Confed-ITA mulls pan-India presence

CHENNAI, INDIA: Confederation of IT Associations (Confed-ITA), the general body working for the welfare of IT associations across Tamil Nadu has expressed its desire to spread its wings in the North.

“We are happy to announce that Confed-ITA is likely to partner with associations in the North within a few months time. The associations there have shown keen interest to be a part of Confed-ITA,” informed S Karthikeyan, President, Confed-ITA.

So far, associations in North India such as Bhopal, Indore, Lucknow and Chhattisgarh have shown interest to join Confed-ITA. “We have spoken to the associations and are just waiting for feedback from the members of the associations and would take it forward from there,” claimed PN Prasad, VP, Confed-ITA. He also said that Confed-ITA can become a national body only step-by-step. “We should integrate each state first and only then can we become a national body. We have initiated a step and hope that the national integration will happen soon,” Prasad claimed.

About including the associations from Andhra, Karnataka and Kerala in Confed-ITA, Karthikeyan averred, “We want to include the associations from our neighboring states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala in Confed-ITA to make it pan-India.

I am inviting our neighboring associations to become a part of Confed-ITA.” He also said that there would be good communication among the channel community if these associations become a part of Confed-ITA. “I am not inviting associations to take up issues but this would be a good platform for communicating with each other. First we can share our thoughts with each other and then we can take things forward,” Karthikeyan claimed. It may be noted that Confed-ITA has a 700-member Yahoo group, where discussion between members happen on a daily basis.

When contacted, a few big associations across South India showed mixed response towards Confed-ITA’s invitation. Malabar IT Dealers Association (MITDA) welcomed Confed-ITA’s invitation. “We welcome their decision and definitely look forward to joining hands with Confed-ITA,” informed M Vinod Kumar, President, MITDA. On the other hand, All Kerala Computer Manufacturers and Dealers Association (AKMADA) President PK Harikrishna informed that their association wasn’t interested in joining Confed-ITA. “Our perceptions differ from Confed-ITA’s.

We are regularly in touch with Confed-ITA and their executive members and we would like to support them in every way. But we can’t officially be a part of Confed-ITA due to various reasons,” said Harikrishnan. JB Singh, President, Twin Cities Computer Dealers Association, Hyderabad claimed that they would be a part of Confed-ITA if all other southern associations would join Confed-ITA, else he claimed that their joining would be meaning less.

However, R Sridhar, Secretary, Association for Information Technology (AIT), Bangalore claimed that joining Confed-ITA wasn’t possible for AIT due to certain reasons. “Local issues can only be resolved locally and there aren’t many national issues. Moreover, a national confederation is possible only if we have certain policies and necessity in place. We don’t foresee the need for a national confederation at this point in time,” Sridhar claimed.