Metaverse in Mumbai Showcasing India’s Infrastructure Innovations
Mumbai, the financial hub of India, has launched an innovative metaverse project to showcase the city’s infrastructure developments. The Mumbai Metropolis Metaverse offers 3D and virtual reality experiences of ongoing and future projects in and around the bustling city. This initiative aims to provide a virtual tour of the city’s infrastructural advancements, including newly opened roads that span the Arabian Sea, underground and undersea tunnels for intra-city travel, and other significant megaprojects.
The metaverse project was introduced by the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, on February 19. Using the social media platform X, Fadnavis invited global users to explore Mumbai’s transformation. The project is accessible through its website and downloadable apps on Google and Apple app stores, allowing residents to virtually track the progress of these significant projects that impact their daily lives.
Fadnavis expressed his ambition to enhance Mumbai’s transport efficiency beyond that of other major cities in India, such as Bengaluru, Delhi, and Chennai, within the next five years. The metaverse app aims to present these advancements in an engaging and interactive manner, with the goal of enabling city-wide travel within 60 minutes.
The metaverse project will highlight 12 key projects, including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Corridor and the Mumbai Metro, among others. This signifies a pivotal shift in redefining Mumbai’s urban landscape.
India has already seen innovations in the metaverse space within the private sector. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, a leading automobile manufacturer, has unveiled ArenaVerse, a metaverse platform designed for its Arena showroom network. This platform allows users to interact with Maruti Suzuki vehicles in a virtual environment, offering a dynamic and immersive customer experience.
Another metaverse platform called Taki, powered by Web3 tokens, has entered its beta phase. This platform promises to reward content creators and users with $TAKI tokens for their engagement.
In addition to these developments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is exploring offline functionalities for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee. This initiative aims to facilitate transactions in areas with limited internet connectivity. The RBI’s focus on blockchain technology is further demonstrated by the National Payments Corporation Of India’s recruitment drive for blockchain specialists, indicating a broader commitment to incorporating blockchain solutions in financial technologies.
Overall, Mumbai’s metaverse initiative, along with other metaverse developments in India, showcases the country’s growing interest in virtual engagement and its commitment to technological advancements.
