ITAO gets new office bearers

In the backdrop of the
impending IT expo in Bhubaneswar, proposed this month by IT
Association of Orissa ( href="https://www.dqweek.com/itao-settles-credit-with-hp">ITAO),
the trade body has elected a new team
of office bearers completing its norm of annual elections. The
elections were held on January 25, at Hotel HHI following the
customary AGM of ITAO. Manoj Patra of Info World has been selected as
the President for this year followed by Sukant Mohanty of Linker as
the VP and Sunil Panda of System World as the Treasurer.

However, Dayananda Ratho
of Cyber Software and Services continues to remain in the same
portfolio, ie, as the Secretary of ITAO for the third consecutive
term. “The elections were held
on a nomination basis, as we normally do not opt for the open ballot
system. Selection for office bearers were done by filing nomination
before the elections and a consecutive selection by our members,”
Mohanty said while discussing about the electoral procedure.

Besides the selection of
the office bearers, the association has also finalized its Executive
Board (EB) comprising of 20 members on February 5. Speaking over the
composition of the EB, Ratho said, “The EB comprises of both new
entrants, as well as old ones, to give it a fair look. Besides this,
the mix of the new members and the old ones will give a fair chance
to the new ones to learn and execute crucial things with the guidance
of the seniors.”

With the new office
bearers and the new EB in place, ITAO has identified key focus areas
for the association this CY and has framed the EB to cater to its
needs. “The key focus of the EB is business development in the area
and a forum within the EB has been made to address trade
developmental issues across Orissa. There is also a forum for the
development of ITAO which will identify the key areas for us to
improve upon,” Mohanty said.

Besides, a dedicated
sub-board for the IT expo has been selected, which will exclusively
work over the awaiting IT expo and will also advice, as well as
execute new ones. Also, an events and sports committee has been
selected to organize fun events and sports activities for the
members.

However, this time, two
new sub-bodies have been framed by the organization in accordance to
the new demands and needs of the area. A zealous committee to address
trade issues and related internal ITAO issues to the state government
has been selected with the target of getting patronage from the
government and the nodal body.

Besides, with ITAO
planning for long, to expand its horizons across Orissa upcountry and
increase its membership base in the state, another body to focus on
remote areas for IT promotions has been selected. “As part of our
plan to enhance our progress and cater to the new market demands,
this tenure, we will be taking up the issue to reach out to the
common man in various means possible and not just remain another IT
association,” Mohanty added. With this unique thought process taken
up recently, ITAO is yet to finalize the course of action to bring
the common man under its hood.