It is great moment for us today that the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition Smt. Sonia Gandhi is inaugurating the National Seminar on "Rajiv Gandhi's Vision of 21st Century : India as an IT Power" at Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. I on my own behalf and on behalf of the Board of Governors, the faculty, non-teaching staff and the students of the Institute extend a very hearty welcome to her. In fact it was on two occasions in the recent past that the students and the faculty requested Smt. Gandhi to visit the Institute and she did promise that she will make it some day. I am happy that she has acceded to the request and we are greatly honoured by her presence amongst us this morning. I must also take some credit in making Soniaji fulfil her promise by reminding her off and on about the students' request to visit the Institute.

I have had the privilege of working for Smt. Sonia Gandhi in the Congress Party during the last two and a half years and would like to say that I have greatly admired and so have many others her deep devotion, dedication, sincerity and commitment to the cause of the people at large. Within the party she has all along been encouraging and reposing faith and confidence in the younger leadership. She believes, and rightly so, that the youth of our country has to play a much more significant role in the over all development of our nation in the 21st century than what was envisaged a few years ago. I am sure that Smt. Sonia Gandhi's visit to LBS Institute of Management will go a long way in encouraging, motivating and inspiring the students of the Institute.

By organizing a National Seminar which is dedicated to the memory of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, we wish to recognize the contribution made by him in the area of modern technology with particular reference to computerization in the country which has lead us today to the age of Information Technology. Rajiv Gandhi apparently was much ahead of his times which is reflected by the fact that those very people who took him lightly at that time are today talking of IT from the roof top. Rajivji set the pace but it was unfortunate that the system found it difficult to keep pace with him. The bureaucratic hurdles and political mechanizations did not deter him from forging ahead with the target that he had set in his mind for an India of the 21st century. His modern and fresh approach and outlook impressed the youth of the nation belonging to all sections of the society. They had faith in him and he had confidence in them for building collectively and unitedly a strong and modern India. It is sad that destiny prevented Rajiv Gandhi from fulfilling the task which he had undertaken when he fell victim to the target of some senseless and fanatic elements on 21st May 1991.

Today IT industry hires the maximum number of people and its share in the job market is higher than the fast moving consumer goods or durables industry. Organizations in industries not even related to IT have realized the importance of an IT orientation for today's young managers and are more focussed into hiring computer savvy resources.

Today as we embark into the new century and into an age where never before has man had so many opportunities, we should pause in awe and realize that history has chosen our generation to be the torchbearers of ushering in a transition in human civilization where information will govern the destinies of all mankind.

What should be a matter of concern is the benefits of Information Technology may go only to the rich and thus increasing disparity between the rich and the poor. If India has to really emerge as an IT giant, it is essential that the fruits of this amazing technology are shared equally by all sections of the society. This reminds me of a recent lecture by Dr. C.K. Prahalad that why can't we in India produce an ice-cream for one rupee for the poor. It is here where lies a challenge for all of us. It is in the same context that Prof. Amartya Sen has emphasized on welfare economics. And again it is because of this reason that Rajiv Gandhi had said 'We will use science and technology as a powerful tool to alleviate poverty and catalyse economic development. The science and technology policy of the country should be people oriented. It is of particular importance that modern science and technology should not accentuate inequalities and tensions in the society'.

I would conclude by reminding you of the words of John F. Kennedy who said 'They see things that are there and say why, I see things that never were and say why not'.