears that India still has a long way to traverse before embarking on

the Smart Country bandwagon. Incidentally, India scored lower than or equal to the median scores on 8

out the 10 pillars evaluated for comparing the 139 countries. However, despite a relatively weak network

readiness score, Indian consumers have overwhelmingly embraced the use of mobility services.

Availability of low-cost devices has placed a handset with a majority of the population.

The availability of strong connectivity network can provide an impetus to the local business environment

and strong governance. We will cover a couple of key benefits that arise from a well-designed network.

1. Multiplier effect on economy

A robust connectivity backbone has a multiplier effect on the economy creating new avenues for

growth, prosperity and employment. The economic benefits and its impact on GDP have already been

quantified before at the beginning of this paper. However, it can be a herculean task to quantify the

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higher order benefits that accrue from basic network connectivity. For example, the ubiquitous

WhatsApp messaging app was eventually usurped by Facebook for a staggering US$ 19 billion even

though the company has not been generating any direct revenues from purely messaging services. It

has been widely agreed that Facebook acquire the company for its over 400 million subscriber base

and the huge data mining opportunity to uncover fads, trends and user patterns. At the end of it,

WhatsApp is an over-the-top (OTT) application that does not need to invest into developing a core

connectivity network but ride over what is already available. YouTube is another example that rides

purely over a network infrastructure and is hugely popular among the masses.

Basic connectivity has the power to create a parallel digital economy that can propel the primary

economy by creating jobs, businesses and monetary gains.

2. Rapid reduction in lead times processes

The availability of information on centralized systems can be designed to significantly cut down the

time required for decision making. Globally, the developed economies are moving towards a paper

free and currency free economy to help governments move towards efficient digital processes. In the

Indian context, although there is strong push by several ministries towards digitization. However, as

described before, since India still lacks a centralized and integrated platform for digital services, the

lack of end-to-end integration is leading to an isolated and siloed ecosystem. The launch of the various

initiatives will hopefully provide a solution to the problem and stich together a conjoined and seamless

ecosystem to leverage the true benefits of digitization.

Smart Cities and Smart Connectivity in the Indian Context

Smart Connectivity is not just dependent on the number of connections in a city. It is largely a function of

the network readiness at a particular city, which allows the connection between people, devices and

things. However, the city administration needs to be prepared to handle this sudden influx of new devices

on the information superhighway. As per the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI, 2019), there will be

about 28 billion connected devices globally on the internet by 2022. Considering the Indian context, with

the burgeoning population concentration in and around urban areas, it is likely that the existing

infrastructure will experience tremendous pressure. To counter these events, it is imperative that the city

administration thinks and acts along the following lines:

1. Town and Country Planning needs to step-up efforts in easing congestion

The urban town and country planning department should take progressive steps to ease physical

congestion in cities. This can be facilitated by building new infrastructure along the peripherals of the

city to help spread the population away from central business districts and other heavily congested

areas such as industrial parks, commercial areas and business parks. This redistribution of population

will provide relief to the existing infrastructure and reroute it to other areas eliminating bottlenecks and

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network breakdown. Networks will need to be redesigned to spread it out along the new developed

areas to stimulate growth in all pockets across the city.

For example, on average commuters in Indian cities such as Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai spend

about 1-2 extra hours daily in heavy traffic jams. It takes me more than 2 hours to commute from

Whitefield to MG Road in Bangalore over a distance of 20 km. If the situation is this alarming in the IT

capital of India, then the situation can be precarious in other cities of India. Physical congestion

eventually leads to digital congestion, which can eventually lead to network congestion.

2. Providing a fiber backbone to sub-urban and rural areas

Providing connectivity to rural areas will help uplift the quality of networks in these areas and will

directly slowdown the population exodus towards urban areas. The availability of reliable networks will

help in the setting up of new e-businesses and creation of other business opportunities in these

places. Arresting the population flow into urban areas will also help maintain the population

concentration, given the ageing infrastructure in developed cities.

As per the 2011 census, about 450 million Indians migrated during the preceding decade. 78 million of

the total migrants moved from rural to urban areas, which depicted a 51 percent jump over the 2001

data. The movement is primarily triggered by economic opportunities that show a geographical skew

thereby precipitating the influx in certain cities. Cities such as Surat in Gujrat, Rangareddy in

Telangana and Thrissur in Kerala have observed unprecedented inward migration placing the

unplanned infrastructure under tremendous stress.

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Leveraging Connectivity to Build Integrated and Interoperable Infrastructure

With connectivity in place and as people and businesses grow increasingly connected to each other and

technology through IoT, telecom network operators need to invest in technology that not only allows for a

better user experience for consumers, but also ensures a robust and resilient communications network.

Another imperative is the creation of a reliable shared services platform that pulls together all the

requirements across the continuum of a Smart City and managed by a single entity. In-case the

infrastructure layer is not managed by a single entity then managing the entire program becomes a

logistical challenge. To illustrate this point, consider the cities of Dubai and London as examples.

Dubai’s IoT infrastructure is managed by a shared central IT organization called Dubai Smart Government

(DSG) that combines all smart initiatives. The DSG acts as an IT services enablement organization for the

rest of Dubai’s e-governance and its success is a derivative of the integrated platform.

On the contrary, London with its political differences characterizing its 32 boroughs presented something

of an obstacle in establishing a shared central IT organization. As a result, programs were run by

disparate organizations with decentralized operations. Hence the entire digital fabric worked as a

disjointed solution, which in most cases appeared as non-cohesive to the end user. However as of June

12th, 2019, the decision was taken to establish the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI),

whose mission is to foster radical ideas to benefit citizens, communities and businesses across the

London boroughs. LOTI is coordinated and hosted by the London Councils, the umbrella group

representing all 32 boroughs and the City of London. The establishment of LOTI represents a significant

step forward for borough leaders’ joint agreement to support innovative digital delivery and data

collaborations.

A lack of integrated approach usually occurs when cities typically start responding to specific drivers and

issues pertaining to their cities and therefore prioritizing individual vertical applications over a strategic

long-term plan. It is therefore important to have a long-term view and build infrastructure that is

interconnected, leveraging on the connectivity backbone and help build a network of alliances across all

smart cities in the country.

Implications of Connectivity

After a shared services platform has been created, the opportunities seem to multiply. The sharing of

information between services can be used for anything from easing traffic congestion to saving lives. As

an example, let’s consider the following situation, where a collision between two vehicles has resulted in

injuries to both drivers and in need of immediate medical attention. A shared service platform can pull

information from the cars sensors that airbags have been deployed and hence an accident has likely to

have occurred. Similarly, feeds from surveillance cameras can relay information to relevant authorities and

ensure that the required resources mobilized. When an ambulance arrives, medical caregivers are pre-

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equipped with the medical history of the injured and can administer medicines appropriately. On a parallel

track, notifications are also sent to the vehicle insurance companies to ensure that insurance claims can

be pro-actively processed. All these various workflows can be triggers simultaneously, immediately after

the accident based on the information systems that connects all these pieces together.

This is a great outcome in theory but may not have been implemented practically. One of the salient

features of the above example is how data is seamlessly being accessed and shared across different

applications working together to provide an effective outcome. This is possible using open data platform

and policies that enables vertical applications to interact and leverage the available information on the

shared connectivity platform.

If each Smart City initiative is part of a coherent, long-term strategy, we can design the system to ensure

that the smart traffic network that is being installed today can be potentially expanded to handle smart

water meter data tomorrow. Having platforms that are open, connected and interoperable will accelerate

the unlocking of technological innovation as well as value in terms of efficiencies and job creations.

Smart City Infrastructure Connectivity in the Indian Context

When the Smart Cities mission started its journey in 2015, the intention was to make each state

responsible for the development catering to the specific needs of its cities. However, the government has

realized the need of an integrated open platform to leverage on the development across the cities. Hence,

recently MoHUA (MoHUA, 2019) has initiated a research project for an open source data exchange

software platform with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore called ‘India Urban Data Exchange’

(IUDX, 2018). IISc is working with a several institutions comprising industry, government agencies, start-

ups, entrepreneurs, other academia and research organizations, to develop the first specifications and

reference implementation of IUDX.

With the implementation of the platform, sharing data across various subsystems would be possible and

lead to effective implementation of Smart City applications. In this context, the timely IUDX initiative by

MoHUA comes at an important stage to ensure a successful transformation of our cities into future Smart

Cities.

The program is ongoing, and the preliminary draft on the Data Exchange Framework was released by BIS

for comments in May 2019. (Bureau of Indian Standards, 2019)

Importance of Data Security in the Era of Connected Smart Cities

As cities become smart, it will experience an exponential rise in the deployment of IoT devices to connect

infrastructure and resources. As per analyst estimates, the number of connected devices that are in use

worldwide now exceeds 17 billion, with the number of IoT devices at 7 billion. This number does not

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include smartphones, tablets, laptops or fixed line phones. Analyst firm Gartner forecasts that the number

of connected devices will grow to nearly 21 billion by the year 2020 (Gartner, 2019).

With seamless connectivity there is a surge in connected devices and the amount of data being shared

wirelessly, which can provide huge opportunities, but could also pose serious risks. It is not just personal

data such as medical records, which are at risk, but also critical services such as transportation systems

or smart grids. It is therefore incumbent to ensure that the integrity of all connected devices is safeguarded

by modern cybersecurity solutions to prevent the leakage of sensitive data. With the increase of IoT

devices, there will be numerous access points that can compromise a city’s network systems due to

vulnerabilities. With each additional access point, there is a chance for leakage of sensitive data. Smart

Cities infrastructure can be susceptible to numerous cyber-attack techniques, remote hacking, phishing,

malware injection, data manipulation and Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS). It is therefore crucial to

have a comprehensive Smart City security plan designed for overall protection and one that includes an

infrastructure security policy covering individuals, enterprises, public and private institutions.

In the recent past there have been series of cyber-attacks affecting availability of Smart City infrastructure,

continuity of service and misuse of personal data privacy. Some recent attacks include:

May 2019, Baltimore, MD, USA government computer systems were infected with a new and

aggressive ransomware variant named RobbinHood. All servers, with the exception of essential services,

were taken offline. In a ransom note, hackers demanded 13 bitcoins (approx $76,280) in exchange for

keys to restore access. The attack had a negative impact on the real estate market as property transfers

could not be completed until the system was restored. However, the restoration of all systems took several

weeks.

June-July 2018, Singapore authorities announced that the country's largest healthcare group,

SingHealth, was targeted by a major cyber-attack which resulted in a data breach that affected about 1.5

million patients' records. Personal data for patients that visited SingHealth's specialist outpatient clinics

and polyclinics were reportedly stolen in the cyber-attack. About 160,000 of these patients also had their

outpatient prescriptions records stolen. Based on SpiderLabs intelligence sources, the Tactics,

Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) used in this attack, as well as the persistent targeting suggest a likely

association with an advanced adversary operation

March 2018, Atlanta, GA, USA was crippled by SamSam, a ruthless ransomware which lasted nearly two

weeks and affected about 30% of mission critical software applications. A ransom of $55,000 worth of

bitcoins was demanded but the city declined to pay it. Atlanta is still reeling from the aftermath of the

sustained malware attack with police data and legislative evidence records getting compromised. City

officials reported that a decade’s worth of legal documents and years of police dashboard camera

evidence have been wiped from their computers with far reaching consequences for law and order.

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Implications Resulting from Lack of Security in a Connected City

Fig-1: Threats and countermeasures to be considered in Security (Rambus, 2019)

Currently most of the sensors used in the public domain do not have inbuilt security architecture by

design. In addition, different departments and agencies within a city may use sensor technologies from

different vendors that generate data in different formats using different communication protocols thereby

creating interoperability issues. Each new device added to an IoT ecosystem adds a new attack surface or

opportunity for malicious attack. The IoT Security Foundation (IoT Security Foundation, 2019) is helping

address these challenges and share knowledge, best practice and advice. The International

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC, 2019) is leading the development of Smart City standards for

electrotechnology to help with the integration, interoperability and effectiveness of city systems.

Unfortunately, without making certification frameworks mandatory across the board, manufacturers may

not implement security when it only adds to the time to market, cost and complexity of products.

It is therefore vital that collaboration occurs between all the players in the eco-systems vendors, device

manufacturers and governments to develop more stringent regulations around IoT security running on top

of the connectivity layer. Governments need to have policies in place to ensure that organizations and

device manufacturers adopt emerging standards to ensure systems are ‘secure by design’ and these

devices are tested and certified before being deployed. In addition, the governing bodies of Smart Cities

need to understand the security issues in the Smart City environment and plan to mitigate risks before

incidents actually occur. This will be the key difference between a smart connected city and a secure

connected city.

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There are several organizations that are tracking different aspects related to cyber security like Global

Cyber Security Index, Global Cyber Strategy Index, Cyber Policy Patrol, Safety City Index 2017 and are

designed to provide benchmark on where each country stands with respect to the different dimensions as

well as bring awareness to the developments across the different geographies

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Global Cybersecurity Index

The Global Cybersecurity Index (Global Security Index, 2019) is a trusted global reference that measures

the commitment of countries to cybersecurity for raising awareness of the issue pertaining to the topic. As

cybersecurity has a broad field of applications, cutting across many industries and various sectors, each

country’s level of development or engagement is assessed along five pillars, and then aggregated into an

overall score. The five pillars cover legal, technical, organizational, capacity building and cooperation.

India ranks 47th globally and 10th in the APAC region with a score of 0.719. Singapore ranks 6th on

global ranking and 1st in the APAC region with a score of 0.898.

The reports states that only 53 percent (about 92) of countries carry out cybersecurity risk assessments.

The capabilities can be enhanced by improving cybersecurity governance and risk management and

developing, implementing, monitoring and updating metrics that provide visibility on the performance of

key elements of a national cybersecurity program.

Safety City Index 2017

The Safe Cities Index 2017 (The Economist, 2017) is a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit

sponsored by NEC. The report is based on the second iteration of the index, which ranks 60 cities across

49 indicators covering digital security, health security, infrastructure security and personal security. The

results of the 2017 Safe Cities Index show a sharp divide in overall levels of safety between the fast

urbanizing developing world and the stagnant developed world. In general, while the Safe Cities Index

measures relative rather than absolute safety, there does not appear to have been a vast improvement in

overall levels of safety since 2015. In parts of the developed world, particularly Europe, a series of terrorist

attacks has affected personal security. At the same time, city governments in the developing world are still

struggling to keep pace with the rapid expansion of their populaces, which is straining infrastructure and

overwhelming health services and law enforcement, the extent to which it is even present.

The report highlights that in the developed world, more cities are devoting resources to digital security

although significant gaps in safety still remain. In many instances, it’s a matter of resources such as

financial, human and political. Yet in others, it’s a question of understanding. The latter is easier to

overcome, and cities can start with identifying the problems and understanding how they’ve been solved

elsewhere. The Safe Cities Index was designed to help policymakers address these and other issues. If

we were to compare how cities in India fare with other cities in the region, Beijing and Singapore we find

that additional work needs to be done especially in the areas of digital, health and infrastructure security.

Future Crimes

The area of security is closely related to the area of future crimes as complex security problems evolve

with innovations in technology. This is especially true when looking at Smart Cities infrastructure. As

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commonly stated, Technology shapes and is shaped by human action in ways that cannot always be

predetermined. Simple technological fixes may not be able to resolve the vulnerabilities of the Smart City

considering this fact. Criminal entrepreneurs will continue to innovate in response to technological

changes. It has been observed that organized criminals are learning to challenge the system and use data

sources for their own ends. Rather than moving them out of the city, ICT is helping to extend their reach

and further helping to extend activities to the virtual space. It is possible that we have dedicated

marketplaces emerging in the virtual world, like those currently seen on the darknet. So, what measures

do we need to take to protect the smart world?

The first step would be to understand the scope and look into not only the effects of technology but also

the institutional effects of policy and policing. The Government needs to start working in this area to

identify the kind of regulations and policies required to be able to effectively manage and mitigate risks. In

that regard, it would need to work closely with experts in the area of forensics, criminology, technology &

science in tandem with local law enforcement officials. The agency will need to be able to comprehend

and act against actions which are anti-social in nature. As technologies such as 3D printers can be used

to manufacture drugs and weapons become readily available, efforts to resolve these issues must

consider the physical and virtual dimensions.

Concept of ‘predictive policing’ is something that has been in use for some time by different countries and

is essentially a concept and practice in law enforcement centered on the use of data analytics and

relevant technologies to determine potential criminal activity or threats and thereby, to prevent crime from

transpiring. Leaving aside concerns related to security, privacy, biases, misuse and the reliability of the

algorithms used, it is an area worth exploring further. For effective outcomes, one needs to access large

volumes of data records across the different organizations to run analysis on complex models and

algorithms. In India we have been using this across a few areas in different state law enforcement

agencies but there is a long way before we are digitally connected and have a nation-wide interconnected

digital database.

From safety and security standpoint, it would be important to have a dedicated work stream set-up where

digitization, connectivity and privacy aspects are discussed, and sufficient regulations are put in place. For

more details, one can refer to the discussion paper on the topic developed jointly by FICCI and EY on the

subject of predictive policing (FICCI-EY, 2018).

Smart City Data Security from an Indian Context

India has the third largest number of internet users in the world, after the USA and China. As India heads

towards a digital society the government has identified objectives for securing country’s cyber space. The

initiatives taken by the government have largely been focused on threats to critical information

infrastructure and national security, adoption of relevant security technologies, information security

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awareness, training and research. Due to dynamic nature of cyber threat scenario, these actions need to

be continuously refined and strengthened from time to time.

Some of the initiatives on policies and regulations that have been initiated in the area of cyber security are

mentioned below:

The National Security Council Secretariat: Government of India in consultation with the industry

(NASSCON, DSCI) has prepared a Cyber Security Model framework, which consists of cyber security

requirements which may be necessary to be incorporated while inviting proposals from companies

implementing information technology and applications as part of project on Smart Cities.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERTIn): A specialized unit that has been operational

as a national agency for Cyber Security incident response. It has been functional since 2004 and is

actively involved with mitigating cybercrimes in India. In 2008, the Government of India enacted the

Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008, to cater to the needs of national Cyber Security regime.

This Act was later amended, to cover broader security related issues.

National Cyber Security Policy: The policy has been in place since 2013. It was initially launched to

integrate all initiatives related to Cyber Security and to tackle the fast-changing nature of cybercrimes.

Initiatives such as setting-up the National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC), National Critical Information

Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), and creating sector specific Computer Emergency Response

Teams (CERT) under CERT-In etc. were implemented under the above policy (National Cyber Security

Policy, 2013).

The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), 2014: NCIIPC has been

identified as the nodal agency under the National Technical Research Organization for the protection of

critical information infrastructure. The formal roles and responsibilities of the NCIIPC include cooperation

strategies, issuing guidelines, advisories and coordination with CERT-In. The NCIIPC has defined controls

for the critical infrastructure sectors to enhance security.

National Crisis Management Plan: The Government of India has formulated a plan for tackling cyber-

attacks and cyber terrorism. This plan is re-evaluated yearly and updated to tackle the changing

landscape of cyber threats. Security Auditors have been empaneled for conducting security audits by both

government and private companies.

Draft Data Protection Bill: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of

India constituted a Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Justice B. N. Srikrishna, former

Judge, Supreme Court of India in July 2018. The Personal Data Protection Bill includes provisions to

protect personal data as an essential facet of information privacy. The bill provides guidelines on the data

processing grounds, rights of the data principal, penalties and exemptions, amongst other areas. The bill

aims to protect the autonomy of individuals from data privacy violations by the state and private entities.

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Once enforced, the bill will impact how the Smart City information systems store and process

personal/sensitive data. (MEITY, 2018)

Draft Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act (DISHA): The draft DISHA document was recently

released in the public domain for comments. It aims to set up a National Health Authority in India which

shall be responsible for enforcing privacy and security measures for electronic health data, and to regulate

storage and exchange of the same

In addition to the initiatives above, there has been significant collaboration with stakeholders from the

industry to do dig deeper in certain areas related to security and highlight areas of focus. Basis the

research reports referred to and our understanding of the subject here are some of the key areas of focus:

(KPMG, 2019) (PWC, 2018) (Deloitte, 2019)

Have a focused integrated approach to cyber security for Smart Cities

Clarity in regulatory and jurisdiction boundaries across the various government bodies working in

this space to avoid redundancies and conflict

Implementation of cyber-crime legislation and national cyber security strategies

Need for standards and guidelines for all players in the eco-system (edge devices including IoT,

smartphones, sensors, applications, platforms, networks etc.) clearly stating the security

requirements for each

Privacy Protection of Users data and monitoring, where one not only ensures protecting users’

data but also has a framework on access controls which monitors how the information is being

shared and used in the eco-system

Governance and Collaboration across the Smart City stakeholders to establish cyber resilience

and trusted environment

Consistent risk assessment across the entire value chain to identify security requirements and

points of vulnerabilities

Strong engagement across industry, knowledge bodies and regulatory groups to standardize

security measures and ensuring interoperability between legacy and new systems

Security plans and frameworks devised on categorization of services based on risks

Awareness and capacity building of skills and capabilities in cyber security through public private

partnerships, innovation cyber start up hubs, crowd sourcing, etc.

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Conclusion

The Smart City mission has seen a range of initiatives taken by the Central and State Governments to

provide momentum to the concept. These initiatives come at a great time, as there is significant scope to

strengthen the Indian economy by building efficient systems to prevent revenue leakage and cost

overruns. However, Smart Cities will require a well-designed connectivity network to bring all ideas to

fruition. It will also open doors to a range of issues many of which are unforeseen at the moment. This

research paper provides an overview on some of the global and local steps taken to solve various

demography and need-related problems through institutionalized frameworks and policies aimed at

improving the life of citizens. This paper also provides a cautionary outlook on some potential challenges

that could arise, and steps required to counter these. In all, the Smart City concept will undoubtedly

provide solutions to long-standing governance and business issues. However, we need to vary of the

flipsides that could overturn the applecart.

16


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17


NOTES:

18


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A Perspective on Smart Connectivity in the Indian Context · Rakhee Chachra, VP Mergers & Acquisitions Integration, Genpact Bhushan Gaonkar, Senior Manager, Information Services Group