Strong fundamentals fostering IT revolution: HDK

Bangalore, Oct 28: Strong fundamentals for fostering Information and communications technology and over a million highly talented IT professionals had led to the country commanding global attention in the sector, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said.

Delivering the inaugural address at the mega IT exposition 'Bangalore IT.in - 2006' here, he said Indian talent had attracted global attention so much that almost all of the Fortune 500 companies offshored from the country.

The ninth edition of the IT expo, projecting the city with the slogan 'Brand Bangalore is the Best', had attracted over 300 IT companies, including most of the top IT players in the world. Trade delegations from 14 countries, including Britain, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan and Germany, and 13 State Governments were taking part in the event.

The highlight of this year's event would be 'IP Zone' -- an effort to highlight the Intellectual Property products in the field of IT produced in India and the SME Forum in association with NASSCOM that focussed on issues being faced by Small and Medium Enterprises in the IT sector. The other highlights included Networking Dinner to be attended by CEOs of many of the world's leading IT companies, e-summit, HR in IT, CEO Conclave, Indian Semiconductor Association Round Table, Student Internet World and Awards Nite.

Mr Kumaraswamy said ''the spectacular IT growth story of India is led by Karnataka, in particular Bangalore, which has become a global brand by itself by any standards. Of the 23 billion US Dollar IT exports generated in the country during last fiscal, Karnataka contributed 8.3 billion Dollar.'' He said the State housed half of the 3,500 IT companies in the country, of which 1,600 were concentrated in Bangalore, now branded as Silicon Valley of Asia. Every week four companies set up shop in the garden city, while 40 per cent of the 1.3 million software professionals in India were employed in Bangalore, he added.

Mr Kumaraswamy said in view of the difficulties Bangalore citizens were facing in commuting, the Karnataka Government would set up five sector-specific cities around the city which would have integrated townships consisting of commercial, residential, shopping, entertainment and schooling sub-sectors to obviate the need for travel.

British High Commissioner in India Sir Michael Arthur, who was the guest of honour at the inaugural of the four-day event, said India and Britain had become strategic business partners following the rapidly changing business relationship between the two nations.

He said India would shortly become the second biggest investor in the UK after the US. Britain had been the third biggest investor in India. The two countries had embraced 'Knowledge Economy' to foster growth of mind power and had invested heavily in higher education.

The two countries had the professed objective of becoming world class knowledge economies.

''We have to fully recognise our strengths in R and D and the importance of generating Intellectual Property, an important theme of this year's IT.in. Britain wants to share the vitality of Bangalore IT.in which has proved to be a world beating success story. The UK is also very interested in the e-governance potential India had,'' the envoy added.

UNI