After a turbulent year 2020, where technology played a game-changing role, the 28th Convergence India and the 6th Smart Cities India Expo 2021 brought together government officials, industry leaders, and domain experts to discuss the role and opportunities for technology as the country progresses towards the ‘new normal’ era at the Emerging Tech Summit.

The opening session on ‘The Changing Landscape of Emerging Technology’ was graced by distinguished speakers including Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, STPI; Saurabh Gaur, IAS, Joint Secretary, MeitY; Anil Kumar Jain, CEO, NIXI; Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar, President, AERIS Communication; Ankur Malhotra, Director, Mazars, India; Jim Morrish, Founding Partner, Transforma Insights; Dr. Anita Gupta, Head, NSTEDB, Ministry of Science & Technology; Ms. Anna Roy, Sr. Advisor, NITI Aayog and Anurag Agrawal, Director, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, along with several others.

The speakers shared their thoughts and ideas on the how technology outperformed during the pandemic and the role of emerging technologies. Thought Leadership Partner for the expo, Mazars, also released a Knowledge Report on ‘Where is my cloud?’

While setting the tone for the session, Sharat Chandra, President, GBA India and Advisor, EarthID emphasized on the need for strengthening blockchain and crypto currency in the fast-evolving digital era. Speaking at the session, Dr. Omkar Rai said, “For successful adoption and implementation of emerging technologies, it’s equally essential to introduce financial incentives to ease the transformational process, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.”

Saurabh Gaur said, “There is a need to considerably enhance the effort to push adoption of technology across sectors. It is only possible if we have a parallel efficient system of skill development to work in the new system.”

More than ever before, during the pandemic, technology has taken center-stage, and digital transformation has become the need of the hour. Continuing on the session theme, Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar said, “In this age of rapid digitization, nurturing new-age skills among the workforce is imperative for their career. Besides, continuous upskilling and reskilling are necessary to stay relevant in the future job market.”

Adding further, Mr. Anil Kumar Jain added, “As rapid integration of technology is taking place in almost all sectors and business, it also enhances the need for security to ensure protection of industries. In this regard, greater cooperation between the government and private sectors are important for seamless adoption of AI and other emerging technologies. More so, learning institutes must also integrate courses as well as impart training on Cyber Security.”

Ms. Anna Roy said, “The government must take the driving seat to ensure policies for adoption as well as identify the sectors for implementation of new-age technologies like Blockchain, AI and IoT, etc. In fact, a strategy document has already been put forward to promote the adoption and pilot projects under the health and agriculture sector.”

Emphasizing that startups and large corporates need to adopt emerging technologies alike, Dr. Anita Gupta added, “Institutions that are connecting challenges to opportunities, driving innovation, encouraging adoption and implementation of new things are driving the wheel of digital revolution. Such institutions have also been funded with INR 25 crore (INR 250 million) funding for enhancing capabilities of institutions.”

The summit featured various sessions focused on themes including Digital Transformation of Electronics Design, Manufacturing and Related Quality Processes; Role of IoT in Buildings, Education, Healthcare Manufacturing, Utilities & Beyond; Impact of AI in Healthcare and Blockchain in Action.

Hosted by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and Exhibitions India Group (EIG), 28th Convergence India and the 6th Smart Cities India Expo 2021 support the government’s vision of transforming India into a digitally and sustainably empowered economy.

Convergence India is at the forefront of India’s digital revolution, while the Smart Cities India expo is a reflection of India’s emerging modernization and development landscape.

The 28th Convergence India and the 6th Smart Cities India Expo 2021 was held from March 24-26, 2021 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.