The new NDA Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is quite serious about giving a boost to IT sector to make India a leader in both software and hardware. Addressing a first ever meeting of the captains of the IT industry in Silicon Valley of Bangalore, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad laid down a road map of the NDA Government to boost software and hardware. Talking to reporters on Tuesday, the IT Minister said the Modi-led NDA Government will embark on ushering a ‘Broadband Revolution’ in the country and all six lakh villages will have internet facilities in the next few years.
Prasad who addressed a meeting of the IT leaders organised by NASSCOM said the previous NDA Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who established the IT Ministry, was known for the ‘National Highway revolution’ and the Modi Government will be known for broadband revolution in the country.
“Broadband and connectivity is an idea of great priority for us,”' he said. The Minister said the focus of the NDA Government will be to promote software and hardware products, including electronic products, to make India a leader in both services and products space.
He said, “We have set out on a target to connect 50,000 villages this year and one lakh villages each in the next two years. Prime Minister Modi is very clear about it. He wants to change India through instrument of IT. You got good name for your industry. Now make India a destination for IT products and not just software services.”
The meeting which he called it as ‘IT Panchayat’ has drawn the vision statement of the NDA Government on Information Technology in the country. The Minister assured the industry its full support and called for expanding IT to tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
He called upon the IT sector to create IT products in education and healthcare to create demand for broadband connectivity on fast track mode. Prasad said he made it a point to meet the IT leaders in Bangalore before he met any others and this was his official outing. To a suggestion from the industry, he said he cannot be a brand ambassador the Indian IT industry but certainly be its spokesperson.
NASSCOM president R Chandrashekaran told reporters later that the minister had articulated very clearly the agenda of the Government which is emphasising on technology as a means for achieving growth and clarity with regard to what technology could do in the country and potential of the industry. leaders from the IT, BPM, Product companies, Start ups, electronic hardware and semiconductor manufacturers attended the meeting.
The NASSCOM chief said the key message given by the industry was that there is blurring of gap between products and services in the recent days and therefore the government need to look at holistically in terms of development and industry point of view. He said the industry had already made suggestions and recommendations to the Government.