As far as big tech events go, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona has set a benchmark for many countries around the world and now India is taking a leaf out of their book by organising the first ever India Mobile Congress scheduled to happen in September this year.
India is the on the verge of becoming the largest smartphone market in the world. Every top brand has established a strong base in the country and an event like this will open a window for more companies and start-ups to showcase their portfolio.
The event is expected to accommodate 8 to 10 countries with participation from UK, Sweden and Israel already confirmed. Active talks are on with countries like US and Canada for participation. The 3-day event will be organised at Pragati Maidan in Delhi with the budget estimated to be around 15 crore.
The global mobile industry body GSMA which is responsible for organising big events such as MWC in Barcelona and Shanghai has said it will not be collaborating with the domestic telecom players for the Indian Mobile Congress.
The responsibility of organising the event will fall upon the shoulders of the telecom industry body Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) with support from the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
We felt we needed a flagship event in India. In the West we have the Barcelona event (MWC), in the East there is the Shanghai Mobile World Congress – but there was nothing of that scale for South-East Asia. This event will serve that purpose.Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COIA
The exhibition will house around 300 stalls and will be spread over 20,000 metres. Besides telecom service providers, various start-ups, companies into artificial intelligence and robotics will also participate and also the event is said to cater more towards consumers.
Things will get exciting as the event draws closer and considering India’s strong presence in the global market, the mobile congress in India could see more participants in the coming future
(With Inputs from IANS)
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