SHILLONG, July 20: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday said information technology (IT) and innovation are going to play a crucial role in how the digital economy of the state shapes up in the future.
Addressing the inaugural function of the year-long diamond jubilee celebration of teaching science at Shillong College, he said sustainability and a green economy would together be a major sector.
He said there had been a concept that economy and ecology cannot go together.
“But jobs will be created in the green economy. A lot of innovation is going to take place in this sector in the years to come,” Sangma said, insisting science would become more and more critical for innovation and green economy.
He said Meghalaya has been progressing in the IT sector and is slowly and steadily moving towards becoming a BPO destination. The target is to make the state an IT hub of the country, he added.
“About 3,000 BPO seats in the state’s first IT Park are already occupied. Processes from Europe, the United States and some developing nations are running from Shillong,” Sangma said.
Many companies wish to come to the state with a Dubai-based firm set to sign an agreement to set up a 200-seater centre in Shillong, he said.
“We are also constructing the next phase of the IT Park for 5,000 seats. So, we will have close to 8,000 seats in a year’s time. My target is about 30,000 seats by getting investments from outside,” Sangma said.
Sangma said the government is looking to ensure that the BPO sector, which is moving fast in the state, reaches the next level of technology implementation and does not just remain a service provider.
It is important for the students of institutions like Shillong College and NEHU to think on this line, he said.
He further said the state government would be laying optical fibre cables for high-speed connectivity for all the block headquarters soon. “Optical fibre connectivity down to the block level will improve the online education system at the grassroots level,” he said.
The CM said the state government is in the process of putting up one of the largest data centres in the Northeast. “We have received funds for the data centre but we need manpower to maintain them. The educational institutions will play an important role in creating the necessary manpower,” he said.
Sangma said submarine cables have landed in Bangladesh’s Chittagong. The state government would propose taking these cables to Guwahati via Shillong.
“There is a high probability that the submarine cables would land in Shillong through a collaboration among the governments of India, Bangladesh, Assam, and Meghalaya,” he said.
The submarine cables would ensure high-speed data transmission at a reduced cost, he pointed out.
Earlier, Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma congratulated Shillong College for being the only one in the state to be accessed and reaccredited an A+ grade recently by NAAC, Bangalore.
He urged students to spread their knowledge to every nook and corner for the development of the state.
On the NEP 2020 and the vision of building the country as a knowledge centre, he urged the college to move forward in the field of research, touch lives and usher in changes in society.
NEHU Vice-Chancellor, Prabha Shankar Shukla said science is the foundation of the modern world.
He pointed to various challenges such as climate change and diseases to underscore the need to elevate science as a problem-solving discipline.
Shukla explained how the multi-disciplinary approach of the NEP 2020 could benefit society and urged the affiliated colleges to consider implementing it.
Shillong College principal, E. Kharkongor had earlier delivered the welcome address.
