Bengal must strive to re-ignite its hopes of realising a glorious future by preparing to embrace the forces of digitisation which will jump-start a process of change.

Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, who inaugurated the 21st edition of Infocom on Thursday in one of his first public appearances since assuming office, said he hoped to see Bengal make a gigantic leap forward during his tenure.

Infocom — an ABP Group initiative — is one of the largest congregations of technology professionals, corporate leaders, academics and policy makers.

On Thursday, it re-awakened in its physical format after two years of Covid-induced online presence.

Referring to the theme of Infocom 2022 — The Age of Change Makers — Governor Bose recalled how Lord Wellesley and Lord Curzon had proclaimed from the then Governor’s House, renamed Raj Bhavan post independence, that ‘Britannia, Britannia rules the waves’ in an obvious reference to the vast British empire which India was a part of.

“As a humble occupant of the abode (Raj Bhavan), after a few months, I wish to hear the new generation of Bengal triumphantly saying: Bengal, Bengal wins the race… That is the process of transformation I am looking forward to,” the Governor said in his inaugural speech that was punctuated by anecdotes, historical references and dollops of humour that regaled the large audience at ITC Sonar.

The former bureaucrat said Infocom had opened on the very day that the country was starting its own experiment with a digital rupee for retail transactions — which raises the prospect for bridging the digital divide by ensuring that every household would soon gain access to technology that will trigger a digital revolution.

At the same time, Governor Bose emphasised that India should ‘ensure its digital sovereignty without permitting the digital masterminds sitting abroad from trying to turn the wheels of self reliant India’.

Other eminent speakers at the annual event also noted how the pandemic had hastened the pace of digitisation and helped transform every aspect of life in the past two years.

“The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation. We have the opportunity to build on the foundation and use the momentum to take India to a new level of digital maturity,” said Sharad Sanghi, MD NTT (India) & EVP-Global Data Centres & Marine Cable, NTT Ltd.

Shailender Kumar, MD, Oracle India Pvt. Ltd, who also spoke at the inaugural session, emphasised the importance of data to lead the transformation while Arvind Kumar, director general, STPI, said how the government is trying to help the start-up ecosystem.

“There is an opportunity for Bengal to be a hub for the new growth opportunities,” said former Nasscom president Kiran Karnik.

Sunil Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Yotta Infrastructure, said Bengal was uniquely positioned as the gateway to the East and a hub for submarine cable landing stations.

In his welcome address, Dhruba Mukherjee, CEO, ABP Pvt. Ltd, reminded the guests how for over hundred years the ABP group has been seeking answers to questions which are not known and challenging the ones that are known.

“With the same spirit of curiosity, Infocom over the last 21 years has been exploring new paradigms and trying to draft a road map for the IT/ ITeS sector,” Mukherjee said.