Development Challenges for Big Data Command and Control Centres for Smart Cities in India

The 100 Smart Cities Mission in India have received significant attention from the researchers and policymakers globally. This chapter examines the imposing challenge of development of command and control centres that are at the focal point of the smart cities discourse in India with as many as 83 cities investing substantially to capture and use big data through such technologically advanced facilities. A thorough account of the genesis of the Smart Cities Mission in India is presented here to establish the context behind the development of centralised big data command and control centres. This chapter presents the very first analysis of the technical architecture and systems being adopted by the Indian smart cities for creating the command and control centres and highlights their innovations in collecting and integrating big data through a range of audio, video, sound, sensing and crowdsourcing devices. While identifying the domain and application areas incorporated within the command and control centre projects, this research reveals that the focus by the Indian smart cities is more on controlling and surveilling rather than improving the delivery of public services. This chapter also critically assesses the potential of building synergy between different local and state agencies through the command and control centres and how much they can influence the urban planning processes in rapidly growing Indian cities. The outcomes from the research suggest that the command and control centres in Indian smart cities are predominantly privatised and there is an inclination towards big data corporatisation. The chapter argues for public ownership over these big data and command and control centres so that publicly funded high-value datasets can be made openly available for use by the app developers, businesses, innovators, startups and citizens that could open up opportunities for creative collaborations and the development of a data-driven innovation ecosystem.