Technology & new skills are driving new opportunities in NE

Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Entrepreneurship & Skill Development, has inaugurated five centers of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) in the northeast for skill enhancement of the educated youth in the region. These five centers of NIELIT are Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Jorhat, Pasighat, and Senapati.

On the third and concluding day of his visit to the northeast, the Minister said it is "our PM Narendra Modi Ji's conviction to bring the northeast on par with other developed regions in the country".

The Minister further said that there has been significant progress in using technology to transform our lives and our governance. We have already demonstrated that technology has enabled governments and governance to deliver every rupee meant for every beneficiary directly to his or her account "without any corruption, without any leakage, without any delay". "That is the power of technology," he said.

On the second objective of creating more opportunities, it is clear from the last two years that if it were not for technology, ours would have been a far different response and many more lives and livelihoods and much more economic destruction would have happened.

Reminding the achievements of the Government he said, “today we are the fastest growing economy in the world; the fastest growing startup and innovation ecosystem in the world. We have created 100 unicorns. We have received the highest foreign direct investments of any country in the world.”

In the last year, we have created almost 10 lakh new jobs in IT and electronics. Students having digital skills and digital training will get tremendous new opportunities in jobs and entrepreneurship in the new India. "We are a country that has created 100 unicorns, which means 100 billionaires."

In his inspiring words, the Minister said, "When we say today that new India means new opportunities and new prosperity, it means that the next unicorns can be from Nagaland, Kohima, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, or anywhere." It is all your capability. And in the centre of that promise of "Digital India ka Digital North East".

The world is looking at India as a trusted partner of digital products and services. We are today a country that is going to do 400 billion dollars of electronic manufacturing and reach almost 12 % of global supply chains on electronics. We have grown 16% on a base of 200 billion dollars last year on technology services. It is time to be part of that revolution and grab the opportunities. "The world of opportunities is just in front of you and be prepared and be determined to avail them"- MoS said.

Shri. Rajeev Chandrasekhar also launched the NECB2.0 project, for capacity building and training in digital skill sets and current industry demanding technologies for various sections of society in the northeastern states. The project is funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India.  The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) is the Implementing Agency, through its centers at Agartala, Aizwal, Gangtok, Guwahati, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, and Shillong.

Earlier in the day, the Minister visited the Nagaland Tool Room & Training Centre (NTTC) at Dimapur. He had inspected the facilities and ongoing projects there and assured all support and assistance from MeitY and the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) for grooming young entrepreneurs from the remote districts of Mon and Kiphire through the proposed extension centers.

The Minister also made a visit to the IISC training Centre in Dimapur and interacted with the trainers. The centre has successfully placed 7,500 students in different sectors, including hospitality and aviation.

Later in the day on May 5, the Minister also chaired a review meeting with key officials of the District Administration of Kiphire, which is an aspirational district. He reviewed the progress of developmental and welfare programmes. He shared the vision of PM Narendra Modi, which is to catalyze development in these districts and make them models for others to emulate. He also assured support in sorting out connectivity issues, both in terms of transport and the data highway.