Srinagar: The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council of India (ESC) in Electronic and IT Sector in presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that ESC Chairman Sandeep Narula and KCCI President Javid Ahmad Tenga signed the MoU.
LG Sinha congratulated the KCCI and ESC for entering into a partnership to mentor and promote Kashmir-based electronics and software units, organise buyer-seller meet, share experiences, best practices, and knowledge in the sector.
“This MoU is a momentous occasion for J&K and will hugely benefit the Electronic and IT Sector in J&K. Participation in trade fairs, access to global markets, and advisory services will create value addition to grassroots innovation and help the entrepreneurs to commercialise their technologies,” he said.
The LG said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the reforms introduced over the past few years had brought transformational changes in electronics, communication, and technology sectors in J&K.
“In a short period of time, J&K has achieved several milestones in digitalisation to keep pace with the competition, to create infrastructure base for budding IT entrepreneurs, to help the rapidly growing economy, and to bring efficiency and transparency in public service delivery,” he said.
“The rapid change in the IT sector provides an exciting opportunity to transform J&K and make it an IT hub of North India. Comprehensive cooperation, creativity and enterprise of all the stakeholders, and a rich pool of human resources can energise our resolve and move us closer to this goal,” Sinha said.
At the MoU signing ceremony, he also talked about how new age technologies could revolutionise the agriculture and allied sector in J&K.
“Agritech is another area, which offers huge opportunities for start-ups and IT entrepreneurs of J&K. Internet of Things and Automation for sensor-based smart agriculture, research and development ecosystem, technology enabled agri-informatics will create more jobs and facilitate the creation of new enterprises,” the LG said. “The growth of the technology revolution and the recent interest shown by foreign companies to tap into our skilled manpower base will enable youth to take J&K towards a new era of growth and technological innovation.”
He said that with the help of ESC India and their vast global network, J&K would not only build on the gains of ongoing industrialisation but also unleash the creativity and enterprise latent in young entrepreneurs and start-up founders.
Sinha instructed the Industries and Commerce Department, Information Technology Department and other stakeholders for utilising the full potential of Software Technology Park at Rangreth.
“We must also extend handholding to young entrepreneurs, startups, small companies and promote public-private partnership in the IT sector,” he said.
Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta; Commissioner Secretary Industries and Commerce Department, Vikramjit Singh; Vice Chairman ESC, Veer Sagar; and Executive Director ESC, Gurmeet Singh were also present on the occasion.
