On 5th April 2017, a Japanese Delegation comprising Mr. Takahiro Ochi, Chief Manager Business Strategies Division Tokyo office, Mobile Create Co., Ltd; Mr. Chikahide Itoh, Managing Director, Future Electronics Co., Ltd and Mr. Kazuchika Oka, Mobile Create Co. Ltd. along with Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh Goindi, Managing Director Nippon Audiotronix Pvt. Ltd and Mr. Shailesh Jain, AGM-Business Development of Nippon Audiotronix Pvt. Ltd met with the local delegation comprising Mr. Aninda Chatterjee, Executive Director (Finance), Webel; Mr. Rajiv K Poddar, Co-Founder & CEO, Smartpower Automation; Mr. Biswadeep Biswas, KPMG; Mr. Rohit Sarkar, Distronix; Mr. Ashok Mukherjee, Sonodyne; Mr. Prasenjit Misra, Switching AVO Electro Power Ltd.; Mr. Abhishek Roy, Principal Consultant, SEMT and Mr. Partha Sarathi Biswas, Signotron.

The discussion was on new improved transportation solutions and the scope of application of intelligent technology to the transportation system in Kolkata/West Bengal. The meeting commenced with a presentation delivered by the Japanese team from Mobile Create which works for transport and business solutions. They spoke about their business case studies in Japan’s transportation system. As highlighted by the delegation, Mobile Create is a pioneer in launching IP-based PTT. Their other works include use of drones and other tools.

They discussed about OKICA transport system (OKICA or Okinawa IC Card is a ticket to travel on Okinawa's monorail (Yui Rail) and buses on cashless model). The technology also facilitates:

• tracking commuters (children and senior citizens) traveling alone through IC card (smart card) status

• paperless settlement of documents through central system

• locating a vehicle (here bus) – this gives accurate bus schedules to track buses for the commuters

It also includes several safety features including use of advanced technology to count number of travelers on each transport at a given point of time.

Following the presentation, the local delegates introduced themselves and their organizations and their expertise in bringing technological advancements in their respective fields. The discussion included viability of the Japanese technology in West Bengal. The practical challenges in adapting this technology were discussed in depth. Some important points discussed were the cost involved in adapting such a technology along with its durability under circumstances of a natural disaster.

In conclusion, the Japanese Delegation was requested to propose a pilot project to which Mr. Goindi added that further meetings and exchange of data would help to firm it up.