THE 2nd South Asian Cities Summit 2015, held in New Delhi on 22-23 May, was a high profile gathering of Ministers, Mayors, Commissioners, CEOs, senior local government officials from South Asian countries and cities, as well as various institutions working in the area of Smart and Sustainable Cities in the sub-region.
On the first day of the SACS Summit, a leadership speech was organized, in which mayors, city leaders, and urban experts from different cities participated. Panelists shared the success stories and experiences of local administrative authorities. The discussion was concluded by the remarks of Mr. Ashok Wankhede, Journalist from ABP News who stated that the sharing of experiences of successful local administrative authorities can bring many positive changes.
On the second day of the summit, a session on “Financial Viability of Smart Cities–A Policy Approach” was conducted. The discussion between the panelists focused on the need to have a clear picture on a financial management front for smart cities.
The discussion was concluded by the remarks of Mr. Ramachandran, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), former Secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development who urged that the central governments must quickly decide and announce the realization of capacity building for smart cities.
