IT fair to focus on `new destinations'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MAY 30. ``Connect-2001'', an international conference and exhibition on information technology, communication technology and bio-informatics, is being organised here from September 13 to 16 by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Government.

To be held at the new Chennai Trade Centre (ITPO complex) in the city, the exhibition will feature not just hardware and software segments of IT but focus on the opportunities for serving user- industries. It will also highlight the present status and further potential of Tamil Nadu as a destination for investment in the IT sector and as an IT-enabled State.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr. T. Anantha Narayanan, Chairman of the CII's Tamil Nadu Council, said a one- day conclave of chief information officers (CIOs), to be held during Connect 2001, would discuss IT implementation issues, infrastructure/architecture issues, business strategies and strategic planning, knowledge management and buying plans of IT user industries.

Sectoral round-tables to be held along with the fair would provide insights on latest developments on the technology front, panel discussions on international perspectives and key areas of IT deployment.

Apart from being a comprehensive show case for hardware and software, IT solutions, technologies and services and business networking, Connect 2001 would feature the ``new destination'' - bioinformatics. In the context of the Tamil Nadu Government's plans to set up bio-valleys, the fair would focus on opportunities in industrial biotechnology and genomics and biotechnology applications in agriculture/food, environment and human and animal health care, Mr. Anantha Narayanan said.

Mr. D. Prakash, Secretary (Information Technology) to the Government of Tamil Nadu, said the State had ``come of age'' in respect of IT. He pointed out to favourable factors such as the large base of educational institutions in the State, plans to spread education to masses through E-education and possibilities of alliances between MNCs and institutes in the State.

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