New Delhi. Gujarat’s Gift City today stands as the most powerful model of India’s financial future. From outside it looks like a modern business hub, but its real magic resides underground and inside the control room. This is the reason why GIFT City is being considered as India’s most advanced urban project among the world’s big smart city models.
In this special report, StuffUnknownIndia for the first time took you inside that part which is usually not open for cameras. The high-tech utility tunnel, AI surveillance system and the city’s ultra-modern command center all together make GIFT City a real future city model of India.
Hi-tech city located under the ground
The city also has a utility tunnel, which is called the backbone of GIFT City. For the first time in India, water, electricity, internet, cooling system and fire service all-in-one have been placed inside a single tunnel in any city. This approximately 5.5 kilometer long tunnel is a perfect smart infra model for any city. If there is a problem in any service here, the road does not break, the engineers directly go into the tunnel and repair it. Many smart city models in the world use this technology and GIFT City has become the first city in India to fully implement it. Janaki Jethi, Vice President of GIFT Engineering, said that this tunnel protects all the utilities together and allows immediate repair of any fault.
Command and Control Center
Gift City has a separate command and control center. From here, the heartbeats of the entire city are seen playing on a single screen. Traffic, water, electricity, fire-alert, public safety and AI-surveillance everything is monitored in real-time. Information about any emergency immediately reaches the team and action starts immediately. The same level of technology used by many international financial districts has been setup here.
Dr. Sanjay Kaul, MD of Gift City, says that the aim of Gift City is to give India a new identity in the global financial map. According to him, the infrastructure here is the benchmark for many new financial cities of India in future. Sanjay Kaul says that Gift City is not just a project of India, but a future model on the basis of which many new financial hubs of the country are going to be built. This city is going to give a new shape to India’s global identity.
Surveillance from AI
GIFT City’s AI surveillance system provides 360-degree security to the entire city. The smart cameras installed here immediately detect any unusual movement and send an alert to the control room. This is the same technology that is used in global financial districts like Singapore, Dubai and London. IFSCA Executive Director Dr. Deepesh Shah said that GIFT City is giving India a new identity in the field of international financial services and due to this, India’s global positioning is changing rapidly.
Sustainable, green and ‘walk-to-work’ models
Gift City is special not only because of technology but also because of its sustainable and green model. Here
- district cooling system
- Zero Waste-to-Landfill Model
- Green Building Certification
- Walk-to-Work Design
Features like have been implemented. This is India’s first financial city which combines work, living and lifestyle in one compact circle.
- What is special about Gift City?
- India’s first and most advanced smart financial city model
- Country’s first IFSC (International Financial Services Centre)
- Two important economic zones like SEZ and DTA at one place
- Top-class infrastructure, offices, residences, schools, hospitals, commercial spaces
- Large scale tax and GST benefits for companies
- One-window clearance system
- Excellent connectivity with Ahmedabad Airport and Metro.
At present about 30,000 people are working here and this number is expected to reach 100,000 in the next few years.
