Inaugurating the IT World ‘98/Comdex India Exhibition in New Delhi on November 1, 1998, Shri Sikander Bakht, Union Minister of Industry said that the recommendations in the Information Technology(IT) Action Plan will speed up, broaden and deepen the process of economic reforms by encouraging competition, entrepreneurship and innovation – the three principles "which are cardinal for India’s progress in the emerging knowledge-driven global economy".

Citing the Prime Minister’s assertion that promotion of IT would be one of the top priorities of the Government, the Minister said that the National Agenda for Governance has also mandated the government to take necessary policy and programme initiatives which would facilitate India’s emergence as an IT superpower in the shortest possible time. Information Technology, Shri Bakht added, has been the most important branch of applied science which has revolutionised the development in economic and social environment globally.

The Minister also said that the government have made some revisions and additions to the existing policy to accelerate the drive for setting up a world class info infrastructure to ensure a fast nationwide onset of the INTERNET, EXTRANETS and INTRANETS. A congenial ambience for IT industry would be created so as to target a $50 billion annual export of IT software and services by the year 2008. In this connection, Shri Bakht mentioned the incentives like duty exemption on capital goods, raw materials and components for manufacture of IT products.

The Minister said that there is a proposal to launch programmes aiming at universalizing computer literacy and boosting IT for agriculture and integrated rural development.