By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Union Minister of State (MoS) for Communication and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot, on Monday announced that the total expenditure of IT department in the North East region for this year is estimated at Rs 243 crore.
The statement came from the Union Minister during his visit to Shillong on Monday to chair the consultative meeting of all the North East IT ministers.
The meeting also reviewed the progress of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) schemes and the performance of BSNL and postal services in the region.
According to Pilot, Rs 190 crore out of Rs 243 crore has been earmarked for e-Governance programme in the region.
The funds will be spent by the State Governments in sub-schemes such as State Wide Area Network (SWAN), Common Service Centres (CSCs) besides others.
He also informed that the Union Cabinet has recently sanctioned a special package of Rs 388 crore for the North East region to impart ICT training to the local youths.
“Out of the entire budget, Rs 63.35 crore would be spent this year,” he added while speaking to reporters after the meeting.
The project would enable training of 14000 youths each year and is expected to attract IT industry to setup their units in the North East.
The scheme will be implemented through the National Institute for e-Learning and Information Technology (NIELIT) by upgrading six centres located in the region besides setting up of ten new extension centre at selected locations in the region including at Tura in Meghalaya.
He also urged the states to expedite the allotment of land so that funds could be released immediately.
The Union Government has also unveiled a special IT training package for the Government officials of the region, Pilot said, while adding that a specific component of fund worth Rs 1 crore would be allocated for the region under the plan.
The review meeting was attended by IT ministers of the Northeastern states, besides a high-level delegation of officials from the IT, BSNL and the Postal Services Board.
