Nasscom to host condolence meet tomorrow

CNS/CIOL Bureau

A visibly shocked IT industry, is slowly coming to terms with the untimely

death of Nasscom chief Dewang Mehta. A cross-section of those interviewed

expressed deep anguish over the sudden demise of this one-man lobbyist who

taught India, the art of liaisoning with the government for the common interest

of an industry.

Dewang who was in Sydney along with Pramod Mahajan, India's Minister of

Information Technology and was leading a high-powered business delegation to

Australia, died of a massive heart attack on Thursday.

Paying rich tributes to the departed soul, Nasscom chairman Phiroz Vandrevala

said: " In these moments of grief and challenge, we pray to God that his

soul may rest in peace. As a tribute to Dewang's dedication and contribution to

the Indian IT Industry, we pledge to carry on in the great tradition of quality

and innovations in all that we do."

Wipro Technologies CEO Sudip Banerjee said: "We are saddened to hear the

untimely demise of Dewang Mehta. Moving into software industry, he quickly

understood the nuances of the business. He helped in formulating several

policies and thought of ideas that helped the Indian software industry to grow

from strength to strength. Dewang succeeded in projecting the capability of the

software industry to the policy makers. A die-hard campaigner against piracy, he

worked closely with Business Software Alliance, organizing seminars and

educating the public at large."

MindTree Consulting vice chairman and COO Subroto Bagchi said: "It is a

great loss to the IT industry. The death comes at a time when the Indian

software industry needed a confident spokesperson like him." Karnataka's IT

Minister MM Nanaiah said: "We are deeply hurt by his demise. He was

instrumental in lifting the Indian software industry to what it is fo today. It

will be a fitting tribute if we continue his works and efforts."

"The passion with which he carried on with his job was commendable. He

was the best spokesperson the industry had had till now," Summit Infotech

MD Rakesh Kapoor said. This is also a great personal loss for me, since happened

to be a close friend. His loss will be greatly felt by the industry particularly

at this time of recession, Selectronic Equipment president Veer Sagar said.

The body will be flown from Sydney on April 14 in the evening. A condolence

meet will be held at New Delhi’s Talkatora Indoor Stadium between 7:30am to

9:30am on April 15. The body will then be consigned to the flames at 10:30 am at

Nizzamuddin crematorium (opposite Electronic Niketan).