Ahmedabad, 31 July, 2014

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), country’s first integrated smart city being developed as a Global Financial Hub, has won the Cisco Technology Award for building India’s first Smart City with best-in-class sustainability features and technologies.

GIFT City is the recipient of “Smart City of the Future Award’, an accolade that recognises stand-out organisational contributions in driving change through technology. The award was conferred to GIFT City’s MD & Group CEO Mr. Ramakant Jha at a glittering ceremony organised in Mumbai on July 30, 2014 in which Mrs. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India was the Chief Guest.

Cisco Technology Awards are first of its kind awards, aimed at recognising and commending the organisations that have harnessed the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) or Internet of Everything (IoE) to transform the business and lives of people in India.

We are pleased to receive this award from the company which has brought revolution in IoT. This award recognizes our efforts in achieving the vision of GIFT City laid down by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India i.e. “to tie up with technology, to create a hub complete with infrastructure, to meet the needs of modern India and to create a space in the global financial world”, said Mr. Ramakant Jha, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City Co. Ltd.

Since the Internet revolution, technology has played decisive role in the financial services industry worldwide and changed global trade mechanism. GIFT City is being developed as an integrated smart city, which is helping India in creating technology based Global Hub for financial services by keeping in mind ‘Walk to Work’ concept and improving the lifestyle of those involved through technology.

“With Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India laying a great emphasis on setting up 100 smart cities in India, GIFT City can lead in realising this vision”, added Mr. Jha.

Internet of Everything (IoE) is the next wave of internet revolution. The concept talks about integration of Information Technology with Process, Data & People; connecting them using various networking methods and creating value by turning information into actions that create new capabilities, easy to manage infrastructure, richer experiences and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.

Unique infrastructure facilities of entire GIFT City like District Cooling System (DCS), Automated Waste Management System (AWMS), Water Management System, Power Infrastructure, City’s safety, security and surveillance, and Traffic management are all managed and monitored through a single platform called “City Command and Control centre (C-4)”. Phase 1-A of City Command and Control Centre (C-4) has already been completed and implementation of next phase is in progress.

There are two parts of GIFT City’s Command and Control Centre (C-4). The first part, platform, hosts all the Utilities and provides a complete view of the City Infrastructure. The second part is hosting CCTV Surveillance, Integration of Intelligent Building Management System (IBMS) of various buildings and tracking critical parameters like fire and safety, intelligent traffic management system and Public Addressing (PA) system for handling law and order in the City.

By integrating various infrastructure and Utilities through optical fibre based IT network spread across the city and by building Intelligence in every Building and Utility, GIFT City is able to see the status of various services in a holistic manner and manage them on real time basis.

GIFT City is India’s first Global Financial Hub creating operations for domestic and international businesses. The international financial services will be carried out in a multi-service SEZ with International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) status that would cater to India’s large financial services potential by offering global firms, world-class infrastructure and facilities. It will attract the top talent in the country by providing the finest quality of life. It is estimated that GIFT would provide 5,00,000 direct and an equal number of indirect jobs which would require 62 million square feet of real estate office and residential space.

With the completion of Phase – I infrastructure and the allotment of around 11 mn. sq. ft. of BUA for various commercial, residential and social facilities; GIFT City is rapidly emerging as a favored destination amongst Financial Services and IT/ITeS companies for setting up their operations and is setting an example for developing smart cities in India.