CAN InfoTech 2015 kicks off in Capital
KATHMANDU:
Deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh has said development activities of the country have been hampered by political instability. He said that sectors including agriculture, education and industry have remained affected due to instability.
Addressing inaugural ceremony of CAN InfoTech 2015 today, Singh who is also Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development said, “Country has not been able to create a conducive environment for development because of instability.” He added, prosperity is not possible without development in information and communication technology, which also requires stability.
CAN InfoTech, the annual ICT event that started today will conclude on Monday. Binod Dhakal, president of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) Federation, the organiser of the event, said that the expo features a total of 219 stalls representing exhibitors related to various ICT products and services and will help create awareness to promote use of ICT.
This is the 21st edition of the annual tech event, which has been held every year since 1995. Krishna Chandra Paudel, secretary at Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment said that focusing on promotion of ICT and human resources development, the government is doing final preparations to bring the IT Park of Kavrepalanchowk into operation. “There is a huge brain drain in the country as a large number of students are leaving the country each year to further their academics in IT.”
In the programme, private sector representatives slammed the government of failing to bring favourable rules to boost development, including in the ICT sector.
“It has already been five years since the government introduced the Industry Policy, but there is no related law so far,” said Dinesh Shrestha, vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He urged government to promote software companies by giving them tax waiver facility. Similarly, Rajendra Malla, vice president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce said government should work on taking ICT to rural areas for development to gain momentum.
CAN Federation is also organising a two-day ICT Conference on February 1 and 2 with theme of ‘Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) and Social Transformation’. Prof Subhash Bhatnagar from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad will be keynote speaker.
There will be paper presentation and discussion on ‘Emerging technology for ICT4D’ and ‘Public service delivery and government transformation’ on first day and on ‘Knowledge based industry and employment’, and ‘Professional skill development for ICT4D’ on the second day of conference.
Booking for Windows phone
Teletalk Pvt Ltd, the authorised sole distributor for Colors Mobiles in Nepal, launched the Windows phone at the CAN InfoTech 2015 exhibition. Deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh and Regional Account Director for Microsoft Ivan Chan jointly launched the Windows phone. Advance booking of the phone can be made through Colors Mobiles stall at the CAN InfoTech 2015 exhibition. Colors Mobiles also announced that an App Seminar will be held in April and the registration for the seminar can be done through Facebook.
Source: THT
