The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented the 14th edition of its annual signature Business IT Conclave (#BITC2023) on 30th June 2023, Friday at Taj City Centre Kolkata. The event saw an overwhelming participation and the digital footprint reaching 2.67 million.

Shri Rajeev Kumar, IPS, Principal Secretary, Information Technology and Electronics, Government of West Bengal was the Chief Guest. He stated that people would need to adjust to AI in next 20 years to cope with the changes that are taking place.

The theme for BITC 2023 was “Connecting Products and Services− Transforming Business and Competition”. B2B and B2G meetings took place at the Conclave. The forum also offered students to showcase their innovation. There was a meeting with Tenable, renowned security company, including relevant members and stakeholders. Shri Rajeev Kumar, IPS had meetings with Zensar Technologies, Bangladesh Association for Software & Information Services (BASIS) and MSTC Ltd.

“The title of the precursor event is “Future of AI”. I would

rather like to say it is the “Future of mankind in the age of AI”. It is how we perceive ourselves in the age of AI. AI will reach its full potential. For AI there are 2 parts−the machine learning part and the usage part. The training part which comes under machine learning is difficult to regulate. The training happens in GPUs and TPUs, many millions of which are already in the market. The Mechanical revolution took 60−80 years to take root and caused a lot of pain to businesses and society but we learnt to live with it and we came out of it and now we are enjoying the fruits of the mechanical revolution. The issue with AI is that we have to adjust within the next 20 years to align with the world which would mostly be AI driven. As a business entity you need to take into account the paradigm shift. We need to adapt quickly to this AI dominated world and the quickly we do it, the better it is.”− Shri Rajeev Kumar, IPS, Principal Secretary, Department of Information Technology & Electronics, Government of West Bengal.

Senior industry leaders joined the programme from US and Japan virtually and from Bangladesh in person. Speakers and other senior representatives of IT companies, who associated with the programme, came to Kolkata from Pune, Bengaluru,

Mr. Sudeep Kumar Das, Head Sales Engineer, India & SAARC, Tenable graced the Session. The Session was chaired by Mr. N K Ghosal, Member, IT Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Director, NKG & Associates, Mr. Sudeep Kumar Das, Head Sales Engineer, India & SAARC, Tenable graced the Session. The Session was chaired by Mr. N K Ghosal, Member, IT Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Director, NKG & Associates Mr. Sudeep Kumar Das, during his presentation, stated that organizations prioritize their security investments based on a continuous exposure management programme will be three times less likely to suffer from a breach. Identification of weak links in the cloud data is going to be possible by NESSUS which may lead to securing the entire attack surface and succeeding at which may revolutionize how organizations perceive exposure management at present.

Generative AI : Deciphering the new artificial intelligence

Mr. Kaushik Chatterjee, SVP−BFSI Global Delivery Head, Zensar Technologies Ltd. and Mr. Jagathpathy Subramaniam, VP− Experience, Engineering and Data Zensar Technologies Ltd. engaged in a lively discussion surrounding the popularity of Generative AI software such as Chat GPT, Bard, DALL−E, amongst others.

This session primarily informed the audience about the

hype of generative AI in the last two years and how Chat GPT have boosted the productivity of individuals in varied verticals of life. The longer the AI code runs, it keeps on learning and moves towards betterment, for instance- the unlocked version of Chat GPT at first could only perform operational functions, but, as of now, the AI tool is capable of generating creative pieces as well as write codes for developing preliminary software bases The session was followed by Special Remarks on Technology Promotion Support from Government of India by Mr. Manjit Nayak, Director, STPI, West Bengal.

Mr. Manjit Nayak highlighted the technology and software sector’s contribution to the GDP of the country. He explained how the Government of India was proactive in supporting this industry and recognizes the importance of this sector in propelling the country towards a 5 Trillion

USD GDP. Different schemes and policies of the Government were also put forth. It is going to foster, develop, and nurture a robust system for evidence and stakeholder-driven STI planning, information, evaluation, and policy research in India.

Business Opportunities with Bangladesh in Technology Space:

The session featured the evolution of the IT industry in Bangladesh and how digitization has been at the forefront of Government initiatives in India.

The panel consisted of −

 Mr. Mostafizur Rahaman Sohel, Director, BASIS (Bangladesh Association for Software & Information Services)

  Mrs. Bhanu Kumar, Director (Commercial), MSTC Ltd.

The session was moderated by Dr. Chiranjib Bhattacharya, Co−Chairperson, IT Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chief Executive Officer & Director, Wizertech Informatics Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Mosta fizur Rahaman Sohel discussed about how ICT Infrastructure has evolved since 2000. Apart from infrastructural development, Mr. Sohel also discussed about the policy level growth of Bangladesh in terms of incentivising the IT Sector of the nation. BASIS has been promoting employment of IT professionals both in a social and political level and since the initiation of dialogues, a lot has been taken into action.

Mrs. Bhanu Kumar, addressed the development of the transactions in IT realm of India. According to her, further development could be made through establishing business collaborations and transactions of services with Bangladesh and hoped if The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry could facilitate the same in a different forum.

Infrastructure Facilitating Technology Growth in Kolkata.

This discussion highlighted how India was uniquely positioned to become a super power by 2030; the growth of Kolkata; market scenario post−COVID; flexible workspace and other important topics in the field of business and entrepreneurship.

The session was driven by Mr. Aninda Das, Vice President Marketing, Infinity Group.

The other panelists included −

•   Mr. Anirban Gupta, Managing Director, Colliers, East India
•  Mr. Pratik Mehta, Director & Head − Office Occupier Services, Advisory & Transactions, East India at CBRE India, Kolkata
• Mr. Joydeep Paul, Senior Associate Director−East India, Leasing−TAG, Cushman & Wakefield India, Kolkata
•    Mr. Santanu Ghosh, Head− Office Leasing & Retail at JLL India, Kolkata.

The primary subject of discussion in the session was on significance of infrastructure development to facilitate technology growth in Kolkata. The session aimed to bring together a diverse range of industry experts, international property consultants and stakeholders to exchange knowledge and experiences on the evolving office space scenario in Kolkata. Main discussion involved identifying global trends and best practices and possible approaches to collectively shape the future of office spaces in the city and contribute to its growth as a dynamic business hub.

Theme Session : Smart and Connected Ecosystem

This session commenced with Setting the Agenda : “Connected Enterprises” by Ms. Suparna Dutta, Global Industry 4.0 Head, LTI Mindtree, who joined virtually .

This session highlighted the evolution of the business models to be more consumer−centric; adoption of connected enterprises in facilitating product development and marketing and real time collaboration for a successful ecosystem.

Ms. Suparna Dutta discussed the enterprise priorities such as enabling new business models, sustainable revenue growth, transforming customer and employee experiences, mastering next generation sustainable manufacturing. She also highlighted in her presentation that, real-time collaboration is essential for connected enterprises by leveraging Industry 4.0. The technology levers for this digital transformation are: LIDAR, Internet of Things, Drones, AR/VR, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Remote O&M.

Ms. Dutta’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion, which covered a wide range of topics such as understanding AI, robotics and automation; smart utility services, its benefits and flexible platforms for businesses in a disruptive environment.

The panelists were−

• Dr. D. K. Pratihar, Institute Chair Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT Kharagpur
• Mr. Takuji Hasui, Manager, Global Business Division, Fujisoft Incorporated., Japan (joined virtualy)
• Mr. Atanu Pramanic, COO & VP (IT), RPSG Ventures Ltd.
• Mr. Indranil Chaudhuri, Chief of Procurement Services, Mjunction Services Limited.

This session was moderated by Mr. Deb Kumar Majumdar, Partner, Data & Technology Transformation / Talent Transformation Service Line Leader, IBM Consulting, CIC India.

There has been a collective observation by the Speakers of the session that, a connected ecosystem caters to a faster and smoother customer experience. Connected practice also lowers the operating costs and leads to automation of critical maintenance factors (varies case to case). Smart connected products allow data to be exchanged and analysed, which unlocks new values for all stakeholders.

Demonstration on Smart and Connect Products and Services Ecosystem.

This Conclave provided a vibrant platform to the students to showcase their innovation. The students of Narula Institute of Technology showcased a unique project named “Potholter” which can detect potholes on the road, thereby preventing accidents.

Mr. Somenath Nag, Vice President − Marketing, Calsoft Inc. moderated this session.

The following students demonstrated the innovative product:

• Mr. Saikat Chowdhury, Team Leader, 2nd year Student in the Electronics & Communication Engineering Department
• Mr. Avik Dutta, 2nd year Student in the Electronics & Communication Engineering Department\ 
• Mr. Abhinaba Roy, 2nd year Student in the Electronics & Communication Engineering Department

The students were mentored by Mr. Abhijit Ghosh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering.

The innovative product− “Potholter” was a sensor−based vehicle tool. It has resemblance to a dashcam. The purpose of this device is to identify potholes in the roads and guide a vehicle to better paths.

This session was very different from the ones before, it had engaged audiences from various verticals of IT industry.

Mr. Somnath Nag shared some valuable insights on the product, to be altered in their device to ensure boosted efficiency of Potholer.