Nasscom Foundation set up to promote IT

NEW DELHI: Nasscom, the apex industry association of IT Software and Service
companies in India, has announced the establishment of the Nasscom Foundation.

The foundation has been set up with the primary objective of bringing the
benefits of IT to the masses and will focus on initiating special projects,
research activities and allocating funds for promoting IT projects in India.

Coinciding with the late Nasscom president Dewang Mehta's birthday today, the
association donated Rs 1 crore towards the setting up of an institution in
Gujarat. Nasscom will donate Rs 3 crore as corpus to the Nasscom Foundation.

With this corpus, the foundation will work with IT firms in India, NRIs,
government bodies and other leading international bodies to further enhance the
activities of the foundation.

The other members of the Nasscom Foundation Committee will include past
chairman of Nasscom Harish Mehta, Ashank Desai, and Phiroz Vandrevala, serving
chairman. Nasscom Foundation's activities will primarily focus on the following:
Promoting IT education, Internet adoption, IT and women, IT empowerment for the
underprivileged, IT innovation, entrepreneur and e-governance.

Speaking on the occasion, Nasscom chairman Phiroz Vandrevala said, "The
need has arisen for the IT revolution to reach the grassroots and the inception
of the Nasscom Foundation is part of our effort to use IT to bridge the digital
divide. Some of the key activities of this foundation will be dedicated in the
memory of the late Dewang Mehta as a tribute to his contribution towards the IT
industry."

"We have also announced special scholarships in the name of Dewang Mehta
for the disabled and mentally handicapped children," he added.