India to set up IT centre in Ghana

India will set up a technology training center in Accra, the capital of Ghana, in United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's name.

India's information technology ministry has allotted $2 million for the Indo-Ghana Kofi Annan Institute of Technology. Annan will lay the foundation stone for the institute in May/June, India's Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan, who led a business delegation to New York, told reporters on Friday.


Mahajan met Annan at the UN on April 4 and sought the secretary general's permission to give his name to the institute. "Annan is the greatest son of Ghana. We thought his name is the most fitting one for such a venture," he said.


Currently, students from Africa travel to several countries including India for technology studies, Mahajan noted. "We asked Annan's help to send these students to the new institute which will become a hub for technological development in that part of the world."


The minister also discussed the possibility of future cyber wars and the UN's role in preventing that phenomenon with the secretary general. Cyber wars, Mahajan added, could bring about more destruction than actual wars by breaching computer systems used by public facilities. If somebody could damage the computer system at an airport, it could create havoc with the lives of several thousand people, Mahajan pointed out. In such an eventuality, planes may not be able to land without getting directions. "If people could use passenger planes to destroy the World Trade Centre, they could use cyber technology for more nefarious things," he noted.


People are not aware of such dangers, hence an international convention under the UN's auspices to discuss such dangers would be beneficial to all, he felt.


"The cyber war threat is like a bullet. To protect oneself from a threat from the bullet we need a bulletproof jacket, in this case software to resist such attacks," he said.

The minister, who also traveled to Colombia, said, "India wants to use Colombia as a gateway to the South American continent, and the visit has opened new doors." India, he said, needed to explore new avenues for growth and South America is a potential market for Indian technology.


The visit to New York was to promote India's image in the corporate world. The National Association of Software and Service Companies -- NASSCOM -- brought together several Indian business leaders to present Indian achievements and explain the benefits of investing in India.


The New York visit was a confidence building act by India, assuring the US business community that recent domestic developments have had no impact on the economy, NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik, who was present at Mahajan's press conference, said.


The delegation conducted network meetings at NASDAQ and at the New York Stock Exchange. Major companies like General Electric attended the India Technology Forum organized at the NYSE on April 5 and exchanged views on business relations with India.


Within five years the number of Indian companies listed on these stock exchanges would be more than hundred from the current 12, Mahajan emphasized in his speeches at NASDAQ and NYSE.


The minister rang the famous opening bell at the NYSE to declare the market open on April 5. This is the first time an Indian minister has rung the bell at the stock exchange.