GITEX gets under way

Thursday, 23 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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HYDERABAD: The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) of the Dubai World Trade Centre got under way Wednesday at the HITEX Complex, 20 km from here. More than 70 major information technology and communication companies from across the globe are taking part in the three-day event, which is being organized for the second successive year in this city. Union Minister for Information Technology and Communication Pramod Mahajan inaugurated the exhibition. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed attended the inaugural ceremony. GITEX provides a dedicated platform for the IT sector to launch new technologies. It showcases latest innovations and is expected to enhance interaction between various companies and professionals from around the world. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Naidu said after consolidating its position in the software industry, India should now focus on hardware, in which the country was very weak. He wanted the central government to bring down taxes on goods produced in the country. "The taxes on the goods produced in the country are so high that we get the imported goods at a much cheaper rate", he said. He also demanded simplification of the country's cumbersome customs procedures. Naidu also urged the centre to establish common standards of e-governance application for the entire country and create a national technology fund to promote IT and e-governance initiatives. "Having common standards for all the states will help in replicating the best applications of one state in all the states," he maintained. Naidu was all praise for the Duabi World Trade Centre for promoting GITEX as a major event in several countries and bringing this to Hyderabad to provide an effective business platform to the IT companies in the country. Omar Bin Sulieman, CEO of Duabi Internet City, lauded the government of Andhra Pradesh for developing world-class infrastructure facilities in Hyderabad to attract investments.
Source: IANS
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