DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit Highlights

Deccan Herald’s prestigious Bengaluru 2040 Summit brought together some of India’s most influential policymakers, corporate titans, entrepreneurs, activists, and celebrities to design a roadmap of the way forward for “India’s Silicon Valley”. Thanks for tuning in to DH for the live updates.

DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit: B S Arun, Deputy Editor, Deccan Herald, giving vote of thanks to delegates for the successful event

A Yogi's Guide to tackling big city issues

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Founder, Isha Foundation in conversation with DH's Niranjan Kaggere.

"Life of normal concrete structure is 100 years, but if it is built for railways or metro, the durability reduces to 50 years. Instead, we can build structures using steel. With good maintenance, it can last longer. Yes, it will cost more, but infrastructure has to be built to last centuries," notedSadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Unlike Mumbai, Bengaluru can be grown horizontally and vertically. For instance, in a fifty acre of land parcel,a real estate developer can use just one acre to build apartments and use the rest for plants and trees and create self sustainable dwelling place,addedSadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

With the massive population explosion, there is an urgent need for planning soil management to producefood innovatively in less space to meet the demand. Also, we have to ensure the nutrition of the soil is maintained to grow quality organic food and be less dependent on fertilizers.

We have to ensurethat our soil is rich and fertile is key to avoiding an ecological disaster.

"In the early years,Bengaluru used to havethree rivers and 100s of lakes, and now, how much we have.Who is to blame for the condition of the city than ourselves. We can't think of recovering them, but we can ensure toconserve with whatever is left," concludedSadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Chasing sporting glory: How Bengaluru can nurture tomorrow's champions

From left to right: Nandan Kamath, Sports Lawyer moderating the discussion. VVS Laxman, Former India cricketer, Vivek Kumar, Founder & Director, Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, andAshwini Nachappa, Former India track & field athlete.

"Bengaluru has a better climate through the year compared to any of the cities in India and is why it was a natural selection for National Cricket Academy," said VVS Laxman.

"Government can work the local sporting association has to enable people from the lower section of the society to access to the quality facility for training. Very happy that local government and KSCA has created world-class facilities in other districts such as Hubli, Belgaum, and Mysore, " Laxman added.

"Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence will offer dedicated coaches and can function for long hours through the day. Bengaluru. Both the Dravid and Prakash are deeply involved in the management of the unit. We also train the coaches to improve their skill sets," said Vivek Kumar.

"People have to see sports as not just a profession but a way of improving health. And, also the government should have a proper plan in terms of infrastructure and competitions for kids to get motivated at an early age to embrace sports" said Ashwini Nachappa.

"We have to include sports as part of the curriculum and parents should also encourage their children to take up sports. The latter brings competitiveness, which is more important to lead a life with confidence than academic scores. We have seen this happening for real in my school," added Nachappa.

Ease of Living: Better Urban Planning for a Better Bengaluru

From left to right--Dr. Gautham Machaiah, Sr. Journalist moderating the discussion.Naresh Narasimhan, Architect Principal at Venkataramanan Associates, Gaurav Gupta, IAS, Chief Commissioner, BBMP, andNirupa Shankar, Executive Director, Brigade Group.

"BBMPrequires restructuring ofthe system in terms of creating zones and more funds to improve the infrastructure. Our city is bigger than New York Cityand the latter is not as beautiful as what is advertised in the media. Yes, it isa well functional city and we aim for the same in Bengaluru," Gaurav Gupta said.

"We need to add recreation space for citizens as part of the infrastructure development. Also, the city needs to be developed in a responsible manner through setting up satellite township with access to the hospital, educational institutes and work within walking distance," Nirupa Shankar said.

"When people blame traffic, they don't realise that they themselves are responsible for the mess. Theyown multiple vehicles and are contributing tothe traffic. Also, we have to come up with our own desi approach to design than copying a western template,"Naresh Narasimhan noted.

Hack-star Bengaluru (Felicitation)

Deccan Herald along with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI)hosted Hack-Star Bengaluru inviting budding young citizens to come up with smart andsustainable ideas to improve the quality of life in the city.

All-girls team Garud consisting--Amisha Sharma, Ayushi Tyagi,Vanshika Namdev, and Meetika Jain--from KIET Group Of Institutions, Ghaziabad, UP won the first prize. They won Rs2,00,000 cash bounty.

TeamHack_EVStations consisting --Rithik Raj Pandey, Sarthak Khandelwal, and Anukalp Jain--fromDayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Karnataka won the second prize.They won Rs1,50,000 cash bounty.

TeamEvTech consisting--Anurag Vaibhav, Nikhil Agarwal, Suraj Gorai, and Pranjal Paira --from IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal won third prize and cash bounty of Rs 1,00,000.

Also, a consolation prize was awarded to team Sarathi consisting--Ayush Rungta, Tejas Shah, Sonal Sengupta, and Saraswat Ghosh-- fromDayananda Sagar Academy Of Technology And Management, Karnataka.

All the winners have also been awarded pre-placement offer from MBRDI.

Fire-side chat with N.R. Narayana Murthy

Dhanya Skariachan, Business Editor, Deccan Herald in conversation with N.R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys.

"Though Bengaluru is called the Silicon Valley of India, it is sad,the government is not leveraging the technology to build long-term infrastructure and there isa lack of coordination between agencies," Murthy noted.

"I believe IT companies have added value to the society more than the employment generation. Infosys is building a metro station in Bengaluru at full cost and the company's philanthropic arm, Infosys Foundation is offering help for mid-day meals and other government-run programmes," added Murthy.

"I believe that technology companies, bureaucrats, and people's representatives can work together toturn Bengaluru into a better place," noted Murthy

Praveen Sood, DGP, Karnataka in conversation with S Ragotham at DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit

DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit: Young Leaders, Big Dreams

DH's S Ragotham moderating the discussion. [From left to right]Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament and Rizwan Arshad, Member of Legislative Assembly, Shivajinagar.

"Bengaluru to me is my identity. The city gave me life, education, and alsothe opportunity to represent them in Parliament. Bengaluru is the only city where Masala Dosa and Machine Learning goes and-in-hand,"saidTejasvi Surya.

"The city has a long history of being an educational hub. It has the Indian Institute of Science(IISc), UVCE, Bowring institution, and more that haveprovided great human capital. But, having said that, there is a need for more of such initiatives to make Bengaluru a truly global city," noted Surya.

"Bengaluru has changed a lot since the 1990s. From being the pensioners' paradise to the garden city, has somewhatlost sheen, as there is lessgreenery to due to unplannedgrowth," said Rizwan Arshad.

"In its present avatar, BBMP is a burden to the citythan a facilitator to improve the living experience of the City", noted Arshad

"We have to restructure BBMP as the problems in South is different compared to North, or East. It is impossible for a single person (commissioner) to move around 800 sqm of the city to check on the problems. We need to study expert panel reports to systematically improve the living experience for the citizens. We need to empower the local ward committee to look after local issues and people need not go to the main BBMP office for everything," noted Rizwan.

"We also should not focus only on BBMP in terms of infrastructure, but also think holistically as drug abuse has become a menace. I see this to be a major issue in the future than any other in the coming year," added Rizwan.

"We need to empower the mayor with full executive control over projects in the city and also there is an urgent need for the mayor to have longer tenure. Currently, it is just one year and impossible for him/herto deliver the work," Surya noted.

"The primary duty of any government is toempower the weaker section of the soceity. We should have an audit of welfare schemes of BBMP on how well the people are benefitted and how they can be better utilisedto deliver better services.

DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit: Preparing for a Post-Pandemic Future

DH's Suraksha moderating the discussion. [From left to right]-- Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Higher Education, IT & BT, Science & Technology, Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairperson, Manipal Hospitals andPratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry, Nimhans.

"E-learning is the new normal post-pandemic. The government has made arrangements such as free Wi-Fi and even hardwarein public schools for children from weaker sections to get access to onlineeducation. Our ultimate aim is to make Karnataka Knowledge hub of India," Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan said.

"Pandemic-induced lockdown boosted the digital consultancy for patients, which previously would have got hospitals and doctors in legal troubles. I appreciate the government improving public-private participation in developing digitalinfrastructure for hospitals" said Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal.

" In future, hospitals have to be designed in such a way that they will be able to simultaneously cater to pandemic-related ailment and regular health issues, " Dr.Ballal noted.

"In the near future, I see robots at pop-upkiosks at public spaces such as malls be ableto scan patient's eye and transfer details to hospitals and help the doctor diagnose the condition. With advanced technology, we can reduce face-to-face interfaction and yet be able to deliver good service and be able to treat more withthe saved time," noted Dr. Ballal.

"One of the biggest lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic is the use of technology to help patientsget mental healthcare quickerand hassle-free," saidPratima Murthy.

"Also, we should also ensure people go to nearest health centres rather than take a long tour to the city for medical help. We should try to create awareness among citizens,aboutthe availability of resources and technology to get the help faster. With such measures, we will be able to control the crowding of hospitals such as Nimhans in Bengaluru," added Murthy.

B S Arun, Deputy Editor, Deccan Herald felicitating the dignitaries

Dignitaries--Vishwanath S, Urban Planner, and water conservation expert,Devaraju M, Chief Engineer - BWSSB andDr. Veena Srinivasan, Senior Fellow Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.

Self-sufficiency in water: Can Bengaluru achieve it by 2040?

[From left to right]DH's Rasheed Kappanmoderating the discussion. Devaraju M, Chief Engineer - BWSSB, Dr. Veena Srinivasan, Senior Fellow Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, and Vishwanath S, Urban Planner, and water conservation expert.

"The government-run BWSSB(Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board)has to take a holistic approach to draw Cauvery river water and also create awareness on rainwater harvesting techniques to cater to the burgeoning population of the Bengaluru city," said Vishwanath.

"BWSSB is bringing 1,400MLD water from 100km to Bengaluru, and yet it is not sufficient. We are yet to provide water to newly inducted 110 villages into Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike(BBMP) limits. Even the borewellwater drawn from the ground is not enough, so we are progressively advocating rain harvesting initiatives in the city. We also need to efficiently treat sewage water fornon-drinking purposes to make Bengaluru self-sustainable" said Devaraju M.

"We have the technology and even money to turn the highly polluted Vrishabhavati valley to itspast pristine glory similar to how Thames river in London," saidDr. Veena Srinivasan.

Weekend Film Contest (Felicitation)

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai speaks to DH's Bharath Joshi at Bengaluru 2040 Summit

Gaming Bengaluru’s Crime Scene 2040

[From left to right]S Raghotham is moderating the discussion.Praveen Sood, IPS, DG & IGP, Col. KPM Das, APAC Head for Cybersecurity, Cisco andJayna Kothari, Lawyer, Author and Director of Centre for Law and Policy Research.

"Bengaluru is the safest city in the country for both men and women. But over time, the nature of crime has changed. I fear there will significantrise in cybercrimes by 100x in the near future. Most of the time, due to greed, naive people fall prey to financial fraud over the phone. By nature, we are careless on social media and on other platforms on the internet. It is imperative for people to be cautious when dealing with unknown people online," said Praveen Sood.

"The cybercrime scene will only get dangerous over time and we can't imagine how it will be in 2030," saidKPM Das

"Cyberspace has become a dangerous place for women. They get stalked, threats of violenceonline, on messenger apps and the onus is always on the women. When we go to Police stations, the complaints get trivialised as they deem it not serious and rather focus on physical crimes" saidJayna Kothari.

"There is a need to transform the criminal justice system for cybercrime and also, it has to be holistic in nature.We have the tough job ofeducatingthe prosecutor to understand the case and then explain the same to the justice to get the criminal penalised for their bad deeds," noted Praveen Sood.

"Police force is the most visible front of the government and expectations have risen over time. Our Karnataka Police has begun leveraging advanced technology to fight crime and book the culprits," addedPraveen Sood

"There is a need to improve thejustice system to better prosecute the cybercriminals to curb repeat the same offence again" notedJayna Kothari.

Shared & Clean: Shaping A Citizen-Centric Future of Mobility

[From Left] Dhanya Skariachan, Business Editor, Deccan Herald is moderating the discussion.R K Misra, co-founder, Yulu, V Manjula, IAS, Commissioner, DULT(Directorate of Urban Land Transport), andAshwin Mahesh, Social Technologist.

"Best cities in the world such as Tokyo, London have good walkablefootpaths and we need this here in Bengaluru too. Also, the government should have a holistic mobility plan with last-mile connectivity from all metro stations", saidR K Misra.

"Our government focus of the smart city is limitedto just seven streets, but it actually required in all 1,700 streets of the city. We need a good footpath connecting to bus stations. Also, all government agencies such as Bengaluru Development Authority and Bruhat Bengaluru Palike, electricity and water providers have to work co-ordination, so that the roads are better planned and avoid constant digging leading to horrible traffic around the city, " notedAshwin Mahesh.

"With DULT, we have shared mobility plans with the public for feedback and come up with better traveling experience for the citizens in Bengaluru, " saidV Manjula.

"We need uniform roads across the city. I see wide roads leading up to the Hebbal from Internation airport and then it narrows at various junctionscreating bottlenecks. Government should ensure the roads are wide with good footpaths andcycle lanes for better living experience in Bengaluru, " noted R K Misra.

"Our (govt)focus will be to offer better roads than offer subsidies to electric vehicles, which will further increase the traffic. It is not right for us to enablepeople to shift from fuel-based vehicles to EVs. We have written a note to the central government to avoid such subsidies," said Manjula.

" We need to move towards clean fuel (electricity from renewable energy) and also come with comprehensive mobility plan including shared traveling options.Government should buy more buses for BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation) to cater to millions of city people to move to every landcorner of the city," addedAshwin Mahesh.

"Sub-urban rail network is our main priority of the government. Land acquisition has been the main issue, but it has been looked after, and hope to set the ball rolling for the project really soon. We have plans to bring PM Narendra Modi to kick offthe project," V Manjula concluded.

"Sparrows have literally vanished from Bengaluru. Thousands of migratory waterfowls, which used to visit the city in the early 1990s, no longer come. We should ensure to develop the city with a clear set of rules to be accommodative to the environment, local flora, and fauna than just concentrate on single-minded infrastructure development," Leo Saldhana said.

"There is no need to draw Cauvery water from Mekedatu for Bengaluru. Thegovernment just needs to arrestthe pollution of lakes within the city and be able toprovideaffordable water to the people and can make the city self-sustaining," noted Saldhana.

Dr. T V Ramachandra concurs that there is no need for the construction of the Mekedatu dam for water. It is a disaster as it will destroy the vast lands of the forest. We have a successful working model in Jakkuru, where the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) has ensured the local lake free from pollution. This can be replicated in other water bodies in Bengaluru.

"We have to educate our youth and make them environmental literate so that they can be aware and participate in activities with the government to ensure they createeco-friendly infrastructure.

"Environment protection has become political these days, but youngsters should not fear to fight for what is right," said Disha Ravi

How can we bring the birds back to Bengaluru?

[From left to right] Anitha Pailoor of DH will moderate the discussion. Dr. T V Ramachandra, co-ordinator, Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Disha Ravi, Climate justice activist, and Leo Saldanha, coordinator, Environment Support Group, Bengaluru participating at DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit.

K N Tilak Kumar, JMD,TPML felicitating Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai at DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai speaks at DH Bengaluru 2040

"We have to give confidence to the citizens that government will look after the infrastructure. We will try our best to ensure them better living experience in Bengaluru compared to any other metro in India," said CM Bommai.

"We have identified 12 high-density corridors and will use good engineering technology to better manage loads of different vehicles and ensure smooth traffic in the city. Also, we are planning a corridor for diverting traffic from Hebbal to Nice road and also another Sattelite Town Ring Road (STRR) for better management of traffic within the core of the city," said CM Bommai.

"Government is planning to allocatetwo tmc Cauvery water for North Bengaluru, and complete the fifth phase of water and sewage connection soon," said CM Bommai.

"My vision for Bengaluru 2040 is to have multiple satellite towns in the outskirts, fully functional metro and sub-urban rail network in all directions, and ensure people reach their workplace faster. Also,I envision people not having to travel long for work. In that order, we have to create four mini Bengaluru with access to health, entertainment, work, andgovernment services in walking distances" noted CM Bommai.

"To lessen the burden on the capital city, the government has plans to set up Bengaluru-like cities across Karnataka," Bommai said.

"Also,seven govt engineering colleges will be upgraded to Indian Institute of India (IIT)-like status for local Kannadigas to get quality education," added CM Bommai.

"I am not sure, how many of us survive until 2040, but our government will ensure, our work on Bengaluru will be appreciated byour future generation," concluded CM Bommai.

"Covid-19 has disrupted the health care industry around the world. In the near future, people consulting with doctors first for the diagnosis will become the new normal. The doctor will have the entire medical history of the patient on their phone and do instant diagnosis. They will only go to the hospital only if necessary and everything else will be online," said Devi Shetty.

With advanced technology, Doctors staying in their homes, be still able to interact and be able to treat and offer diagnosis topatients with Kidney issues, Heart failure, and other critical health conditions in a hospital,Shetty noted.

Uber, which owns no car, Facebook, which doesn't make any content, and Alibaba, which doesn't own any inventory, have become top companies in their sector. Similarly, the Healthcare system will be driven by software rather than physical infrastructure, concluded Shetty

Dr. Devi P. Shetty, Chairman and Executive Director, Narayana Health gives the keynote address on Digital Disruption of Healthcare.