The Convergence India 2017 expo and Internet of Things India 2017 expo (IoT India 2017) opened on Feb 8, celebrating the 25th anniversary of South Asia’s most influential and relevant trade event for the ICT, broadcast and digital media industries.
The expo runs through Friday, February 10, in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, where 635 companies are showcasing ground-breaking technologies and services with new product launches. Organized by the Exhibitions India Group, the event is supported by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Digital India campaign.
Inaugurating the event, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice PP Chaudhary said, “The Government is making concentrated efforts to ensure the last mile connectivity of broadband services across the country to make Internet available to all. Digital India will ensure that government services are available to Indian citizens at all times. Aadhar has given digital identity to 1.11 billion citizens, making it a unique project in the world. Under the Jan Dhan Yojana Scheme, 260 million bank accounts have been opened.”
While calling for private sector support, the Minister said, “Private sector support will uplift the Digital India initiative and help reach the bottom of the pyramid. Convergence India 2017 gives us the platform to showcase the initiative under this umbrella and provide opportunities for future collaboration. We welcome all your suggestions and recommendations.”
Guest of Honour at the event, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, said, “For the first time in the history of humanity, it is being demonstrated that we all are very strongly connected. Machines and technology enable this connection and empower human beings in all spheres of life. We are moving into an era of autonomous digital from passive digital, which was started in the 70s. But the most important factor is that in the midst of the technology evolution, people should be at the centre. ”
To nurture ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful startups, Prof. Sharma, said, “The Department of Science and Technology is bullish on innovations. DST runs 100 incubator programmes across the country, incubating 2000 start-ups and we plan to increase that to 5000 in the next three years. A new programme NIDHI (National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations), has been launched which offers seed funding of Rs. 1 crore. The Atal Innovation Mission has also been launched for the welfare of citizens.”
Under the theme of Digital India, the event gathers an influential audience, including governments, key ICT industry players, international organisations, pioneering thinkers, consultants, academia, media and emergent players.
The key players are responsible for enabling digital transformation and bringing to life smart technologies, products, services and the latest IoT innovations.