The seventh edition of e-India, the country’s largest conference on information and communication technologies (ICT), will be held in Gandhinagar from December 14 to 16.
To be organised jointly by the Union Government’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Gujarat Government, in collaboration with Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, besides others, it will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, said Mr Ravi Saxena, Additional Chief Secretary, State Department of Science and Technology, and General Program Chair, at a press conference here on Friday.
The event is being co-organised by the Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Communications and IT, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS). This is the first time that this is being organised outside New Delhi or Hyderabad, where the conference was organised four times and twice, respectively, during the last six years.
Mr Saxena also said the Gujarat Government’s new IT policy will be announced next year, in tandem with the Centre’s IT policy.
About 4,000 participants, including bureaucrats, corporate leaders and experts, are expected to participate in the event in which three major thematic sessions on e-governance, education and health will have about 50 sub-sessions with 400 speakers. An exhibition showcasing products and services and e-India awards will be other attractions.
About one million votes have already been polled recommending the awards in various categories.
Mr Saxena said Nasscom had estimated that India’s ICT market is expected to grow from $50 billion now to $400 billion by 2018-19. With IT hubs such as Bangalore, Mumbai and others reaching a saturation point and stretched with infrastructure, Gujarat offered a better eco-system for evolution of the next Indian miracle in this space.
Mr Sunil Kakkar, Chairman and Managing Director, SIS Infosystems, which is platinum sponsor of the conference, said the event is being seen as the “mother of all IT events in India”. The small and medium industries (SMEs), which contribute to about half of all financial transactions in the country can derive immense benefits from it.