The Chanderi Weavers’ ICT resource was formally inaugurated on February 9th, 2009 by Sh. Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Union Minister of State for IT and Communications, Government of India. The Guests of Honour included eminent bureaucrat Smt. Geeta Mishra, District Collector, Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh; Sh. Bhupender Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles; Sh. A K Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Textile; Sh. EVKS Elangovan, Minister of State for Textiles; Sh. R Chandrashekhar, Special Secretary, IT, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), Sh Jainder Singh, Secretary DIT and MCIT; and Sh. E K Bharat Bhushan, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor, DIT and MCIT.
Among the Special Invitees were Sh. M A Khan, Principal Secretary, Handloom/Handicraft Development Corporation, Madhya Pradesh; Sh. Sanjay Aggarwal, DC (Handicrafts); Sh. B K Sinha, DC (Handlooms); Sh. George Arakel, OSD, Media Labs Asia; Sh. V K Bhatia, Research Director, Media Labs Asis; Dr. G V Ramaraju, PRD, Media Labs Asia; Sh. K K Goswami, Director IICT, Bhadohi; Sh. Shantanu Chaudhary, Professor, IIT Delhi. Other invitees included members of the Bunkar Vikas Sanstha and members from the weaver community of Chanderi.
The program commenced at 10: 30 am with a floral welcome and an introductory address stating the parameters of the project by Sh. Osama Manzar, Director DEF. This was followed by a summary of the activities of Media Labs Asia by Sh. S N Goswami, MD and CEO, Media Labs Asia. The guests of honour also addressed the gathering, followed by the address of the chief guest, Sh. Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, who then inaugurated the centre. The vote of thanks was presented by Sh. S N Goswami, MD and CEO, Media Labs Asia.