Enterprise networking major Cisco today announced that Jaipur city in Rajasthan will be the first Smart+Connected Community Lighthouse City in South Asia.

Jaipur will gain access to Cisco’s global network and channel program capabilities, and the city will also benefit from the economic and social transformation set to occur as the country embarks on the next phase of the Digital India program.

The Lighthouse City engagement will be enabled through a joint working group, which will focus on deploying next generation technologies to impact citizens and society.

With this announcement, Jaipur joins the league of Cisco Lighthouse Cities globally such as Hamburg in Germany, Barcelona in Spain and Adelaide in Australia.

The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has chosen to develop smart city infrastructures that will improve the efficiency and quality of services received by its 3.5 million residents and over 40 million tourists who visit the city every year.

Cisco in association with other technology leaders such as Qualcomm Technologies, General Electrical and 3M India announced the launch of the Innovation Centre in Jaipur. The Innovation Centre, housed and operated by Genpact, will accelerate co-innovation of Internet of Everything (IoE) based solutions.

Dinesh Malkani, president of Cisco India and SAARC, said: Jaipur, as a Lighthouse City, will showcase to the world what’s possible when city leaders and urban planners design and build 21st century cities connected by a digital infrastructure.”