Hon'ble Union Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patilji, Hon'ble Minister of State for Personnel & Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Suresh Pachauriji, Secretary General INTERPOL Mr. Ronald K Noble, Esteemed invitees, Distinguished delegates, members of media, Ladies & Gentlemen.

         On behalf of CBI and Interpol, I extend a very warm welcome to each and everyone present here today. I consider it a very special privilege to extend heartiest welcome to Shri Shivraj Patilji, Union Home Minister of India and Shri Suresh Pachauriji, Hon'ble Minister of State for Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs for gracing this inaugural function of 7th Interpol Conference on Cyber Crime. I extend very special welcome to Mr. Ronald K. Noble, distinguished Secretary General, Interpol. His presence here today underlines the importance that he attaches to this conference and also to the relation between Central Bureau of Investigation and the Interpol. I am aware about the very busy schedule that Mr. Noble has kept during last few days traveling all the way to China, reaching New Delhi early this morning. A very special welcome to you Mr. Noble.

         2. This conference is of utmost importance as cyber crimes are increasingly becoming a menace and also," a challenge to civil societies the world over. Sir, in this 7th Interpol Conference on Cyber Crime, we have representations from 37 countries, EUROPOL, UNODC,' UNICR, Council. of Europe, Multinational Information Technology companies, Indian Public Sector Undertakings and Department of Electronics, Government of India totaling to 176. Twenty States of the Union of India are also represented by 43 Senior Police officers in this conference.

         3. Compared to conventional crime, cyber crime presents a different set of challenges. From a victim's perspective, the cyber criminal is a faceless entity with whom he rarely comes into physical contact. The criminal has the capability to simultaneously attack several persons, each sitting thousands of miles away from the other. He is not bound by the national boundaries and earns the proceeds of crime through electronic channels with just click of a computer key. Notwithstanding a few notable exceptions, Law Enforcement officers mostly find the pattern difficult to understand. Until recently, even the Cyber Laws were not geared up to deal with the special evidentiary requirements of cyber crime. There is a strong need, therefore, for concerted efforts for capacity building, training of all those associated with the criminal justice system.

         4. Interpol has made commendable efforts in promoting Police to Police cooperation in Cyber Enforcement. The expert working groups setup by the Interpol covering five geographic regions of the world have done excellent work in practical aspects of investigation and forensics. I am sure these groups would find this forum useful for sharing the outcome of their efforts and for getting the feedback from the delegates, which would help them in their future endeavors.

         5. CBI has spared no efforts in providing all the required facilities for the participants of this conference, which would help create an ambience for stimulating discussion. Agenda for the conference is comprehensive and it covers the issues, such as National security concerns, Child pornography, Cyber Forensics, International cooperation and emerging trends. I am confident that the delegates would find the deliberations useful.

         6. I once again welcome you all. I hope that delegates to the Conference would not only gain from the conference but shall also take out time to visit place of interest in the historic city Delhi.