ASSOCHAM, DST & KDEM presents The 2nd Edition of SMARTecIndia2021, Asia’s largest Smart Technology Global Convention

• Set to boost a global dialogue on strengthening the policy framework and international business potentials 
• Guest of Honour Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, and Minister for Higher Education, Skill Development, Government of Karnataka addressed the dignitaries on Bangalore’s tech advancements
• Global congregation of 12 smart technology sectors including State of Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry, Japan External Trade Organisation, World Health Organisation, Wipro GE, IBM, PTC, DRDO, Hero Electric Vehicles, NASSCOM

Bengaluru, December 03, 2021:  The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), the apex association of the country, in association with Department of Science & Technology of India, GoI, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) has announced the 2nd edition of its unique digital platform – SMARTecIndia 2021 from December 3 – 15, 2021. The 12-day event is set to reach out to the industry at an international level and showcase the strengths, growth, and potential of the Indian Industry on a global platform. In a bid to provide a necessary boost to the smart technologies sector and boost global dialogue on strengthening the policy framework, international business potentials, etc. ASSOCHAM, DST& KDEM has joined hands to make a mark in the global smart technology ecosystem.

The event converged around the vision of recognizing the significance of smart technology in businesses and lives post-pandemic, the largest Smart Technology Convention platform in Asia was inaugurated at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru by a welcome address from Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM).

The Guest of Honour Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister for Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, addressed the audience on Bangalore being the Gateway in Global Tech Advancements along with the state’s contribution to the country’s digital economy and growth.

Among others to address the inaugural session of this prestigious event were Ms. Sindhu Gangadharan, SVP & MD, SAP Labs India & Head, AP User Enablement, Mr. Rajesh Agrawal, Hon’ble Deputy Mayor of London for Business, UK, Mr. Takashi Suzuki, Director General, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India.

Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister of Electronics, IT, BT, and S&T, and minister for Higher Education, Skill Development, Government of Karnataka  said “I welcome ASSOCHAM and SMARTecIndia Initiative to Bengaluru with a promise of wholeheartedly supporting their vision and contribution to the growth of the digital industry. The optimistic attitude of the world towards India is very encouraging and Karnataka has a huge role to play in this development. Under the Hon’ble Prime Miniter’s able guidance and leadership, we are very happy to create and promote a platform for  technology and the role it has played across indsutries, especially in education, finance. The pandemic presented us with a unique opportunity and I am proud to say that Karnataka was at the helm of upskilling and bridging the gap by adopting technology effectively. I believe that in order to connect with the society, system, industry alike, education and technology plays a huge role and a robust system has helped us navigate through these trying times despite geographical limitations, language barriers to transform the world “

“In the state of Karnataka, we are willing to support the requirement of the industry in the terms of the skilled manpower”, he added.

“We are one of the first companies to get certified on the 3d secure 2.0 initiative from NPCI and from Visa MasterCard. All in all ISG partners with acquirers, issuers and, network operators and settling billions of transactions on an annual basis. We have large partnerships with group a MasterCard, Visa, and we are one of the largest processes of UPI transactions in India.” Said Mr. Rachit Kumar, CDO, In-solutions Global Ltd  during the inaugural.

Event Partner ISG announced the launch of “ISG Pay”, #SmartMerchant an all-in-one mobile payments app with a mission to reach every last mile of merchants across India. The app was launched by Mr. Ranjeet Jaiswal, SVP Business Head, In-Solutions Global Ltd.

In ASSOCHAM 2nd Innovators’ Excellence Awards 2021 L&T Technologies Services won the award for Innovation in Overall Customer Experience, In Solutions Global Ltd for Best Process Innovation, Apeiron Techno Venture for Innovation in Service Sector, Blu Cocoon for Innovation in Environment and Sustainability, Tirupati Group for Innovation in CSR Initiatives and Smentor Solutions for Best Innovation by an SME.

Speaking on the occasion of the announcement, Shri BV Naidu, Chairman, The SMARTecIndia Initiative 2021 and Chairman, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be at the SMARTecIndia Initiative inaugural session today. Our country has become the largest technology hub with 60,000 startups and India has the youngest start-up founders with an average age of 28. Further of all the 85 unicorns in India,  40-50% come from bangalore and of the 195 soonicorns in India, 85% are coming from Bangalore. This is a contributing factor in the country’s growth rate as India is racing to become the fastest growing economy in the world and we are on the right path to realising our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of $5 trillion dollar economy and a $1 trillion dollar digital economy. I am sure Karnataka will significantly contribute to this vision with platforms such as SMARTecIndia Initiative, Beyond Bengaluru and such accelerating events.

When ASSOCHAM approached us about curating an event such as this, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Despite the havoc the pandemic played in our lives and the industry in general, it was digital technology that brought in efficiency, stability and paved way for a productive and stronger future. Smart technology changed helped with supply chain efficiency, optimising manufacturing, enhancing services in a shorter span of time. In fact the McKinsey survey also revealed that 44% of the respondents believed that Industry 4.0 is what helped the industry bounce back and sustain in the times of adversity.The SMARTechIndia Initiative was conceptualised with the aim of maximum outreach globally to bring on board both domestic and international stakeholders while recognizing, rewarding and showcasing the smart tech capabilities and their role in making our businesses and lives smarter. After the tremendous success of its first event that was confined to being online due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to be partners for the second edition that promises to be bigger, better, and global and one that showcases the growth and contribution of young and smart India in the world’s technology space. We are honoured that under this event, we are seeing the growth of fintech and international investments from Japan, Israel and UK into our clusters in Karnataka. The encouragement from our international partners present here stands testimony to our commitment to digital growth.”

Speaking of Karnataka’s roaring contribution to the country’s digital economy, Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, called upon the participants to leverage the SMARTecIndia Initiative that will witness more than 10,000 technology professionals participating. He emphasised the need for solving tomorrow’s tech problems today by putting the right digital innovations in place today. He also lauded the Hon’ble Minister Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan’s vision of ‘Beyond Bangalore’ which is based on the premise of creating emerging cities beyond Bangalore and the need for nourishing such cities for for technology and digital economy.

In his address, Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, KDEM went on to add, “It gives me immense pride to stand before all of you and represent Bangalore and Karnataka in this global forum. We have established that India’s untapped opportunities in digitisation can play a vital role in the country’s vision of $1 trillion digital economy as said by our Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT. I believe that Karnataka as a whole can contribute  $250-$300 billion to this through its mature smart technology and digital ecosystem. Today, the entire world has started taking note of India’s start-up and innovation system as the country and emerges on the top with Karnataka leading the charge.

The entire digital economy rests on the shoulders of this very ecosystem and it is time we take on the leadership role under the guidance of our Hon’ble Minister Dr. Ashwath Narayan and his incredible vision of Beyond Bengaluru to create an even growth across the state in cluster cities such as Mysuru, Hubli, Mangaluru and nuture talent from here. I believe that a global platform such as SMARTecIndia will act as a catalyst in creating a dominant position for India in global smart tech and innovation. The success of this event can be measured by the number of IPs getting registered from India which is on an upswing. From growing to 40,000 IPs this year I hope this event encourages the industry to register 50,000 IPs by the next year. I once again congratulate everyone present here and look forward to a successful and encouraging event.” 

KDEM as a key enabler for building and scaling the digital ecosystem of Karanataka beyond Banaglore and is extensively focused on the five focus areas of IT Products & Services, BPM & GCC promotion; Innovations & Start-ups; ESDM; Beyond Bengaluru; and Talent Accelerator. In pursuance of these efforts, KDEM with its partnership with ASSOCHAM for SMARTecIndia 2021 aims at taking a lead in providing a timely and cost effective business development platform to businesses across the globe. The Convention will help the Indian smart technology industry drive and foster collaborations beyond the Indian ecosystems to advance and accelerate sector wide progress.

KDEM in association with ASSOCHAM is taking the lead in promoting the use of smart technologies in healthcare, agriculture, BFSI, transportation, education & MSMEs, with the SMARTechIndia Initiative. The SMARTechIndia Initiative was first organized in the year 2020 and created a successful global platform that witnessed impressive support of leaders from government and industry, stakeholders from around the globe taking the initiative to a global pedestal.

About Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)

With an objective to increase the share of the Digital economy in the state, the Government of Karnataka set up the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), a Section-8 organization, which acts as a knowledge bridge between the industry and the government. To meet the objectives, KDEM has been working towards the five focus areas, viz. IT Products & Services, BPM & GCC promotion; Innovations & Start-ups; ESDM; Beyond Bengaluru; and Talent Accelerator.