Honeywell Automation India Limited announced it was selected to lead the Bengaluru Safe City project under the Nirbhaya Fund by the Government of India. An initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the project aims to create a safe, secure and empowering environment for women and girls in public places to enable them to pursue all opportunities without the threat of gender-based violence or harassment. The Bengaluru Safe City project is valued at Rs. 496.57 crore ($67M).
“For more than 30 years, Honeywell has supported India’s growth with differentiated technologies, working to make our cities safer, smarter and more connected,” said Ashish Gaikwad, president Honeywell India and managing director, Honeywell Automation India Limited. “We are honoured to be selected for the Bengaluru Safe City project that works to directly address a key concern to improve the safety of all its citizens, especially women and girls.”
Honeywell will create an integrated Command & Control Centre to manage a state-of-the-art video system that features more than 7,000 video cameras deployed at more than 3,000 locations across the city. The video system will provide advanced video analytics, including facial recognition, a “Dial 100” application and drones. Honeywell will also upgrade the city police department’s existing Suraksha app to help improve incident response rate and citizen engagement.
Bengaluru is among eight cities selected for the Government’s Safe City project, which involves identification of hot spots for crimes against women and deployment of various components, including infrastructure, technology adoption, and capacity building in community through awareness programs.
“Globally, Honeywell helps develop future-ready cities with its wide portfolio of smart and safe city offerings, including a focus on connected safety and security technology,” said Ashish Modi, President, Honeywell Building Technologies, Asia. “In India, we have been a strong partner to the Government’s 100 Smart Cities Mission already with focus on people, process and technology. Our technology-led integrator approach combined with our global expertise in delivering complex integrated solutions is helping city administrators make informed decisions and improve safety for citizens in near real time. We want to now deliver this for Bengaluru city, with the goal of turning it into city that’s safer and more resilient.”
The Bengaluru Safe City project will be implemented in phases. Honeywell will operate and maintain the security infrastructure for five years.