Hyderabad: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has successfully concluded a series of networking events under the Sangam-Digital Twin initiative, culminating in a final event at T-Hub, Hyderabad on July 10-11, 2024. These sessions were aimed at revolutionizing infrastructure planning through advanced digital solutions.

The Sangam Networking Events were hosted across four prestigious institutions—IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, PES University Bangalore, and T-Hub Hyderabad—bringing together over 400 participants from leading companies, academia, and government sectors. The events focused on developing comprehensive blueprints for Digital Twin-enabled solutions to tackle various challenges by leveraging diverse data sources.

Each event featured keynote addresses by esteemed speakers who emphasized the significance of harnessing data to solve real-world problems. Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Telecommunications, highlighted the goal of developing viable projects and securing funding to create a national-level infrastructure planning tool. Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, ITE&C, Telangana Govt, emphasized the importance of industry collaboration in building digital twins. Shri Niraj Verma, Additional Secretary, Telecom, noted the initiatives' role in fostering collaboration and innovation among participants.

Breakout sessions covered key verticals such as Intelligent Traffic Management, Multimodal Public Transport Optimization, Comprehensive Mobility Planning, Traffic Emission Management, Water Distribution Networks, Disaster Management, and Aspirational Blocks focusing on Health and Nutrition, and Education. Participants engaged in collaborative discussions to integrate data from diverse sources while ensuring privacy preservation through advanced technologies. Topics such as Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), AI Governance Framework, Virtual World Creation, Mathematical Modelling, and Physics-Based Simulations were also explored.

The events produced viable project blueprints and strategic roadmaps for implementation, guiding the design and architecture of future solutions. Special emphasis was placed on Aspirational Blocks, aiming to enhance Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across Health, Nutrition, Education, and other themes. Focus areas included Transportation solutions for reducing traffic congestion, Environment Quality Assessment focusing on Traffic Emission Management and Water Distribution Optimization, Healthcare through the Sangam Health Twin platform, and Disaster Management via advanced digital simulations and data integration.

At the final event in Hyderabad, Shri Niraj Verma launched the Outcome Document, developed collaboratively across all networking events. This document outlines the path forward for Stage 2 of the initiative and invites feedback from stakeholders.

Moving forward, the Sangam initiative will focus on implementing developed blueprints, securing funding, and establishing governance mechanisms for successful project execution. Collaborative efforts will continue to integrate cutting-edge technologies and data-driven insights into national infrastructure planning, aiming to create sustainable solutions that address economic, social, and environmental challenges.

The DoT acknowledges and extends gratitude to all participants and companies for their active engagement and contributions, which have laid the foundation for transformative advancements in digital solutions. /BI