Kanpur: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has partnered with IIT Kanpur’s AIRAWAT Research Foundation to apply artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and digital twin technologies to large-scale urban planning in India. The initiative seeks to provide city planners with data-driven tools to address challenges around mobility, energy use, pollution management, and governance, while also building resilience and ecological balance into urban design.
The AIRAWAT Research Foundation, set up by IIT Kanpur with support from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, focuses on rethinking city development with advanced technologies. Through the collaboration, AI-driven modelling and multi-source data fusion will be used to generate practical insights for sustainable city management. Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, noted that the effort aims to strengthen India’s capacity to address urban challenges with solutions that integrate systems thinking and climate-conscious approaches.
TCS will contribute expertise in digital twin technologies, enabling planners to test different scenarios virtually before physical execution. This capability is intended to support informed decision-making by simulating the outcomes of various interventions in areas such as infrastructure planning and resource allocation. According to Dr Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer at TCS, the initiative will apply AI, data engineering, and remote sensing to anticipate the evolving demands of cities and support predictive approaches to urban management.
The partnership reflects growing efforts in India to integrate advanced technologies into governance frameworks, addressing the pressures of rapid urbanisation through evidence-based planning and sustainable solutions.
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