Haryana inks deals with US firms on smart cities, IT investment

TiE, the global network of entrepreneurs and professionals, has agreed to act as a conduit for channelizing investments in the field of Information Technology start-ups and projects into Haryana.

An agreement to this effect was reached during a meeting between a delegation of entrepreneurs and senior government officers led by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and TiE officials in San Francisco on Thursday.

TiE will also work in tandem with the Haryana government in such areas as e-education, e-healthcare and skill development, according to a Haryana government media release.

It has also evinced interest in the universities of Haryana for giving applied material research a leg-up.

It has agreed in principle to engage National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra for promoting research and development efforts in the field of material engineering.

TiE president Venkatesh Shukla said TiE focused on accelerating the success of tech companies in India. TiEs has 61 chapters in 18 countries. Conceived in 1992, it has a base of 13,000 members.

During his interaction with TiE officials, Khattar focused on Haryana's new Entrepreneur Promotion Policy 2015 and batted for his state as a preferred investment destination.

He said that Haryana planned to host an Investor Summit in Gurgaon in January 2016.

Meanwhile, the secretariat of Information Technology (SIT) of Haryana government and CISCO Systems International have agreed to collaborate in furthering the Smart City concept in Haryana.

An MoU to this effect was signed by Haryana's Principal Secretary, Information Technology and Industry Devender Singh and CISCO's senior vice president Faiyaz Shahpurwala in the presence of Khattar, and Industries Minister Capt. Abhimanyu on Thursday.

Under the MOU, CISCO will share its expertise and experience in the development of Smart Cities world over, particularly its safe plus smart plus connected community programmes, and "Internet of Everything" with focus on improving the quality of life through the use of technology.

Haryana government is keen on developing many of its cities as Smart Cities even though as if now only Faridabad and Karnal are covered under the central government's scheme.

Both SIT and CISCO will also explore the possibilities of collaboration or cooperation in the field of smart City and Safe City infrastructure, including infrastructure level interventions required to add efficiency to the public infrastructure and services in Haryana.

CISCO Systems is an American multinational technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells networking equipment and is world leader in networking for the internet.