Chandigarh, the 4th July, 2019: Hon’ble Governor Punjab & the Administrator UT Chandigarh, Sh. V. P. Singh Badnore, held a meeting with IT Companies at the UT Guest House to review the development of IT infrastructure in Chandigarh and IT Park. The Administrator also took a stock of activities being carried out by prominent IT companies in Chandigarh Technology Park and also the employment being generated by these companies and urged the companies to work toward generating new jobs so that talent pool of the city can be retained.
The meeting was attended by the senior officers from the UT Administration including Sh. Manoj Kumar Parida, IAS, Adviser to the Administrator, Sh. J.M Balamurugan, IAS, Principal Secretary to Governor to Punjab, Sh. Sanjay Baniwal, IPS, DGP Chandigarh , Sh.Ajoy Kumar Sinha, IAS, Finance Secretary, Sh. Sanjay Kumar Jha, IAS, Secretary IT and other senior officers from the departments of IT, Industries, Engineering and Urban Planning. The facility heads of prominent IT companies like Infosys, TechMahindra, Bharti Airtel, Carefusion, NetSolutions, DLF and representatives of industry associations like Chamber of Chandigarh Industries, Chandigarh Angels Network, Industry Association of Chandigarh were also present during the meeting.
Industry representatives were apprised about the various initiatives which had been undertaken by the Administration over the period of time to strengthen the IT infrastructure and e-governance in Chandigarh. Besides, providing insights on upcoming initiatives of the Department of IT, a presentation on promoting startup ecosystem was also given. Thereafter, presentations from industry representatives were also given. The IT companies shared their experiences on developing projects based on latest technologies of IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Block-chain, and Big Data.
Speaking at the occasion the UT Administrator said, “There needs to be an active and long lasting collaboration of the IT industry and UT Administration for solving problems of the residents and promoting Chandigarh as the best in the country. The industry should share their technical expertise and new ideas which can be applied to sectors of Health, Traffic Management, Education, Social Welfare, and Policing. This meeting is only the first open interaction with the IT companies and there would be more meetings in future also where we can exchange our ideas and discuss solutions. “
As regards the development of the IT Park area, it was informed that issues related to traffic management and food vendors are being addressed. Further, a convention Centre is likely to come up in the area and Administration is also considering the proposal of converting large vacant portions of land to smaller plots to attract more IT companies. The Industry Department is also formulating a new multi-sector Startup policy for the UT which would be helpful in creating a startup ecosystem in the city besides promoting entrepreneurship in the IT sector.
It was also informed that the Administration is coming up with the Chandigarh Innovation Centre which would be a platform for various stakeholders to interact and create ideas for the development of the city. The IT industry was requested to whole heartedly participate in this endeavor and provide technology solutions.
The representatives of the IT industry expressed satisfaction over the interaction and thanked the Administration for the invite. They appreciated the initiative and informed that the industry is fully committed to collaborate with the Administration for development of the city and also creating a better employment scenario in the region.
