India-Kuwait Information Technology Conference  23 October 2023

India-Kuwait Information Technology Conference  23 October 2023

Remarks of Ambassador of India

Dr Ammar Al-Husaini, Director General, Central Agency for Information Technology

Ms Wafa Al Qatami, Board Member, KCCI

Mr Omar S. Alomar, Chairman, CITRA,

Mr Esam AlKhesnam, CeO KneT,

Mr. Gurvinder Lamba, Chairman, IBPC

Distinguished delegates from NASSCOM, India,

Distinguished Speakers and panelists from Kuwait,

Distinguished members from various Government and private sector organizations,

Friends from media

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning,

        I welcome you all to today's India-Kuwait Information Technology Conference. I thank all our partners, the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) who has worked tirelessly with the Embassy over the last few months and National Association of Software and Services Company of India (NASSCOM), which has sent a multi-company high-level delegation despite their competing obligations. Our gratitude to KCCI, which has always been supportive of our efforts in strengthening economic partnership between India and Kuwait. And our sincere appreciation to CAIT and CITRA not only for their presence today but also for their full support in this endeavour. I deeply appreciate the presence of distinguished representatives of Ministries and government organizations, business houses, other institutions and our friends from media. And last but not the least, my Embassy team for their hard work in putting all this together.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

2.     Information Technology is something that permeates every economic activity today. From large businesses to small businesses to social work to even Embassy work, we all need its help to meet our requirements. This is a sector which India and Indian companies are widely known globally and rightfully take pride in. It in this context that the Embassy thought of organizing this event to bring together stake-holders from both countries face to face to explore greater collaborations between them. As you can see from the brochure that has been circulated to you all, the delegates and their companies are known for their work in this sector, both in India and abroad. I am sure that our Kuwaiti friends would take full advantage of their presence here today.

3.     While the NASSCOM delegates will tell you in detail and specifics about the Information technology sector and its dynamics, I would like to take this opportunity to give you a sense of Information technology sector in India and its global outreach, including in Kuwait. First, some facts and statistics:

• India’s technology industry revenue is estimated to be $245 Bn in FY 2023 with IT exports estimated at $194 Bn and expected to grow at 9.4%. It contributed to 53% in India’s service exports in FY 23.
• India is the third largest and the fastest growing hub for technology startups. With 23 new unicorns, India became the 2nd highest country in terms of number of unicorns added in 2022. 1300+ new tech startups emerged in 2022.
• Indian SaaS companies (Software as a Service) saw 2x growth in share of global markets. India has as many as 59 number of SaaS unicorns and potential unicorns.

• In terms of FDI equity inflow, the sector attracted FDI equity inflow of $93.58 Bn between April 2000 and Dec 2022. I must mention here for those Kuwaiti companies interested in investing in India’s IT sector that up to 100% FDI is allowed in Data processing, Software development and Computer consultancy services; Software supply services; Business and management consultancy services, Market research services, technical testing and Analysis services, under automatic route.

• India is one of the most preferred destinations when it comes to setting up Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Total number of GCCs in India are 1570+.
• Over 45 new data centers are expected to come up in India by 2025. Data centers in India have attracted investment of $10 Bn since 2020.
• Google announced in June 2023 expansion of cloud services in India with a $1 billion investment in new data centers and opening of its global fintech operation centre at GIFT City in Gujarat.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced in March 2023 plans to invest $12.7 bn into India by 2030, bringing its total investment to $16.4 bn over a period spanning almost a decade and a half.
• Last week, Infosys expanded its alliance with Google Cloud to help enterprises build AI-powered experiences. Infosys will create the Generative AI Labs to develop industry-specific AI solutions, and train 20,000 employees on Google Cloud's gen AI solutions.

Friends,

4.     Indian industry is consistently strengthening its digital capabilities by adopting deep tech technologies and focusing on deploying emerging technology solutions such as AI, Cybersecurity, and IoT. Both central and state governments in India have taken steps towards developing technology solutions to digitally enable citizen services. With data costs of INR 10/GB ($ 0.12/GB), India has one of the lowest data costs in the world. We have leveraged technology to transform Governance, to make it more efficient, inclusive, faster and transparent. Our unique digital identity platform, Aadhaar, covers more than 1.3 bn of our people. We have used the power of the JAM trinity- Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar, and Mobile- to revolutionize financial inclusion in India. Every month, nearly 10 billion transactions take place on UPI, our instant payment system. More than 45% of the global real time payments happen in India. Direct Benefits Transfer of government support is plugging leakages, and has saved over USD 33 billion. The CoWIN portal helped in the delivery of over 2 billion Covid vaccine doses along with digitally verifiable certificates. The Gati-Shakti platform uses technology and spatial planning to map infrastructure and logistics. It is assisting in planning, reducing costs, and increasing speed of delivery. Our online public procurement platform- the Government e-Marketplace- has brought transparency and probity into the process. The Open Network for Digital Commerce is democratizing e-Commerce. Fully digitized taxation systems are promoting transparency and e-governance. We are building Bhashini, an AI-powered language translation platform, to support digital inclusion in all the diverse languages of India.

5.     Technology has connected us like never before. It holds the promise for inclusive and sustainable development for all. We can advance Financial Inclusion and Productivity through Digital Public Infrastructure. India's Digital Public Infrastructure offers scalable, secure and inclusive solutions for global challenges. A solution that succeeds in India, can be easily applied anywhere in the world, including in Kuwait. And India is ready to share its experiences with the world.  We have now created an online Global Public Digital Goods Repository - the India Stack.

Friends,

6.     We are equally aware of the focus of the Government of Kuwait on the information Technology sector. Through its Vision 2035 Economic Diversification Plan and the new government programme, Kuwait is keen to modernize and digitalize its economy, and become a smart commercial hub in the region. The presence of a large number of government and private sector entities today, including CAIT, CITRA, KneT, Public Authority for Industry, KPC etc speaks of the importance Kuwait attaches to its digital transformation objectives. The leadership of both these countries has also identified this area of cooperation as one of mutual interest. This is, therefore, a sector where we can consult, cooperate and collaborate for win-win partnerships.

7.     I am fully convinced that today’s Conference and B2B networking event will take forward our cooperation in IT and IteS sector, both between governments and private sector. I thank all of you once again for being with us today.

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