The expo witnessed a total of 500 participating brands, 50+ conference sessions (on-ground and virtual), and 250 eminent speakers speaking co-currently across a vast range of topics.

From transformative Digital Technologies, including Fintech, SaaS, IoT, AI, ML, VR, Blockchain to Gaming, Indian startups are playing a pivotal role in the Indian growth story. Celebrating India’s entrepreneurial spirit and the burgeoning startup ecosystem in the country, India’s largest technology and infrastructure event - the 28th Convergence India and the 6th Smart Cities India Expo 2021 – concluded Day 3 on a high note. 

The three-day event brought together founders and startup enthusiasts from around the country under one roof at the Startup Pavilion. The event - curated for creators and innovators who shared their projects, knowledge, passions and insights – was a great platform for networking, and a meeting point for aspiring entrepreneurs building cutting-edge technologies for the future.

The Startup Pavilion, supported by ‘Startup India’, featured 35+ startups across various segments of ICT & Smart Cities technologies, bringing to light new innovations this year, and promoting the Government of India’s initiative of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The dedicated pavilion at the expo displayed solutions from the realm of smart cities, healthcare, robotics, intelligent building, energy, transportation, water management, gaming, and more. Some of the startups featured at the Startup Pavilion were Transight, Greatasthan, CoreIoT, Groupe Cahors, Panelstack, IIIoT Infotech, WebSoftIoT, among many others. The Department of Information Technology, Government of Bihar, has set-up an independent booth featuring the latest tech innovations. 

Relaying his experience, Aniruddha Bendarkar, Business Development Executive, mPHATEK, said, “Over the last year, we have attended various expos and conclaves but all were virtual. It was just amazing to be a part of this expo in-person. We have come from Pune and this expo provides us with a great platform to network, especially in-person. It has been a great three days.”

Praveen Kumar, COO, TechScooper said, “These three days have just been better than we expected. We, in fact, received quite a few interests, that may help us convert to leads. I am glad to be a part of this phygital event, that let us connected not just in-person but also virtually.”  

This year’s edition also featured a ‘Startup Pitch’ competition, sponsored by Incubation Centre, IIT Patna, across various sectors including Internet of Things (IoT), Automation, Mechatronics, Robotics, Medical Electronics, Industry 4.0, Smart Cities and other related ESDM. Nimble Vision Pvt. Ltd emerged as the winner in the unique Startup Pitch competition who was awarded a cash prize of INR 1 lac. The two runners up were CorIoT and Swiftheal.

The international exhibition marked an eventful last day, after a tremendous industry response.  For the first time, the expo has adopted a hybrid approach being simultaneously held in both physical and digital formats. 60 international brands joined virtually at this hybrid event, with interactive features including virtual booths, exhibitor meetings, exhibitor live chat, video calls & virtual room, exhibitor product marketplace, exhibitor lead capture, and more.  

The expo witnessed a total of 500 participating brands, 50+ conference sessions (on-ground and virtual), and 250 eminent speakers speaking co-currently across a vast range of topics in the first live and in-person event conducted between 24th and 26th, 2021 at Pragati Maidan, Delhi.    

The 28th Convergence India and the 6th Smart Cities India Expo 2021 concluded with the Smart City India (SCI) Awards. SCI Awards is a unique platform designed to felicitate, recognize and encourage individuals, policy makers, companies, municipalities, government bodies and associations to illuminate the work done across both urban and rural sectors. It is a well-recognized industry platform with 800+ submissions reviewed by an eminent jury comprising industry veterans. 

The award felicitation was graced by Chief Guest Jibesh Kumar, Hon’ble Minister Department of IT, Government of Bihar, who congratulated the organisers for a successful event and said, “The 28th Convergence India and 6th Smart Cities India expo has deftly demonstrated over the last 3 days how it’s time to restart growth in the country with B2B exhibitions, and how trade events can be held with appropriate safety measures in place. My congratulations to the organizers- Exhibitions India Group and India Trade Promotion Organisation- for curating an excellent industry gathering towards the incredible cause of Building a Digital and Smart India.”

He further added, “India’s IT and IT-enabled Services (IT-ITES) industry has the potential to be a driving force in harnessing new technologies, impacting all sectors including agriculture, health, education, manufacturing, and more; thereby creating significant employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in the country. India has emerged as the digital capabilities hub in the world, with around 75% of global digital talent present in the country.”

During the Smart City India Awards, the Guest of Honour, Anju Bhalla, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology, said, “The successful conduct of the event that culminates today is a harbinger of hope at so many different levels. Not just for the future of the smart cities but also for all the habitations of the country. It is very appropriately called the ‘Convergence India’ as we have seen convergence of so many different sectors of the economy coming together to present this holistic vision of a futuristic India.”

Awards were felicitated to 19 city projects for their innovative solutions and contributions across various categories. Amongst the winners were Jabalpur Smart City Ltd for Kamaniya Gate/Ghanta Ghar, Jabalpur, in the category Heritage City; Dehradun Smart City Ltd. for Migrant- Tracking & Health Monitoring System for COVID-19, in  the category Health Project; Apollo Gleneagles Hospital Ltd., in the category Green Building; Govt. of Telangana for Haritha Haram Project, in the category Green and Clean City; ESRI India for Varanasi Smart City in the category Digital City; Jabalpur Smart City Ltd for Solar Rooftop Power Plant in the category Energy Efficiency Project etc.