India to organize its first Indian Mobile Congress in September: Manoj Sinha

Communication Minister Manoj Sinha today said that India is all set to organize its first Indian Mobile Congress in September.

He said, "The IMC will be held in September this year for the first time. Then on, it will be an annual event. The need was felt for long to arrange such a big event of global scale to showcase how telecom and technology industry are growing in India."

He added that ""The India Mobile Congress will be the biggest event of the telecom industry and it will bring together all stakeholders from the industry and government on a common platform. It will be an exciting opportunity for all involved to explore and achieve new heights in the world of Information and Communication Technology. It is a proud moment for all of us and I am sure no stone will be left unturned to ensure the success of this mega event."

The three-day IMC will be held on 27-29 September 2017, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi and will see the participation of government bodies, Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), handset manufacturers, Internet giants, ISPs, Global technology players, AI & VR companies, Mobility leaders, Academia, Start-ups and app providers.

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India Mobile Congress is expected to see the participation of telecom giants like Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, as well as telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular and it is expected to draw 5,000 paid participants and 800 exhibitors.

Meanwhile, the countries like the US, the UK, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Korea, the Philippines, Bhutan and Japan have evinced interest in participating and creating awareness around the upcoming event, COAI director general Rajan Mathews said.

"We have GSMA Barcelona that focuses primarily on the West...We never had a marquee event here that showcases the opportunities in India. The South East Asia region has much to learn from what is happening in India on the policy front and manufacturing...how we share infrastructure and how we provide affordable services," Mathews said.

Terming it as a "mega event" of the Indian telecom industry, he added, "The annual show will see the participation of major players in communications sector from different parts of the world."