Online building plans to be integrated with DTCP, CMDA: Shiv Das Meena

CHENNAI: It could well be a win-win for all the stakeholders in reality business with the TN government taking steps to integrate online building plans of DTCP and CMDA with the approval of RERA, as per TN RERA chairman Shiv Das Meena.

Speaking at the 78th chamber day celebrations of HCC here on Monday, he said “now we are also in dialogue with DTCP and CMDA to integrate their online building plan approval with RERA. So all the documents that the promoter is submitting to the RERA can be directly fetched from CMDA and DTCP and we can do away with seeking this additional information from the promoters.”

The purpose of RERA or the Real Estate Regulation Authority (RERA) act which came into being around eight years ago, is to bring transparency, he said, calling for more transparency. “Every day at least four or five advertisements are brought to my notice where the promoters are advertising without registering the project with RERA,” Meena said, adding in such cases, action was taken by sending notice and seeking clarification as part of the efforts to persuade and encourage them to register with RERA.

Also, despite the online uploading facility, the offline records were being maintained which was essentially defeating the purpose of the digital access. “It was also occupying a huge space. We have hired a separate building to store all these reports. We are paying Rs 1.25 lakh rent every month just to store these papers. I checked up in my office that in the last five, six years whether we access these old documents which we have collected from the promoters,” the official said, adding since the answer was negative, this offline storage has been done away with, thereby working to make it business-friendly.

S Krishnan, secretary, MeiTY, in his special address as chief guest, sought to highlight the necessity to focus on electronics and semiconductor opportunities. “You have to assist businesses to absorb technology in order to increase the competition. This is the reality of India. This is the direction in which the country needs to move. This is the direction in which businesses move. And the businesses will be anything. Most of us, oftentimes, we don't realise how much technology will enhance people’s productivity,” he said.

Krishnan emphasised the importance of businesses adopting technology to increase competitiveness and productivity, while also highlighting the opportunities and challenges presented by AI, cybersecurity, and other digital technologies.

Dwelling on the importance of artificial intelligence, he said “an important chunk of India’s AI mission is actually to develop applications which can be used in agriculture, in healthcare, in education, MSMEs, across the board, in governance, and including in the way that you can identify where potholes are on the road.”

While the use of AI to address such kinds of problems is interesting, it also means a lot of data access. “And we need to be fairly careful about how our data gets used. We can be aware of the kind of risks that exist in cyberspace, both in terms of cybercrime, cyber thought and cybersecurity overall,” he said, highlighting the huge business opportunities that exist in addressing cyber crimes, piracy issues, among other problems.

Emphasising the need for an indigenous business opportunity, Krishnan said “ultimately, whatever you design, unless it's local in its origin, whether you're protecting yourself against a potential foreign actor, is something that we need to be very aware of. And these are all spaces where I think native genius, where Indian standards, Indian innovators, Indian companies really need to get into making. Whether it is design, whether it is cybersecurity, whether it is innovation, that is the space that we have, in some ways, what AI can potentially do, not just in terms of generative AI, which can help you write emails and letters and so on.”

He went on to add “but in terms of other applications of AI, particularly for productive spaces, like in industry, in manufacturing, in drug discovery, in the pharma sector, across different sectors, how you use that data, how you actually deploy sensors, industrial IoT in all of those sectors, absorb the data and you're able to use it in a way that productivity goes up. That is the real opportunity. And that is where industry leaders need to work with the government and entities on our side to make a huge productivity revolution possible.”

Making a strong case for embracing digital technologies, Krishnan said “there are people who still believe… with artificial intelligence and some of the other technologies, advanced technology, which are coming in, the potential is of the next industrial revolution in terms of disruption and growth, discontinuous growth… that is where India has the opportunity to become an advanced economy.”

MeITY SECRETARY SPEAK

1. Businesses need to adopt technology to increase competitiveness and productivity, especially in India. This applies to all levels of the economy, from street vendors to large corporations

2. India is focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) development, with a significant budget allocated to the India AI mission. The goal is to create AI applications for various sectors including agriculture, healthcare, education, and governance

3. Cybersecurity is a major concern and also presents a significant business opportunity, particularly for developing indigenous solutions to protect against cyber threats

4. The integration of AI, industrial IoT, and data analytics across different sectors can lead to a productivity revolution, potentially triggering the next industrial revolution in terms of growth and disruption

5. Embracing digital technology across all segments of the economy is crucial for India to achieve sustained high growth rates (close to double digits) for the next 20 years and realise its potential as an advanced economy.

HCC will emerge as leading catalyst for biz: Linesh Sanathkumar Sundrani

“Our business landscape is evolving rapidly and it's our collective responsibility to navigate these changes with innovation and resilience. We must remain adaptable, embrace new technologies and foster an environment where every member of our chamber can flourish,” said Linesh Sanathkumar Sundrani, who took charge as president of the Hindustan Chamber of Commerce (HCC).

Noting that the chambers are a bridge between the government and trade and industry, he said the chamber of commerce plays a vital role in two ways. One, by communicating the needs of the industrial environment and two, by helping industry to better identify and take advantage of existing opportunities and policies of the government, both at the centre and at the state.

“My vision for our chamber is to be the leading catalyst for business success and prosperity, creating a thriving economic environment where business of all sizes can grow and encourage collaboration and inclusivity,” Sundrani said, as he outlined the plans for making HCC an action-oriented and progressive chamber.