Kerala to link education with digital boom
The government is now working on adding another 10 million square feet to the IT parks and is ensuring last mile digital connectivity.
Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the government will take steps to link the state’s education sector to the digital revolution to ensure that the youth get skills relevant to the emerging economy. The government “would ensure that our high skilled work force gets world class opportunities here in Kerala itself,” he said, inaugurating #FUTURE, the two-day global digital summit organised by the government in Kochi.
The government is now working on adding another 10 million square feet to the IT parks and is ensuring last mile digital connectivity. “The government is committed to providing free Wi-Fi in at least a 1000 public spots every year, including parks and libraries, and we are connecting our offices and homes with a high speed optical fibre network,” the Chief Minister said, adding “Kerala is soon transforming into an information technology and knowledge-based society.”
Mr Vijayan, who credited the state’s achievements to a robust education system, made a pitch for further investment in the state saying it has a wide range of highly qualified and skilled human resources and the world class physical and digital infrastructure that can attract the emerging knowledge companies to Kerala. He also listed the Knowledge City in Thiruvananthapuram, the Maker Village in Kochi and the Mobility Hub in Kozhikode as the government’s new initiatives.
The chief minister claimed that the government is promoting start ups like never before with both technical and financial support. “We are also investing in skill delivery platforms, apart from ensuring last mile connectivity.” Chairman of Kerala’s High Power Committee on IT S.D. Shibulal, who welcomed the gathering, said the summit is the first step to think about the future of Kerala and India. HPIC member and convener of #FUTRE V.K. Mathews said the disruptions taking place globally also offered a lot of opportunities and challenges. Chief secretary Paul Antony and IT secretary M. Sivasankar also addressed the opening session. The chief secretary unveiled the knowledge report prepared by Ernst &Young in the backdrop of the event.