Chandigarh, September 22, 2011: Looking at the growth of the IT industry in the tricity area, one can safely owe it to the signature event of this region for the past seven years, eRevolution. Conceived by the Chandigarh Administration and partner states of Panjab and Haryana in 2005, eRevolution have brought some of the great minds and entrepreneurs together with the backing of Nasscom, TiE, Indian Angels Network, STPI, etc. eRevolution has stimulated IT industry’s growth in the region and encouraged entrepreneurship.
The 7th edition of this major IT event, eRevolution 2011 is scheduled for 23-24 September. The focus is on small and medium business in the region with an agenda for them to ‘grow big’.
The highlight of the event will be a on-the-spot clinic for the budding entrepreneurs to consult various players in the IT eco-system, whether it is the government, STPI, venture capitalists, or battery of successful IT honchos ready to share their expertise with them.
The two-days conference would be a must-attend event for those looking for opportunities in the IT sector, as well as the existing IT players in SMB sector to make them aware of various business opportunities opening up in new south east Asian, African, and eastern Europe markets, as well as across India.
Chandigarh Administration and the state Government of Punjab, who continue to support the mission to promote the region as a destination for knowledge-industry, would interact with SMBs to further develop a supportive ecosystem.
The event also intends to address the issues of HR practices, employee retention, and innovative policies.
2005
As a part of its endeavour to promote the tri-city region as a lucrative destination for IT majors, increase investment as well as employment opportunities in this region and to consolidate its position on the IT map of India, the Chandigarh Administration, in association with the governments of Punjab and Haryana, organized the first of its kind annual IT conclave “eRevolution” in the year 2005.
Featuring “ICT: The New Frontiers for Business and Government” as the theme, the event provided a platform to over 300 delegates from across the country to converge and assess the city’s viability as an IT destination.
Corporates were offered incentives to set up base in this region and Quark City, a 51-acre, multi-use development located in the district of Mohali, that includes a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was developed with world class infrastructural facilities.
In order to take the benefits of IT to the grass root level, Over 7.5 lakh students in 1300 schools in the rural and semi-urban areas were imparted computer education.
2006
The second IT conclave organized in 2006 with the theme “Creating value in the business ecosystem” focused on carving a state level roadmap and business opportunities under the National E-Governance Plan (NEGP).
During 2006, the administration took several steps to increase the employability potential of manpower in the region by imparting vocational skills. For instance, it embarked upon computer interactive programmes in 80 government schools with infrastructural support from Infosys and Wipro. A key highlight of these programmes was Chandigarh Training on Soft Skills or C-Toss which was launched to create a pool of BPO professionals and it spanned not only in schools and colleges but in institutions across Punjab, Haryana and HP.
With the aim of narrowing the digital divide, the Chandigarh administration launched “Chandigarh-IT reach out” programme in 17 villages. To facilitate citizen-government interaction, 8 e-Sampark centres were functionalized in 2006. The same year e-Jansampark and Mobile- Sampark were also launched with the same objective.
Land records in Punjab and Haryana were computerized and to enable people to access their computerized land records, transport information and other property related details, “IT Suvidha Centers” were established in 17 districts and 54 sub-divisions.
Air-Deccan, a no frills airline, was roped in to enhance air-connectivity in the region, with the result that today three flights from Chandigarh to Delhi are operational daily. IT networked radio taxis were also introduced to ensure better connectivity.
Besides setting up of the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park, the administration also took steps to bring in a battery of IT companies like IBM Daksh, Wipro, Infosys, Dell, SAP, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Tele-Ventures etc. The efforts of the Chandigarh Administration helped Phase-I of the Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park (RGCTP) earn the status of Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The same year the Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC) was envisioned as a support system for the IT Park and for enhancing software exports from the region. The idea of setting up incubation centers to assist young entrepreneurs in setting up businesses by providing shelf space or space with plug-n-play facility at the building was also conceived.
Work was undertaken to set up flyovers, mass transit system, WIMAX facility, Olympic size swimming pool and three artificial lakes.
2007
With a view to develop the northern region into an R&D hub, foster development of sophisticated technology, promote innovation and build strategies for ensuring performance, the third annual IT conclave was organized in 2007 on the theme, “ Achieving excellence through a 360 degree approach”.
In 2007 itself, the administration promptly undertook various e-governance initiatives and under National e-Governance Plan (NEGP), seven key departments of UT including planning, estate office, transport, electricity, municipal corporation, education and health were computerized and their business processes re-engineered.
The last IT conclave, “e-Revolution 2006” had highlighted issues regarding the grave supply gap in skilled manpower for the IT Industry, in response to which, the Administration got its talent pool revaluated from Hewitt Associates and revamped the C-Toss system for schools and colleges.
10 Jan Sampark centers were functionalized to facilitate free access to various government services for citizens. To empower people from rural areas, Gram Sampark centres were set up in villages like Khuda Jassu, Dhanas, Kaimbwala and Raipur Khurd.
2008
“The changing landscape-Creating new trends and opportunities” was the theme for the fourth IT conclave organized in 2008 in the city, the year which saw the administration endeavour to improve the quality of basic governance by making all services and welfare schemes accessible and fulfill its commitment to the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).
Cyber Security Centre equipped with research and training facility, was set up at the EDC in collaboration with NASSCOM to detect cases of cyber crime, train police officers in basics of IT and ethical hacking, do advanced cyber forensic and have a call centre for reportage of cyber crimes.
The same year, Modern Terminal Market, Education City and Medicity were also set up to contribute in bringing about transformations that would stimulate IT growth in the city.
The administration also put together a stronger e-governance system to create an environment of trust and to make sure that the bureaucracy acted as a facilitator and not inhibitor in the overall framework of progress.
Due to the various initiatives undertaken by the Chandigarh administration, the export of IT and enabled services registered a steady growth. In 2008-09, STPI estimated a growth of 32 percent in the total value of software and services exports from the Chandigarh region. In 2008-09, the combined software exports were Rs. 1100 crore with Rs. 900 crore from STPI units and Rs. 200 crore from SEZs.
The fact that besides earning foreign exchange, the software industry in the region has given direct employment to about 12, 000 professionals, is a great achievement in itself.
Apart from investments in Chandigarh, Mohali also witnessed huge investments. Rs. 4000 crores were pumped into various projects like setting up of the World Trade Centre (WTC), Knowledge City housing institutes of national repute, Fashion Technology Park (FTP), Integrated Sports Complex (ISC), Metro Rail, Expressways, fully air conditioned interstate bus terminus cum commercial complex, world class habitat centre and a chain of international hotels and restaurants.
2009
With the aim of catalyzing inclusive growth through ICT enabled solutions in healthcare, education, financial services and public services, the fifth IT conclave, eRevolution 2009 was organized on the theme, “Transforming Region: Harnessing Technology for Inclusive Growth
Implementation of the Passport Sewa Project by October 2009 in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was announced during the conclave. Under this ambitious 1000 crore project, passports would be issued in three working days and under the ‘Tatkal’ scheme, on the same day.
The e-Samapark and e-Jan Sampark Centres established by the UT administration have already provided 28 public utility services, and collected about Rs. 2500 crore government revenue in nearly 75 lakh transactions since their inception in September 2004.
The education city with provision for 16 centres of excellence, the brain child of the UT administration, is aimed at empowering the masses. Similarly, the new IIT in Roopnagar, Knowledge City and Convention Centre in Mohali are examples of the pro-active initiatives taken by the administration to develop world class infrastructure and human resources in the region.
Tech Mahindra, the IT arm of Mahindra and Mahindra group has also opened its fifth centre at Chandigarh. The 10 acre facility would focus on providing end to end customer service to global telecom service providers. Equipped with world class facility and state of the art infrastructure, the new centre will cater to both international and domestic clients. Once it starts running, 5000 professionals from the tricity area will get employment.
2010
The future is coming faster than you think. How future ready is your organization or local government? What it takes for government and organization (large, small and emerging) to transform to meet the future growth? How to address new sector and market for ?
OK, the future is here. What is the NEW normal and what are customer expectations? These expectations are not driven by what libraries want to provide or tradition. They are driven by the new ecology of the web and big players like Facebook, Bing, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon, Google and more.
Is your solution ready? Are you offering both "hot" and "cool" information delivery? Are you paying as much attention to the experience of the information as you do to the transactions? What is your experience strategy? How do your community conversations evolve? Can you audit your community relationships?
Are you meeting your client and user expectations? Will your information/solution thrive in the 3.0 world? What adaptations will you need to make to thrive in future scenarios. How can we afford these changes?
Building organizations or government can be quite a misnomer when we talk about some of the ideas that come out from the organization or government. If anything, some of the biggest and brightest ideas have known to emerge from here. Getting “Future Ready” is an advantage for organizations or or departments within governments which are small and emerging. They have the advantage of being nimble-footed, which helps them in quick decision making and execution. The challenges they face are quite different from those in larger organizations. It is more about funding, sales and getting the right people on board and retaining them. It is about preparing ourselves for the future opportunities through
Collaboration to accelerate the availability of useful information;
An adaptable skill set that anticipates and responds to the evolving marketplace;
Alignment with the language and values of the community you serve and
Building a community that connects stakeholders in mutually beneficial relationships
As recent studies indicate, a significant portion of future growth will come from small and medium organizations, paving the way for new ideas. Being an entrepreneur and a dreamer sounds very exciting for young minds and for those who want to foray into the uncharted territories. However, it would be wise to pause awhile and also consider some of the challenges that need to be overcome.
Chandigarh and region has emerged as one of the most preferred destinations for ICT companies in the country. It is seen as an idyllic business city especially since it boasts of an excellent quality of life, huge base of human resources, with many engineering colleges in and around the city at all levels: regional, state, and polytechnics, and to top it all - proactive policies of the local governments which are conducive to such investment.
There has been a conscious effort by the local government to promote Chandigarh and region in the Knowledge Sector and the city has seen a rapid increase in activities in the field of financial services, IT Services, Insurance Services, Hospitality, Health and Education services.
“Building Future Ready Organizations and Governments for a New India” is an annual event, to be held in Chandigarh and will look at how IT SME companies will evolve and dissect some of the business models to show direction for others to follow.
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