The 24th Convergence India 2016 Expo, with the Theme ‘Digital India,’ Opens with 434 Exhibitors from 29 Countries

New Delhi, Delhi, India:

India has emerged as one of the most promising markets for IT and Telecommunications companies, with initiatives such as Digital India, Make-in-India and Made-in-India propelling growth and encouraging major tech companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Google, who are preparing to serve the Indian rural market.

India is in the midst of a digital revolution, and the government has unveiled new policies and regulations to accelerate the adoption of ICT in key economic and strategic sectors to increase India’s competitiveness and productivity.

Facilitating the Prime Minister’s vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered economy, the 24^th edition of South Asia’s Largest ICT, Broadcast and Digital Media expo opened today at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Present during the inaugural ceremony was one of the most respected names in the telecom industry, Mr.  Akhil Gupta, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, who said: “The Indian ICT sector has entered an exciting growth phase led by the proliferation of digital media and technologies. With over one billion mobile connections, the country’s transformation into a digital economy will be driven by mobile broadband, which will help hundreds of millions of Indians benefit by connecting to the internet. The industry remains committed to the Government’s Digital India vision and I wish the organisers and participants at Convergence India 2016, a successful event.”

Mr Kiran Karnik, Chairman, CII National Committee on Telecom & Broadband, India who was moderating the inaugural conference session on “Digital India” said: I am delighted that Convergence India has organised a session on Digital India, the panellist comprised of  eminent names who bought a unique and different perspective on the various issues involved. The result was an excellent session which provided many insights and useful suggestions.”

Keynote speaker at the Convergence India forum, Mr Pradip Baijal, Former Secretary, Government of India and Former Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said: “Today’s India and Indians want to be informed and connected 24X7, hence mobile broadband. India has very poor fixed-line teledensity and fixed broadband density. Of 7 billion mobiles in the world, 3.5 billion have been converted to mobile broadband. In India, less than 10% of mobiles have been converted to mobile broadband. This needs correction, and I hope the conference will deliberate on this.”

Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Group said: “Our endeavour is to bring to the forefront an extraordinary platform which is informative, thought provoking and empowers both government and industry stakeholders to meet the challenges of the future.”

Participating exhibitors include: Appear TV, Cisco Systems, Elemental Technologies, Ericsson, NAGRA, RiverSilica, SanDisk India and Telenor, among others, who are using the Convergence India platform to showcase cutting-edge technologies and innovations.

Apart from the exhibition arena, concurrent conference sessions are being held in two separate halls with prominent government officials, industry leaders, technocrats, academia, media, etc.

Eminent speakers included Mr. R.S. Sharma, Chairman, TRAI, India; Mr Kiran Karnik, Chairman, CII National Committee on Telecom & Broadband, India; Mr. Rajiv Kapur, Managing Director, Broadcom, India; Mr. Sanjay Kaul, Managing Director – Service Provider Business, Cisco, India and SAARC; Mr. Sharad Mehrotra, CEO, Telenor, India; Mr. Pankaj Mohindroo, National President, ICA, India; Mr. Devender Singh Rawat , Managing Director and CEO, Bharti Infratel Ltd., India; Mr. Syed Safawi, CEO, Viom Networks Ltd., India among others.

Organized by the Exhibitions India Group, 24^th Convergence India is supported by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Highlights of the Show