'Smart City project may boost number of WTC towers in India'

The ripples from India's start-up wave, and the smart-city initiative, have reached the World Trade Centre Association (WTCA), which helps business seated out of WTC Towers across the world. The association says it now wants in on the action in India, reports CNBC-TV18's Rukmini Rao and Arundathi Ramanan. The World Trade Centre (WTC) is a premier office address for any organisation - and Indian start-ups may soon find their names on the doors..Scott Ferguson CEO of  World Trade Centre Association, says, "Each market can be different but I know that there's a healthy start-up discussion happening around the globe. I think the WTC association is positioned well to be a part of that conversation because we are a network and a platform and when you have got smaller organizations and innovators and disrupters coming up with new products and ideas, they at some point need a vehicle to connect with the rest of the world and I think the network can play that role." Getting a World Trade Centre tag for a building is not easy. The WTC Association is pretty selective about giving out licences that let a building or tower bear the WTC name. However applications from India have been pouring in, and getting a warm reception.As things stand, WTC has rolled out 26 licenses in India. This includes smaller metros like Jaipur, Vadodara, Chandigarh and Faridabad. Of these 26 licenses, 7 have been fully activated.With the Narendra Modi government's smart-city initiative kicking into high gear, the WTCA is bracing for a lot more applications, as more cities look to house a World Trade Centre within their borders."Any time there's a city that's engaged in invading and investing and developing, that's an opportunity for us. Smart cities as a brand, that's very exciting, by its nature. So it would be nice to develop a strategy aligned directly with smart cities. We haven't done that yet but that's a possibility for the future", says Ferguson. India is already the third biggest market for the WTCA, after the US and China. As start-up India blossoms and the smart-city wave gathers momentum, the WTCA says it will not be surprised if India soon overtakes China, when it comes to the number of licenses being granted.