Information technology (IT) industry body Nasscom on Friday announced the appointment of former telecom secretary R Chandrashekhar as its next president.

Mr. Chandrashekhar, who remained the chairman of telecom commission and secretary of department of telecommunication (DoT0 till March this year, will replace current President Som Mittal, whose tenure will end in January
2014.

Confirming the appointment of the new president, Nasscom Chairman Krishnakumar Natarajan said, "We are privileged to have Chandrashekhar share our future aspirations and help us to build a truly world class innovative industry."

The decision to have Mr. Chandrashekhar as Nasscom's next president was taken at the industry body's executive council meeting in Pune.

Mr. Chandrashekhar said he was looking forward to work with Mr. Som Mittal, the executive council as well as other stakeholders of the industry body.

He is facing a big challenge - to take forward Nasscom's target of reaching revenue of $300 billion (around Rs 18 lakh crore) for the IT sector by the year 2020. After the appointment, he acknowledged that the IT industry is currently at a crossroads, and that there are big challenges and opportunities overseas and within the domestic market.