The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), in association with Gujarat Informatics Limited, is organising its regional conference here at the C C Mehta Auditorium on October 4. ITES refers to the use of computers, communication, and people trained in providing services on a daily basis in bank office operations, data entry, and medical transcription. You could provide the services anywhere in the world sitting in your city.

Madhukumar Mehta, chairman of IT Forum of Vadodara -- the event managers -- told reporters on Wednesday that as per a NASSCOM study, in the next few years, exports and employment from the ITES in India will reach Rs 81,000 crore and employ 11 lakh people.

The meet will highlight opportunities in ITES and the roadmaps required. Case studies will also be presented and light thrown on the infrastructure requirements.

Mehta said with the Chief Minister having confirmed his attendance at the inaugural function, government policies would also be discussed. Information and Technology Minister Bimal Shah and Chief Secretary L N S Mukandan will also remain present, he stated.

Citing one success story, Mehta said a Vadodara-based company provides the New York Police details of memos issued to traffic violators in New York.

He said one of the advantages of the system is that the person need not be a computer professional. Graduates in any discipline can be trained by the companies recruiting them, he said.

Forum members Parag Amin and Sunil Patel said that there was so much work in this field that there is no question of somebody getting business at someone else's cost. They said that the IT Forum was a facilitating agency working with the intention of putting Vadodara on India's IT map.

According to them, if better infrastructure is provided, there are enough prospects of India getting a large share of the world's ITES. They said for companies abroad, it is cheaper to outsource job-work rather than employ a person.

NASSCOM will organise similar conferences in Bangalore, Madras and Calcutta.

Mehta said the IT Forum's target is that there should be at least four to five companies in this field employing around 500 people by December-end. He added that two such companies have already been set up.

The Forum expects around 200 delegates interested in the IT field from Western India.