The ongoing Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) India 2006, the flagship event of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), is establishing itself as India's premier information and communication technology fair.

The three-day event, which began here Wednesday and is being held for the fifth consecutive year, is growing slowly but steadily in terms of both popularity and the number of exhibitors with every passing year.

This year, more than 90 companies are participating in the event, hitherto known as GITEX Hyderabad.

Organised in association with the state government, the event serves as a networking platform for national and international ICT companies exploring business opportunities in India.

"The event has registered an increase in floor space of 16 percent over the last year to cover a net area of 1,509 square metres with 95 exhibitors participating this year against 69 last year," said Christina Nicholson, DWTC general manager.

Though the name of the event suggests it is about IT companies in the Gulf, its aim is to promote business opportunities in ICT in India.

"GITEX is a trademark of DWTC and it is not an event focussed on the Gulf," a spokesman for the organisers told.

Like the previous years, only two companies from Dubai - Dubai Internet City and Euro Star - are among the participants. Majority of the exhibitors are Indian subsidiaries of multinationals or Indian ICT companies, showcasing their latest technologies and products.

Companies like Microsoft, HSBC, ADP, BenQ, Hangzhou, Satyam, Ram Infomatics, Zoom Technologies, SQL, Portal Player, Net4India, and business delegations from countries like China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the US and Taiwan are participating in the exhibition.

The governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Pondicherry, Kerala, Orissa and Assam besides Andhra Pradesh have also put up their stalls.

GITEX India had made a modest beginning in 2002, when Hyderabad became the first city outside the Middle East to host the flagship event of DWTC, which holds it every year in Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo and Beirut.

However, the terrorist attacks on the US badly impacted the first Indian edition, which attracted only 45 exhibitors and 2,569 business visitors. The 2003 edition registered a growth of 56 percent in the number of exhibitors and an increase in floor space of 57 percent.

As the exhibition mainly caters to businessmen and traders, the organisers in 2004 added a retail arm - Computer Shopper - to attract the general public. It offers some of the best deals on computer hardware, software, peripherals, multimedia and a wide range of computer products and services.

"The increase in the number of stalls at the retail show from 20 last year to 44 this year and the four percent Value Added Tax (VAT) refund offered by the state government on purchases is drawing huge crowds," said the DWTC spokesman. Last year, the Computer Shopper clocked business of Rs.30 million ($675,000).

Indicating the importance of the event, the state government Wednesday used the occasion to sign MoUs with 16 IT companies for setting up their units in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam with an investment of over Rs.6.56 billion ($147,65 million).

Coinciding with the inauguration of the event, the state government also presented awards to top IT and ITES (IT enabled services) exporters.

Giving a further fillip to the event, the state authorities are also holding a job fair at the GITEX venue. More than 20 companies are participating in the event. Various industry and trade bodies are also holding conferences and seminars to coincide with the exhibition.

While the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is organising a two-day conference on 'Animation India-2006', the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is holding a conference on hardware and ITeS.

The department of information and communication technology is conducting a conference on e-governance in health and farm sector.

The Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE) is also holding a conference on women in ICT and support services while TiE, a global network of entrepreneurs, is hosting a conference on emerging trends and opportunities in IT and biotechnology sectors.