GUWAHATI: In a bid to take internet connectivity to the remotest part of the State, Government of Assam signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Google India Pvt on Thursday at Janata Bhavan in the city on Thursday evening.
Secretary Information Technology Department Ninit Khare and Chtean Krishnaswami, Country Head (Policy) of Google India, signed the MoU on behalf of Government of Assam and Google respectively, in presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Chief Minister Sonowal said that in the 21st century technology ruled the roost and to carry forward the fruits of development to even the remotest part, State Government had gear up to use technology increasingly. He also said that the MoU signed with the Google would be latest addition to the arsenal of the State Government to make technology-driven development a reality in the State.
Sonowal also said that Assam Government in sync with the Centre and was working rigorously to make the ground fertile for the success of Start up, Stand up programmes. “However, the success of these programmes sans technology would remain a distant dream,” Sonowal added.
Sonowal also said that the MoU would be used as launch pad to materialise state government’s vision of women empowerment, skill development and universal education, as his government would vow to make a skilled Assam where women have considerable role to play in state’s development. He also said that through MoU with Google, the state government would work to provide internet connection to 26,000 villages and 1500 tea garden areas and increase digital literacy. He also attributed the ties with Google as a way forward to strongly pitch Guwahati as a natural gateway to the South East Asian Countries.