Press Release   Conferences on Day 2 explore the role of Technologies & Innovations in shaping a Modern and ‘Smart’ India Day 2 of the 30th Convergence India and 8th Smart Cities India expo saw a large-scale turnout as visitors comprising industry representatives, aspiring digitech students, and sector leaders thronged the booths to explore the latest technologies and solutions on display. A major highlight was the conference sessions organised throughout the day at the venue. A total of 14 sessions were held that touched on issues such as: Building an inclusive Digital Ecosystem; Changing Face of Generative AI and Chatbots; Preventing Cybercrime and innovative Strategies to deal with them; Creating a Sustainable Mobility Ecosystem; Mainstreaming Urban Resilience in India. The highlight of the conferences was the City Leaders Conclave which held discussions on topics like the role of the city government in shaping the future and putting the citizen first to infuse inclusivity. During the session, Amit Aasrey, CEO, of Smart City Ltd., said, “We have been using the Integrated Command Centre as a hub for solving all citizen’s problems. By having before and after geo-tagged photographs, we can generate the heat maps of different problems that we are facing”. Elaborating on how NDMC Smart City Ltd. has implemented smart city projects in New Delhi, Dr Ankita Chakravarty, Secretary and CEO shared, “NDMC has already addressed certain issues through the Smart City project like parking management. We have a parking management system where the availability is displayed on a real-time basis, for example, in Connaught Place.” In the session on Catalysing Digital Urban Future, Hardeep Singh, Joint Commissioner, Amritsar Municipal Corporation said, “Smart Cities are special purpose vehicles to implement need-based development. It does not apply to just big cities. We have to make every city ‘smart’.”     Another session that drew large crowds was on The Premiumisation of the Indian Smartphone Market, which was moderated by gadget guru and Managing Editor, NDTV, Rajiv Makhni. Nipun Marya, the CEO of iQOO, observed that with constant smartphone upgrades happening, the premium segment of smartphones is rapidly increasing. He further said, “As buyers know their phones well, they want to upgrade to better technology and experience. They want to upgrade to better use cases that are relevant to them.” On a query raised by Mr Makhni about why India is suddenly spending more on smartphones, Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research shared, “Consumers now realise that smartphones are truly what connects them to the world. Everything around us is connected to the mobile. And that’s why consumers over the last two years have been spending more on durable devices, that offer more value and are premium in the true sense.” During the session on Building an Inclusive Digital Ecosystem, Dr Inder Gopal, CEO, of India Urban Data Exchange, observed, “The ability to understand, share and use data productively is a critical aspect enabling a public digital ecosystem. We have developed this exchange to be able to find the data and control the sharing of this data to be able to understand and standardise the way the data is represented.” While Day 3 is expected to continue attracting large crowds, the planned conference sessions are expected to be the focal point. The Fintech India Summit will have panel discussions on Fintech Innovations to enable Inclusive Growth, Digital Disruption in Insurance, Blockchain for Business – The Building Blocks for a new Enterprise Landscape, and Fintech Data Protection – Critical Data Security Measures and Roadmap ahead. Simultaneously, the Smart Energy Conclave will see discussions on Evolving Landscape of Green Hydrogen in India, Financing the Future of Energy, and Discovering Opportunities in India’s Net-Zero Target. The session will conclude with the much-awaited Smart Cities India and Fintech India Innovation Awards. About Convergence India Expo: Convergence India, now in its 30th edition, heralded the telecom revolution in India. It is the largest technology and infrastructure expo in the country The expo provides a platform to showcase ‘Brand India’ and focuses on promoting the ‘Make in India’ & ‘Digital India’ campaigns and showcases the emerging technologies. It includes, Internet of Things, Mobile India, EmbeddedTech, Fintech & Digital Gaming. About Smart Cities India Expo: Smart Cities India expo aims to deliver better citizen services by showcasing the latest technologies.  Integrating technology with the key pillars of urban development, i.e. green buildings, energy, transport, clean environment, and water, for optimising resources and making cities smart and sustainable. The expo is a unique meeting point for Union and State government officials, private sector representatives, foreign delegations, businesses, city leaders, etc.     For further information, please contact: Srishti Sharma | Mob: +91 98999 54186 | Email: srishti@onpurposeconsulting.in Visit: www.eiexpolive.com To view full list of Speakers, visit: www.eiexpolive.com/speakers     Organisers