Three-day event on ICT in Chennai from Sept 8

A three-day event on information, communications and technology (ICT), Connect 2006, will be held in Chennai between September 8 and 10.

The event will discuss issues like bridging the talent gap between supply and demand, focusing on tier II cities and drafting a Vision 2011 for Tamil Nadu, among others.

'Creating a knowledge-driven ecosystem' will be the theme of Connect 2006, which is being promoted jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Tamil Nadu government.

The event will bring together the academia, industry, government and professional bodies to discuss what comprises a unique knowledge ecosystem and how that ecosystem could be further strengthened to make Tamil Nadu a destination of choice for knowledge-based industries.

Information technology (IT), information technology enabled services (ITES) and electronics industry in Tamil Nadu have the potential to grow from the present $5 billion to $20 billion by 2011, with a capacity to create over 400,000 jobs, according to CII.

Addressing a press conference to announce the event, Lakshmi Narayanan, co-chairman, Connect 2006, and president and chief executive officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions, said that Tamil Nadu would be in an advantageous position as the state was expected to become the most urbanised state in the country with 75 per cent of the population living in urban areas in the future.

There is a need to focus on transforming the tier II cities into major cities and draft a vision plan for the state.

Anil Ambani from the Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Shiv Nadar from the HCL group, S Ramadorai from TCS and Pramod Haque from Norwest Venture Partners will deliberate on Vision 2011 for Tamil Nadu and the road map they envisage for the growth of ICT sector in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi will inaugurate the event. Union minister for communications and information technology, Dayanidhi Maran, will also be present.