Telangana government and NASSCOM\'s WCIT 2018 event in Hyderabad to focus on digital empowerment

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) recently announced that the Government of Telangana and NASSCOM have jointly selected Hyderabad to host the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in the year 2018.

This is the first time that the prestigious global event will be held in India. WCIT will present a great opportunity to position Hyderabad as a global platform for trade and investments from organizations across the world.

Around 16,000 Indian firms from IT-BPM industry are present globally, which contribute 55 per cent in the global sourcing market and have 7.5 per cent contribution towards country's GDP. These firms employ over 10 million people and generate almost $118 billion in revenues globally.   

The WCIT will bring together world's leading thought leaders, including business delegations from amongst the 80 countries that WITSA represents globally. The representatives include companies keen to do business in India, along with government functionaries and innovation driven academia. WCIT will additionally provide the State an ideal audience including global decision makers who would be participating at the event and making relevant trade and investment decisions.

NASSCOM has also sought support from the government of India and we are hopeful that they will join hands with us in hosting this event.

Sharing his views on the development, R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM, said, "We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to Co-Host WCIT 2018 along with the Government of Telangana. Hyderabad has been the pioneer of the illustrious ICT success journey of India. Over the years, Hyderabad has established itself as one of the most attractive investment destination for the ITeS sector and has created quantifiable economic impact for the country. With the WCIT 2018, we aim to focus on digital empowerment to define new paradigms for emerging verticals and build a conducive ecosystem for growth."

Expressing his views, KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Government of Telangana said, "India has made a mark globally and the Indian ITeS industry has helped it create a niche for itself on the global landscape. The WCIT will add another illustrious milestone to this journey. We are thankful to NASSCOM to bring WCIT to India and select Hyderabad to host this prestigious confluence of global technology leaders. We consider Telangana as the 'Start-up' State of India, as we are the youngest state, but we  assures complete cooperation and commitment to make this a successful event. We are sure that WCIT will help the world, view Telangana and Hyderabad from a new perspective."

The WCIT will also lay a huge focus on organising B2B business events with business delegations from across the world. On the innovation front, this will help attract VC funding and provide support for innovation driven early stage technology companies in the state.

WITSA is a consortium of over 80 ICT industry associations from economies around the world, representing more than 90 per cent of the international ICT market. It is the global voice of the ICT industry and over the years NASSCOM has represented India at the WITSA.

The WCIT 2018 will be an international high level congress that would bring together more than 50 exhibitors and up to 2,500 delegates from around 80 countries - such as Corporate leaders, Policymakers, Government officials and Academia Members to discuss emerging issues on ICTs, and address how legal, political, and economic trends affect business models.