Smart city complex task, maintaining standards can simplify work: Paswan

Union consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said building a smart city is a highly complex task but maintaining the standards prescribed by the government can help simplify the work.

"National standards make the smart cities work safely and smoothly," he said, addressing a seminar on 'Standards Make Cities Smarter' organised by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Besides, the standards set by the government provide important guidance for all aspects of city life, including energy-efficient buildings, intelligent transportation, and improved waste management, thereby build sustainable communities, the minister added.

"Building a smart city is a highly complex task having its own challenges and standards are the only common denominator that can simplify this task," Paswan said in a statement.

On the occasion, the minister also released a pre- standardisation report regarding unified, secure and resilient ICT backbone for smart cities.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs C R Choudhary talked about how standards provide practical tools for tackling many of todays global challenges, ranging from managing resources to improving safety and quality of life.

Chaudhary appreciated work being done by the BIS in regional standardisation work for developing common standards to facilitate trade.