Sam Pitroda (left), along with development commissioner R Balakrishnan (right) in the state secretariat on Wednesday.

The telecom wizard, Pitroda, who has been appointed the technology adviser for development of telecom, electronics, IT, ITES sectors of the state, met chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday evening.

It was decided at the meeting that the state government would take steps to ensure connectivity up to village level. The move will benefit education, agriculture and health sectors. The chief minister also sought Pitroda’s cooperation in skill development sector to make the youth industry-ready.

Under the guidance of Pitroda, Vision 2036 document is being prepared for holistic development of Odisha in next 20 years. “I want to see concrete results within a year,” said Pitroda.

Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee