Be passionate about being resilient
If we asked people about how they picture their ideal Smart City, probably one of the most recurring answers would be “without traffic jams”. And that would be no surprise. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the local road network is jammed on a daily basis.
The focus of Smart City development on transportation technology has become global. This is especially so for Colombo.
“I have witnessed in Colombo that a road which has three lanes turned into four during busy times and rush hours. This is smartness. I see a smartness in drivers who are trying to beat traffic by creating another lane. However this should be done without the risks associated with such an initiative. We need to have a structured system," Rehan Bhana, Senior Academic at Birmingham City University and founder of Innovation Fest told the Business Times in an interview on Monday.
He noted that rush-hour traffic is a problem that needs to be solved. "We need to have teams (start-ups, innovators) working with drivers and maybe have one way directions during peak hours or narrow lanes during these times. The UK motorway system has narrow lanes," he explained.
He pointed out that the smartest city in the world, Singapore, won the Smart City of 2018 award at Smart City Expo World Congress in part due to the high priority placed on transportation innovation. The city is already embracing autonomous vehicles, which are “the future of Singapore’s transport system,” according to the Transport Smart Nation Singapore Initiative.
A prototype bus of the future recently introduced in Beijing would allow reducing this nuisance by running above other vehicles, and could be operative in less than a year.
He noted that all emerging markets are looking at automation.
He commended the resilient nature of Sri Lankans. "Over the years that I have visited Sri Lanka, I started in 2014 – I have seen the resilient nature of your people. You need to be passionate about it," he noted.
He also noted that Sri Lanka has been embracing technology beautifully. “Hatch, a space for innovation, growth and collaboration is in envious space that I want to work in," he added.
Mr. Bhana who was a panellist at last week’s Disrupt Asia also noted that this event which was held for the fourth time this year is creating conversations with different government agencies. He stressed that Disrupt Asia should be the priority of all government agencies and not just the ICTA.
He noted that it important to bring thinkers and stakeholders in the region together for a visioning workshop where ideas can be exchanged and implemented..
Sri Lanka’s licensed banks are to be operated under a more stringent legal and regulatory framework with implementation of the proposed new Banking Act, Central Bank Governor Dr.Indrajit Coomaraswamy told a media conference recently.
The legal and regulatory framework of licensed banks will be further strengthened through the new Banking Act.
The Central Bank is now reviewing the current Banking Act and several amendments will be made to strengthen these laws with one of those amendments being to empower the Director of Bank Supervision of the banking regulator to impose fines on banks for irregularities and malpractices, he disclosed.
“At present, the Central Bank as the regulator has no way to impose fine on errant banks. It can only restrict their business in certain ways. We can restrict the role of board members, etc. But we can’t impose fines so that is what would be introduced,” he said.
The key areas to be included into the proposed new Act are an overall mandate for supervision and regulation and a differentiated regulatory framework to facilitate proportionality, strengthening corporate governance, and consolidated supervision.
A resolution framework, the capacity to impose monetary penalties/fines, ring-fencing of banks to mitigate contagion risk, strengthening provisions for mergers, acquisitions and consolidation of large foreign banks and a holding company structure for banks will also be included in the new Act.
The bank examination methodology will continue to be enhanced focusing on the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of individual banks and the banking sector.
A new supervisory rating model (The Bank Sustainability Rating Indicator-BSRI) is being developed by the Central Bank with a view to facilitating a risk-based supervision framework to enable early intervention and prompt corrective action.
A prototype bus of the future recently introduced in Beijing would allow reducing this nuisance by running above other vehicles, and could be operative in less than a year.