SHILLONG, JAN 21: With government job reaching a saturation point in the state, many of us feels that the state has tremendous potential for job creation in the field of Information & Technology. With many of our youths becoming IT savvy, the thought of Shillong becoming another IT hub in the country sometimes do seem real. But as common man we haven’t seen any of this happening as none of the IT companies has come to set up shop in the state. Therefore, on the occasion of the statehood day the website approached an IAS officer DONALD P WAHLANG, who has been Meghalaya’s IT department commissioner & secretary, and an officer given the task of driving the IT sector ahead. Following are his views:-
AS we celebrate the 42nd Meghalaya Day today, it is an apt occasion for us to reflect on the progress we have made as a state in different development spheres touching the lives of the citizens. As far as Information and Technology is concerned, we are proud to find ourselves already embarked on a revolutionary journey towards unleashing its tremendous potential.
As a state with 80% of its population in rural areas, with a tele-density which was a meagre 1.6% in 2001 has leapt to 32.6% in 2011, speaks volumes of the penetration of Information and Technology till the grass-roots in the State. Technology has actively touched the lives of the agricultural community through mobile applications and communication facilities. In education, Meghalaya has already attained the reputation of being the preferred hub in the North eastern region. The setting up of premier institutes like IIM, NIT, NIFT has further added feathers to the cap of the state. Regarding health care, facilities have improved considerably and are gradually becoming at par with the rest of the country. The government has also played a proactive and pivotal role in establishing a robust foundation in core IT infrastructure through the State Wide Area Network (SWAN), State Data Center (SDC) and State Services Delivery Gateway (SSDG) at a very early stage. And finally, the ‘abode of clouds’ is blessed with a round-the-year pleasant and conducive climatic conditions.
The state has harnessed the potentials of Information and Technology by enabling 225 Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) to run the Common Service Centres (CSCs) under the ‘RAINBOW’ brand on a self-sustainable model. Further the state is continuously building the required capacity in Information Technology related skills by conducting regular trainings through agencies like B-ABLE (Basix Academy for Building Lifelong Employability), Aptech Multimedia Animation, NIIT. Through the Student Digital Learning Aid scheme for Class-XII students, we have provided Mobile Tablets to each of the budding talents to expose them to the latest in technology and provide them with relevant courseware’s to help them realise their academic goals.
In-spite of the humongous potential of Information and Technology in Meghalaya, there are certain challenges encountered at various stages. The brain-drain of meritorious students owing to lack of appropriate employment opportunities within the State is a matter of concern. A major chunk of the state’s working population, who are outside the state, would be delighted to grab similar opportunities if available within the State. The demand for a high speed internet bandwidth and availability of uninterrupted electricity across the state are areas of concern which are being addressed on priority. Telecom infrastructure needs enhancement urgently to meet the demands of the technology savvy citizens. Further, in order to have private players boost the overall infrastructure of IT in the state, the potential of the state requires to be marketed vigorously.
As the saying goes ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’, given the potential and in-spite of the challenges, ample job opportunities exist and can be created especially in the Information Technology sector in the coming years. It needs to be accepted that Meghalaya cannot just replicate the IT and related e-governance models of the rest of country or the world. We need customized and localized models which are feasible and sustainable for Meghalaya. The success of the CSCs in Meghalaya by enabling 225 VLEs to run a self-sustainable business model is a case worth mentioning. The recent CSC Rural Outreach campaign, which covered its first phase during Oct’13 to Dec’13 in Meghalaya, has also received widespread response from rural citizens. Increase of footprints in the CSCs will further motivate more entrepreneurs. The upcoming IT Park project of the State government is set to be a landmark initiative in the journey towards reaping the benefits of IT in the state. This IT Park is planned in the New Shillong Township spread across an area of about 80 acres. Once completed it is not only expected to create hundreds of jobs directly but also generate other economic activities as an offshoot. Further, with the demand by citizens across the country for greater transparency in governance, Information and Technology enabled solutions can pave the way to provide transparency and minimize corruption. This may also prove to be an opportunity for IT job creation in the government sector.
It’s true we have traversed through a remarkable journey in creating a solid foundation for unleashing the potential of IT in the state, and there are ripe avenues ahead for taking it to higher levels. The roles of budding entrepreneurs and private industries have a crucial role in moving ahead on this path. The policies of the government have always been supportive to encourage entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships. This will generate ample job opportunities in the long run. The recent years have proved that the citizens are well aware and enthusiastic in going the IT-way. And with a determined resolve to unleash the potential of IT, challenges can be overcome to create tremendous job opportunities for the citizens in the Information and Technology domain. Thus, the only question remains – Are we ready and willing to be active contributors to this revolution? – By Donald P Wahlang, IAS (The writer is Commissioner & Secretary Information & Technology department, Urban Affairs, etc Government of Meghalaya)
+ There are no comments
Add yours