e Revolution 2005
June 14, 2005

On Tuesday, the 14th of June, 2005 the Department of Information Technology, NASSCOM, STPI, Chandigarh IT Club and CyberMedia Events held a joint media briefing on the forthcoming major conference in the city to be hosted on 15th and 16th July, 2005. This event called e - revolution is likely to be the first mega IT event of the City Beautiful.

The primary theme for this conference will be ICT: The new frontier for Business and Government. It highlights the partnership and collaboration between industry and government in various spheres of IT applications for social and economic progress. The Conference in mid-July will touch upon technology issues such as Networks, connectivity, Wireless solutions as well as people-related issues such as Change Management, Retraining, and Manpower Development.

The multi-lateral interaction between the various government agencies represented in strength at the Conference on the one hand, and industry majors on the other will be fruitful for business and regional growth.

e-revolution 2005 will be about attracting projects and investments to the region, and creating employment and export opportunities. The curtain-raiser is slated for the evening of the 14th July, and the proceedings of the next two days, viz. 15th and 16th July will cover the IT opportunities in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, with the first day earmarked for a NASSCOM-led session on business opportunities in the region.

Chandigarh is a leading e-governance city and winner of "GOLDEN ICON AWARD" 2005 for its e-Sampark project. It May also be recalled that Chandigarh has been adjudged as "A Leader in E-Readiness" in Assessment Report 2004 by Govt. of India.

The theme of the Conference holds interest for a wide spectrum of professionals and researchers as it concerns the deployment of ICT, which is making its tremendous impact on the processes of public administration. As the world's largest democracy, India is emerging as a successful model in e-governance and it is Chandigarh's special privilege to host e-revolution 2005.

e-revolution 2005 has the enthusiastic support of the TiE Chapter, the Chandigarh IT Club, PHDCC, Punjab Infotech, besides the Haryana state corporations and will also draw participation from the local academic fraternity and industry. Besides a galaxy of keynote speakers from government, industry and research bodies, there will be interactive sessions between ministers and industry participants.

Besides Expert Panel discussions, e-revolution 2005 will also create valuable opportunities at the famed Chandigarh Golf Course for informal exchanges. The participating technology and services providers will get a first-hand assessment of the merits of the host city as an operational base for their businesses. They can see all around them the young, capable and dynamic spirit in the city's ambience.

With participants from across the country and overseas, the conference is expected to flag off the ICT industry to virtually add a Sector to Chandigarh, already well known for its planned sectors. The meet will highlight the progress made in Punjab and Haryana in the IT sector and unveil the development agenda for the region which includes R & D centres and ITES facilities.

Briefing newspersons, Mr. S.K. Sandhu, IT Secretary of the Chandigarh Administration said, "e-revolution 2005 will be a unique forum in that it will bring together ideators and implementers, bureaucrats and business people, and it should result in an early and better realization of the potential of the infrastructure and manpower readily available here."

Located adjacent to the two fastest growing States in the country, Chandigarh has a reliable optic-fiber connectivity network, numerous scientific institutions, an advanced Chandigarh Technology Park and is already a preferred destination for the global IT industry. Besides sixty registered Software companies, there are thirty five ITES/BPOs in operation. With a well-spread base in quality education and students who comprise about a third of the population, the next step for the city is to become the Knowledge Hub for the region. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status of the Chandigarh Technology Park, the first SEZ in the IT sector, in the country, is likely to attract a large amount of interest at the event.

There are approximately 5000 IT professionals working in and around Chandigarh, and over two billion dollars of software exports in 2003-04 is a good indicator of its potential in the near future. The city's SPIC Centre also hosts the IBM Linux Development Centre for e-governance, and a Microsoft Centre for Excellence. It has proven credentials as a priority destination for R & D and ITES facilities.

e-revolution 2005 has been conceived by the Department of Information Technology as a regional showcase of IT advancements in both government and business sectors, and to foster working partnerships that will usher in common benefit.