Pavan Srinath discusses smart cities and urban governance in the book "Resurgent Karnataka"

Pavan Srinath is interviewed in the book “Resurgent Karnataka”, published by Raintree media and edited by Sandhya Mendonca. The book was launched on the sidelines of Karnataka's global investor summit by Dr. Rajeev Gowda, Rajya Sabha MP.The book presents a comprehensive analysis of Karnataka’s economy and features insights from more than 60 leaders and domain experts.In his interview,Pavan elaborates on what constitutes a smart city and why India should measure city level GDP.Further,he emphasises on the role of government in ensuring ease of business and facilitating the right investment climate.

Here's an excerpt from the interview-

Question. How, why and when will Indian businesses invest in making cities smart? What policies should the government adopt to facilitate the creation of the right investment climate for private investment in building smart cities? What are the business models being used to monetise investments and what is the customer value proposition? How will Return on Investment be measured and will a holistic approach being taken to measure value creation?Pavan: Indian businesses will invest in making cities smart when the government provides public goods, ensures the rule of law and is faithful to contracts. Often, contracts signed by Indian municipal authorities are not upheld, and government authorities change their mind at will, making it exceedingly hard for businesses to work alongside governments with integrity. City governments should also modernise land titles, property tax records and make it easy for private entities to do business in the city – reducing the time it takes to get electricity and water connections, construction permits and more. When the private sector finds that cities do not add to business uncertainties and could actually lower them, then the investment will flow into the cities steadily.