Shillong, June 18: Union minister of state for communications and information technology, Sachin Pilot, today announced IT projects worth Rs 567 crore for the Northeast, justifying his claim that the Centre is pouring in money for the region to improve telecom connectivity.
He was here to chair a consultative meeting of all information technology ministers of the Northeast to review progress of information and communications technology schemes besides progress of BSNL and postal services in the region. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura were represented by information technology ministers, chief secretaries and information technology secretaries.
Speaking at a news conference this evening, Pilot said from Rs 567 crore, an amount would be spent for skill upgradation of those working in the IT sector in the region.
“This region occupies a special part in the country and we want to ensure that it receives all necessary support,” the Union minister said.
Pilot said his ministry would undertake review exercises every six months in each state of the region. “We want to review not only the outlay, but also the outcome of the resources we have invested. The next meeting to review the functioning of the schemes and programmes will be held in Manipur,” he said.
On poor connectivity along the international border, Pilot said the ministries of home and external affairs had taken up these issues with neighbouring countries to ensure that foreign signals do not enter Indian territory.
“We are also trying to put up more towers in places along the international border to ensure connectivity,” Pilot said.
At the meeting, Pilot also reviewed the implementation of the National e-Governance Plan and directed all agencies to resolve pending issues. He stated that core IT infrastructure had been established in all the states for a smooth rollout of delivery of citizen-centric services. He referred to the successful implementation of pilot projects in a few northeastern states and announced full coverage of the schemes in all the states. Pilot said total expenditure of the department of IT in the region is estimated to be Rs 243 crore this year. Of this, Rs 190 crore has been earmarked for e-governance. He also requested the states to utilise the amount.
He said the cabinet had recently sanctioned a Rs 388-crore special package for the Northeast to impart affordable ICT training to local youths.
Of the budgeted Rs 388 crore, Rs 63.35 crore will be spent this year.
The project will enable training of 14,000 youths a year. This will ensure availability of trained professionals in the region which will attract IT industries to set up their units in the Northeast.
He also said the six existing National Institute of E-Learning & Information Technology (NIELIT) centres located in Imphal, Aizawl, Guwahati, Shillong, Gangtok and Itanagar would be upgraded.
Around 10 new extension centres at Senapati and Churachandpur in Manipur; Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat and Kokrajhar in Assam; Lunglei in Mizoram; Tura in Meghalaya; Tezu and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh would be set up. The two existing extension centres at Chuchuyimlang in Nagaland and Tezpur in Assam would be upgraded.
Pilot unveiled a special IT training package for government officials of the region.
The training will cover officials from different levels including senior officials at policy level, officers involved in project implementation and operation-level officers. A specific component of the funds, about Rs 1 crore, would be allocated for the states.
On BSNL and postal department, Pilot emphasised the importance of connectivity for the region and assured full support of the Union government to ensure landline, wireless, and data connectivity on a par with the rest of the country.
