Union Minister for Electronics, Information Technology and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday announced to upgrade nine existing government hospitals in Arunachal Pradesh to e-hospitals besides establishing a full-fledged centre of governance, National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) at Itanagar.
Prasad said 200 plus hospitals across the country have been turned into e-hospitals and assured Centre’s full support in making nine hospitals – along the length of Arunachal Pradesh – as e-hospitals.
He directed National Informatics Centre (NIC) to fast track the procedure and sought active support of the State Government.
Lauding the State Government for its initiatives to make governance digital, Prasad emphasized the importance of information technology in transforming the way of life and governance for the poor.
“India’s Talent – IT – plus Information Technology – IT is equal to India Tomorrow – IT!” he said.
Reiterating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to develop the North-east at par with other states, Prasad said India cannot develop if north-eastern states are not developed.
The Union Minister, however, regretted that implementation of Common Service Centres (CSCs) in the state is poor and urged the State Government to increase the presence of CSCs, especially at the gram panchayat levels manifold.
He pointed that CSCs, if established in every gram panchayat, would transform rural economy and take central and state government schemes to the grassroots.
He informed that around 10 lakh people are engaged in running CSCs across the country and 45,000 of them are women.
Prasad also emphasized on the BPO sector and suggested establishment of call centers as is being done successfully in Kohima.
“We are stressing on BPO in small cities and one has been allotted to Arunachal Pradesh. I would like the State Government to give this sector a push as I see immense potential in the State,” he said while appreciating the tech savvy and multilingual youths of the State.
Prasad also assured support to improve a robust digital connectivity in the state and said, ‘In the land of the rising sun, digital darkness has no place.’
The Union Minister was speaking at a ceremony here after laying the foundation of a Software Technology Park of India at Itanagar and inaugurating the NIELET extension centre at Tezu.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu and deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, also spoke on the occasion. While Khandu sought constant support from the Centre in realization of the Digital Arunachal Mission, Mein drew attention of the Union Minister towards connectivity issues and its impact on successful implementation of GST regime in the State.
Also present were Cabinet Minister Dr Mahesh Chai and capital legislator TechiKaso and Ziro legislator Tage Taki.
Prasad later interacted with State Government officials at the Chief Minister’s Office.
The Union Minister is being accompanied by Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Joint Secretary Rajiv Kumar, Dr Omkar Rai, DG STPI and top officials of NIELIT and NIC.