$150bn in investment needed for India's smart cities drive, says Deloitte

India's recently announced first 20 smart cities that use information communications technology to improve transport and other services will require up to $150bn, Deloitte says in a new report.

India announced before the weekend that 20 cities have been selected from submissions to be smart cities, including some of the most polluted cities in the world, lead by the capital New Delhi. The initiative has been criticised as being "a slow-starter," it has been reported, but the consultants said that there were already successful examples of smart cities projects in India, including the bus rapid transit system in Ahmedabad, also one of the 20, which has an integated transport management system to track vehicles, automatically collect fares and provide passenger information.

The report cautions that bringing the technologies to India's most populous cities would take up to ten years to implement, and would require private investment to bolster public funding, initally of $7.5bn. If this could be achieved, a more optimal movement of people and goods could be achieved, the firm adds.