Tech Olympics in Hyderabad to set vision of digital India

Hyderabad: The Pearl City is set to host two mega global technology events -- 26th edition of Nasscom India Leadership Forum (NILF) and the 22nd edition of the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT)-- concurrently from Monday.

The 3-day WCIT with a theme ‘Amplify Digital - Disrupt The Core,’ is being organised for the first time in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the summit through a video conference. Nasscom is hosting both the events in association with Telangana government. Both the events are scheduled to be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) here. 

Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao said: “We’re delighted to partner with Nasscom and WITSA to host two premier global technology events - WCIT and NILF at Hyderabad. Telangana is the hub for the technology and services sector in India and offers world class infrastructure, skilled talent, presence of all global and Indian MNCs and proactive government. I look forward to welcoming you to at the limited edition of NILF & WCIT 2018.”

Nasscom president R Chandrashekhar, said: “This is truly a special year for us, not only are we hosting NILF in collaboration with WITSA but are also working with the Telangana government to showcase the prowess of the technology industry.

It is an honour for us to be here in Hyderabad and hope that the next three days will witness fruitful discussions aimed at driving the vision of a digital India.” According to WCIT’s official page on Nasscom website, Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao are expected to address the three-day event. 

Nasscom will also be announcing various initiatives with the Telangana government and the Centre on the side-lines of the event. Further, the IT industry body will also share its Industry Review for FY 2018 on Tuesday That apart, Sophia the humanoid and recently received citizenship from Saudi Arabai, will be a star attraction. This will be Sophia’s second sojourn in the country, having attended the TechFest at the IIT Bombay late 2017. 

Who's who of the global IT industry will be participating in the events, according to a release. Navdeep Bains, the Indian-origin Canadian minister for innovation, science and economic development, Hans-Paul Bürkner, BCG chairman, national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, Adobe chairman Shantanu Narayen, leading Hindi actress Deepika Padukone and Sadhguru of Isha Foundation are among the speakers. At least 20 CEOs from Fortune-500 companies and 100 other top executives besides over 5,000 delegates are expected to attend the conference.