Punjab minister for cooperation between states in IT sector

Chandigarh, July 25 (UNI) The development of IT in this region is based on cooperation amongst states instead of competition, Punjab IT minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon said here today.

Mr Kairon alongwith the senior officers of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh Administration and STPI made these observations while announcing the mega IT event, eRevolution 2007 being held On August 2-3 here.

Mr Manjit Brar, Director IT, Chandigarh, said that e-Revolution had emerged as an important annual mega event for the IT industry in the country, that has not only helped in showcasing the IT capabilities of the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohail and Panchukla, but has also provided opportunity to the local entrepreneurs to network with the industry leaders.

The IT conclave this year shall address the theme of "Achieving Excellence through a 360 degree Approach" on the first day under the aegis of NASSCOM, while on the second day the theme of "Entrepreneur: Innovation is the Future" shall be spearheaded by Band of Angels.

The two day event shall provide a platform to the companies in the region to discuss issues of performance management, share best practices and develop strategies for ensuring performance excellence. The Chandigarh Administration and the state governments of Haryana and Panjab along with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) are the major partners of this event.

The other partnets include NASSCOM, Band of Angels, The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE), Indian Venture Capital Association, along with Chandigarh IT Club, and Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC) as associates.

This is a unique platform for all the three governments to address the common agenda, 'creating value in the business eco-system for IT-ITES industry' as well as to discuss the challenges that the governments face in their e-Governance initiatives, Mr S K Sandhu, Secretary IT and Finance, UT Administration said.

Mr V S Kundu, Director IT Haryana and Managing Director, HARTRON, informed that Haryana continues to be the third largest exporter of softwares in the country and major infrastructural developments have been planned to graduate to the 'Leader in IT' from the current status of 'aspiring leader'. He said major thrust is on upgrading the education system in the state through satellite and enhancement of softskills, besides facilitating growth of IT sector in this part of Haryana around Chandigarh.

Mr R K Verma, Director IT, Punjab, and Managing Director Panjab Infotech, informed that much headway had been achieved to develop the entire Mohali district as IT hub. The state has already shown promising growth in the software exports, he added.

Dr Sanjay Tyagi, Additional Director STPI disclosed that the last financial year had seen the growth of SMEs in the region with exports touching Rs 594 crore in FY05-06, recording a 40 per cent growth in exports.

UNI