In the recently held IBM Smarter Cities Forum in Gurgaon , the company announced a social sentiment capability based on sophisticated analytics technologies to help cities around the world better measure and understand public opinions on key city issues and services such as public transportation and education. IBM also shared its Social Sentiment Index on traffic, which looked at public sentiment across India’s largest cities - Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai.
The Forum was inaugurated by Samuel J Palmisano, Chairman of the Board, IBM Corporation and Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Govt. of Haryana and Shanker Annaswamy, MD, IBM India Pvt. Ltd. To name a few dignitaries present included, Amitabh Kant, CEO, DMICDC Ltd., Dr. M Ramachandran, Former Secy. Ministry of Urban Development, Mr. Hooda’s media adviser Shiv Bhattia, Gurgaon Police Commissioner K. K. Sindhu and various Govt. officials from countries like Singapore and Brazil.
Addressing the audience, Shri. Hooda shared that Haryana had facilitated construction of housing, commercial, industrial and institutional spaces on the one hand, and created and revamped civic facilities on the other. He proposed development of a regional rapid transit system along the Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari-Alwar corridor to provide efficient and cost-effective transport for commuters.
Shanker Annaswamy, MD, IBM India Pvt. Ltd. said, "India is urbanizing at an unprecedented speed. Industry sources indicate that by 2030, the urban areas will be home to 40 percent of the country’s people – doubling the urban population within a span of thirty years. While this implies growing importance of cities as economic hubs, it brings forth a large number of challenges that can only be addressed if citizens and officials work together. Using social sentiment analysis helps city officials leverage a wealth of information from public opinion to make better decisions."
The forum also witnessed some panel discussions to share some global success stories and implement some possible learnings’.
