Using technology to combat COVID-19

Technology adoption across cities has been key to providing better service delivery to citizens and enhancing the quality of life. The smart infrastructure and solutions adopted by smart cities facilitated their response to the COVID-19 pandemic using data analytics for evidence-based decision-making, including predictive modeling.

As part of the Smart City Mission pandemic response strategy, many Indian smart cities effectively used the Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCCs), which are the ‘brain and nerve centre’ of the smart cities. Most Indian cities are using their ICCCs as ‘COVID-19 War Rooms’ to effectively coordinate and monitor activities of various state and city agencies. Using them, cities brought together civil society organisations, local businesses and others on a single platform through their websites and mobile applications to collaborate with the city administration. To leverage city data for the envisaged benefits in planning and governance, institutions across the world have stressed upon the necessity of evolving a culture of data usage in governance machinery.
The quick adoption of technology solutions by Indian smart cities was facilitated by specific measures instituted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) of the Government of India.

COVID-19 response by Indian Smart Cities

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) used the technological expertise and capabilities of its residents to combat the pandemic. With the support of city-based IT organizations, BBMP adopted several technology solutions to set up a COVID-19 War Room, dashboards and mobile applications for contact tracing and various other services. In March 2020, this 24×7 command-and-control centre helped to map each COVID positive case in the city using Geographical Information System, track healthcare workers using the Global Positioning System, and draw up containment plans using heat-mapping technologies.
With the pandemic affecting industries and residents, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), with support from the Surat Smart City Development Limited (SSCDL), has adopted a rigorous strategy of Track, Test, Treat, Isolate and Quarantine to respond to the challenges brought by the new virus. SSCDL uses the SMART CITY (SMAC) Centre, its integrated command and control centre, to effectively monitor and manage the fight against the pandemic. SMAC Centre gathers information from various sources: self-declaration form on SMC website and SMC app, toll-free helpline, citizen reporting of travellers or suspects in their society/vicinity, international traveller information received from the Government of India,details of patients received from private clinics/hospitals and urban health centres, door-to-door surveys, and data collected through the employee connect app.
“In 2020, there were 49 working Integrated Command and Control Centres across the country, which in 2021 have increased to 53 and 30 more are to be included in the upcoming months,” Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, told Businessworld. He added that whether it is artificial intelligence or other technological advancements, including the smart cities as an organic lot, the MoHUA is trying to deploy all resources to make use of them judiciously.
Addressing the challenges the pandemic imposed, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) explored the possibility of using the existing smart city infrastructure and facilities to manage the response to the pandemic. This has led to a significant reduction in coordination time, helping PCMC take prompt decisions based on the most recent data points. The city administration onboarded smart city technology consultants to support their efforts in developing solutions for COVID-19 tracking and integrating it with their COVID-19 War Room. The highest priority was given to tracking of infected patients and on prevention of the spread of the disease. A healthcare and patient tracking dashboard was developed by PCMC to provide real-time information on COVID-related cases, testing and healthcare arrangements.
“The infrastructure was already existing. However, it was only used for different purposes. When the pandemic hit us, we tweaked the functioning of the ICCC into processes needed for pandemic management and the results are for all to see,” said Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Urban Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The ten municipal bodies in the state which are part of the Smart City Mission —Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Prayagraj, Jhansi, Aligarh, and Kanpur —turned their respective ICCCs into war rooms for COVID-19.

Pandemic response by other cities

As part of its pandemic response strategy, New York established a City Emergency Management system, which includes series of task forces to work alongside the emergency support functions. NYC Emergency Management coordinated to ensure that New Yorkers stay informed and connected during critical times. During the pandemic, the screens otherwise used for advertisements across the city are being used to help people find the ‘least crowded’ times to visit grocery stores and pharmacies. The same screens are being used to display public artwork related to COVID-19 crisis to promote messages of positivity, solidarity and gratitude during a difficult and traumatic time. This has helped the administration of NYC in keeping the public calm, informed and aware of how they can stay safe from COVID-19 and stop the spread.

Measures to strengthen data governance capabilities

While cities were able to respond to these challenges during the COVID-19 response, experience in Indian smart cities and their global counterparts suggests that if cities have to institutionalize and strengthen these practices, the following actions need to be prioritised –
Ensure standardisation and interoperability through cities formulating their respective technology management policies and implementation strategies. Indian cities should use policy advisory support and guidance provided by MoHUA
Data security and protection via cities developing their data policy in compliance with national laws and guidelines to ensure citizens’ data security and protection
Adequately staffed technology and data management organisation by ensuring appointment of a city data office. Adopting objective indicators to monitor citizen service delivery using assessment frameworks such as MoHUA’s ICCC Maturity Assessment Framework, which enables cities to assess gaps and learn from the experience of cities which are performing better
Indian cities need to develop specific standards for technology solutions or regulations on citizen data protection and security. MoHUA is in close consultation with several departments/agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Standards, National Security Council Secretariat, and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, and is working towards providing guidance to Indian smart cities on adoption of available global technology standards. Smart cities in India have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 because of the significant investments made in implementing smart solutions that enabled many smart cities to provide robust responses to the pandemic.
The momentum that the smart cities have gained now with respect to putting all their technologies to use to administer services for the citizens must not be lost. The Government of India must work with all concerned officials to augment the development of ICCCs, and smart cities at large.