I want to make Pune the startup capital of India, says Fadnavis

From developing the new Pune airport to fast-tracking a startup hub, CM Devendra Fadnavis shared in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times his blueprint for the cultural and IT capital of Maharashtra

If the Devendra Fadnavis-led government delivers on its vision and promise, a new Pune could rise on the banks of the Mula Mutha river in the coming five years. A generation next city and startup capital of India that is serviced by smart solutions and transport networks.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis during an interview at his residence in Mumbai on Wednesday.(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

From developing the new Pune airport in a possible partnership with Singapore’s Changi airport to fast-tracking a startup hub, chief minister Fadnavis in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times shared his blueprint for the cultural and IT capital of Maharashtra.

“Pune is high on our agenda and I feel our smart city project will change the face of the city in the next five years. We are setting in place fibre optic-based system across the city that will enable everything from WiFi hot spots, to smart transport, water supply and power grid networks,’’ said Fadnavis, speaking to HT, on the occasion of the launch of our Pune edition, at his official residence Varsha in Malabar Hill in Mumbai.

In simple terms, he said, it could translate into solutions for citizens like real time data on availability of local buses at their stop to more reliable and optimum utilization of power in industry and homes. In the next month, as part of this project, the government plans to roll out dynamic traffic management system for the city, first of its kind in the country, which will leave out scope for human intervention and rely solely on traffic signal synchronization. ``The tenders for the project are out and its execution will be done in the next thirty days.’’

Fadnavis believes that the bigger story for Pune in the coming two years would be its emergence as the startup and innovation hub of the country, taking over this tag from Bengaluru.

Chief minister believes that oversubscription of municipal bonds of the Pune civic body, points to a way out of financing woes for city infrastructure at large.