Logistics infrastructure is a critical enabler of India's agenda for economic development and urbanisation. Recognising its pivotal role, the Indian government has tripled annual spending on logistics infrastructure over the past seven years.

Smart sanitation fundamentally involves high-tech solutions such as self-cleaning public e-toilets that address the challenges posed by conventional public toilets, says BINCY BABY.

India has horrific water issues that go well beyond meters and domestic waste. However, with the use of automation, it is possible to avoid water theft, illegal connections and leakages and importantly, monitor water distribution.

Fleet management and solutions company Fastrackerz has announced that it has successfully tried and tested FT0009 with 10,000 vehicles. FT0009 is a GPS/GPRS-enabled device that is used specifically for vehicle real-time monitoring.

Under the World Bank aided project Automatic Water Quality Monitoring has been setup under the NGRBA Project for the river Ganga at an estimated cost of Rs 94.45 crore approximately.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has recently commissioned a GPRS-enabled electronic cash transaction facility at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad. AAI intends to implement this facility across all airports.

In order to secure future water needs, the government will have to play a major role, both functionally and financially. Technologies focus on the techno-eco­nomic mix for fulfilment of viability require­ments and also technical require­ments for specified re-use specified for industrial and domestic sector. Uniform standards are ado­pted for water quality parameters for the specified re-use to enable the client/contractor to choose the opti­mum technology at a rational cost.

While Delhi has not come out of a power shortage, Harsh Sharma describes why automation of processes, including SCADA and OMS, have provided more control to the distributor and better efficiency to the consumer.

Egyptian National Railways is implementing microprocessor-based LxCS for 136 level crossings on electrical and mechanical signalling lines. Indian company KMIL provided research and supplied systems.