Tenth BangaloreIT.in '07 kicks off

BANGALORE, INDIA: The tenth edition of BangaloreIT.in, five-day IT and telecom annual event kicked off here today.

Inaugurating the Asia’s biggest IT and telecom event, Rameshwar Thakur, Governor of Karnataka said that the fundamentals of IT and communication have taken a firm foothold during the past decade or so. “In the coming decade too, ICT would be the driving force of economic growth and a prominent success story of the Indian Economy.”

“The IT industry in India provided direct employment to over 1.6 million people and over six million indirect employment opportunities. The IT industry in Karnataka alone provides direct employment to about half a million. It is undoubtedly clear that Karnataka is in the forefront in so far as IT sector is concerned,” Thakur said.

Since 1998, when the State hosted the first Bangalore IT event, the surge in the growth of IT in Karnataka has been phenomenal. The Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, and Belgaum are becoming alternatives hubs for IT operations, said Thakur.

Further he said that the state government has decided to set up five integrated townships around Bangalore. The first such township, coming up at Bidadi, would be dedicated to Knowledge sector. These integrated townships would end the need for travel to and from Bangalore city and will therefore reduce the growing pressure on transport infrastructure in Bangalore. “Several developers have also come forward to set up Special Economic Zones in the integrated townships,” added Thakur.

Speaking on the uniqueness of the event, Pradeep Gupta, CMD, CyberMedia group, said, the tenth edition sees speakers and panelists from over 75 national and international companies. “With over 18 parallel tracks, five keynote addresses and five power panel discussions, the conferences are expected to attract over 1000 delegates each day, with various ICT enterprises, SME’s and technocrats showing keen interest in the conferences”, said Gupta.

“Industry is taken a lead in organizing this year’s IT.in 2007. For the first time, entire event and conferences are held at single venue, which is wi-fi enabled. Over 125 companies are taking part in the event,” said Gupta.

During the inauguration, Deepak Patel, MD, MphasiS BFL Ltd, Jainender Singh, IAS, secretary, Department of IT, Ministry of IT and Communication, Government of India, and Debesh Das, Minister for IT, Government of West Bengal spoke on the occasion.

Delegations from Germany, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, Korea, Japan and UK amongst other countries are expected to participate in the five-day event.