Communication Minister Manoj Sinha said that machine to machine communication (M2M) and the internet of things (IoT) have the potential to transform the lives of the people by changing the way of interaction with the physical world around.<br />''<br />''The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of a day long conference organised by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre, TEC, in New Delhi today.<br />''<br />''M2M and IoT communication are being used in a large number of applications, across a number of verticles, involving automotives, power, remote health care, safety and surveillance, smart homes, waste management, and water management. Each of these verticles is relevant to the design and planning of smart cities.<br />''<br />''After releasing two technical reports by TEC, Mr Sinha said, these reports will help in the organised and disciplined growth of M2M and IoT in the country.<br />''<br />''The conference held deliberation on important issues like IoT enabling smart cities infrastructure verticles and role of IoT in smart cities design and planning.