Arjun Ram Meghwal Inaugurates 3-Day Event
Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, (Independent Charge), Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal said that India has entered into an exciting stage of information technology, wherein tools like Artificial Intelligence, robotics, blockchain etc. are transforming India’s development agenda.
While inaugurating the 24th edition of IndiaSoft and 9th edition of India Electronics Expo organized by Electronic and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) today in New Delhi, the minister said: “every segment of the Indian economy is moving towards digitization in all avenues including in the domain of legal affairs, transforming the country into a digital behemoth,” adding that the process would continue unabated and would transform boundaries into opportunities.
The events – Indiasoft and the India Electronics Expo are being attended by 600 foreign delegates from 70 countries. Over 1500 exhibitors from India and abroad are participating in the collocated shows being held in the state-of-the-art exhibition hall at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The show will continue till 19th January.
The Minister also said that forums like IndiaSoft and India Electronics Expo should not only pave the way for networking among IT professionals and entrepreneurs, but pool their minds to strategize how IT technology should lead to more inclusive growth.
Addressing the events Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, said that the progress achieved by India in the ICT sector was trailblazing and a few countries could emulate that pace of growth, particularly in the Fintech sector. Over 70% of India’s population of 1 .4 billion has an internet connection and transact digitally. The number of people using smartphones is also increasing phenomenally. “By 2047, India’s GDP is going to increase to US$7 billion and the country would be joining the ranks of the developed world, which will be a major milestone in the development path of the nation;” she said, adding that the progress India achieved in the last decade was phenomenal by all standards.
Deputy Minister of Communications Cuba Eng. Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal invited Indian IT companies to invest in his country to be a partner in the mind-boggling investment opportunities both in the software and hardware segments. He also referred to the ICT show being held in Cuba in March this year and invited India to participate in large numbers.
Earlier welcoming the delegates, Shri Sandeep Narula, Chairman, ESC described the advantages of holding software and hardware shows together since that would lead to innovations in the embedded technology segment, where the future global market lay.
The ESC Chairman also laid emphasis on technology challenges before the country and said that with the support and patronage the ICT industry receiving from the Government of India and the states for the Indian ICT sector, the sector is poised to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Arvind Kumar, Director General STPI while addressing the delegates said that centers of excellence set up by STPI are training entrepreneurs in tier 2 and 3 cities to move up in the value chain. This type of intensive orientation, he said, would lead to the next wave of startup revolution and adoption of deep tech technologies like AI, robotics etc.
Shri Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director, said that every passing edition of IndiaSoft and Electronic Show brought more opportunities to the participants and the businesses transactions during the show had gone up incrementally.
Shri Abhijeet Agrawal, MD, MPSEDC has given a presentation about the ICT investment opportunities in the state of Madhya Pradesh and various incentives including curated packages for large investments. There were also presentations from the Government of Bihar, which also laid emphasis on investment opportunities.
