Be Part Of The Change - Why Consulting

Angelo Russo was one of the best pastry chefs of Italy. He had lived a long and fulfilling life, doing what he loved most, and had finally retired to spend time with his beautiful wife, Maria, in the quiet town of Ferrara. In May 2012, Italy was hit with a massive earthquake of 6.1 magnitude, causing severe damage and endangering thousands of lives. Angelo’s wife was among those affected, as a massive furniture piece fell on her legs, rendering her immobile. 80-year-old Angelo was helpless – he couldn’t lift her and take her to safety. He sat for about an hour and a half feeling utterly helpless, as Maria wailed in pain, before a rescue team arrived and carried Maria out of the house to an ambulance. The reason why the rescue team found Russo residence and arrived there to provide help is something that will come as a massive surprise to you. Within a few hours after the disaster occurred, a complete local wireless internet network was developed in the affected area, 35 kilometres north of Bologna. Ferrara, which was about 50 kilometres north of Bologna, was among the first cities to receive this help. The wireless internet network allowed the Italian civil protection teams to run operations using HD live-streaming videos of the disaster area to control centres, communicating and co-ordinating the activities of emergency personnel and helping save lives. Smart planning in a smart city saved Angelo’s beloved wife, and probably thousands of others. The total casualty of an earthquake of such a massive magnitude was 27 people. A quick Google search will reveal that while any number of casualties is sad, this is a relatively low number. Something to be grateful about. ****************************************************************************** India is transforming, driven by a strong government agenda for change. Make in India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, NITI Aayog, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna are only a few of the many initiatives that the Government of India has launched. But amongst that is the Smart Cities Mission to tackle extreme pressure from people migrating to urban cities due to lack of facilities in the smaller towns. The future of these cities relies on visionary planning and implementation backed by robust technology. As a consultant building smart cities, you will help develop new India. You will engage with the Ministry of Urban Development, state governments, regional development authorities and urban local bodies and support them in

• visioning and policy preparation
• city diagnostics
• city master planning
• economic and financial modelling
• technological innovations
• programme management
• governance advisory

As of 2015, 37 consultant firms are preparing smart city plans for 88 cities. So now, rather than just blaming the government, you can become a part of the solution. Do you hear “Khoon Chala” from Rang De Basanti playing in your head? Well, that’s a cue. Come for the “All You Need To Know About Consulting” where you get a chance to meet consultants from EY Consulting & UC Strategy at MISB Bocconi, Powai, on the 30th September! Register here!