The Government of India has awarded Honeywell Automation India Limited the Rs 496.57 crore ($67 million) Bengaluru Safe City project through the Nirbhaya Fund. The project, which is a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) initiative, strives to establish a safe, secure, and empowering atmosphere in public spaces for women and girls, allowing them to pursue all opportunities without fear of gender-based violence or harassment.

Honeywell will build an integrated Command & Control Centre to oversee a cutting-edge video system with over 7,000 cameras in over 3,000 places throughout the city. Advanced video analytics, such as facial recognition, a "Dial 100" application, and drones, will be provided via the video system.

Honeywell will also upgrade the city police's existing Suraksha app to boost incident response time and citizen involvement. The Safe City initiative in Bengaluru will be executed in stages. For the next five years, Honeywell will run and maintain the security infrastructure.

“We are honoured to be selected for the Bengaluru Safe City project to address a key concern to improve the safety of its citizens, especially women and girls,” said Ashish Gaikwad, President, Honeywell India, and Managing Director, HONAUT. “For more than 30 years, Honeywell has supported India’s growth with differentiated technologies, working to make our cities safer, smarter and more connected.”

Bengaluru is one of eight cities chosen for the Safe City project, which entails identifying hotspots for crimes against women and deploying infrastructure and technology through education and awareness campaigns.

“In India, we have been a strong partner to the Government’s 100 Smart Cities Mission, with focus on people, process and technology.

Our technology-led integrator approach is helping city administrators make informed decisions and improve safety for citizens in near real time. We want to now deliver this for Bengaluru, to turn it into a city that’s safer and more resilient,” said Ashish Modi, President, Honeywell Building Technologies, Asia.

Honeywell has completed similar projects in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat as part of the Smart Cities Mission.

Honeywell International Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an American publicly listed global conglomerate firm. Aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies, and safety and productivity solutions are the four main areas of business for the company.