Govt looking to partner industry in furthering growth: Prasad

The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is keen to further engage with industries and their stakeholders to empower all-round economic growth, said Union IT and Comunications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday. 

Speaking at the ‘IT Panchayat’ which he held in Bangalore in collaboration with industry body Nasscom and other associations, Prasad said, “The Prime Minister has told us clearly that decisions should not be delayed. That is the goal of this government.”

He asked industry leaders to let him know steps the government can take towards this end. “I can work on appropriate policy measures. The industry is welcome to give me briefings on how Indiian IT products are being used by bodies and organisations across the world. This would be of great use to the government in policy making. If need be, I can even call meetings of state IT officials to come up with new ways of promoting product companies in their states,” Prasad said.

Noting that the government is very keen to push development activity in the North East region of India, he said, “The PM is very keen on developing the North East. Can we have a special incentive scheme to empower industrial growth in the North East states which boast of highly talented and industrious populations?”  he said.

He said that electronics and semi-conductor industry growth will be vital to pushing the overall development of the IT sector in the country. “I have got a suggestion on expanding the electronics department. Electronic manufacturing development is a key agenda for the new government. We must work towards setting up a semiconductor fabrication facility in India. Such a facility will be a tipping point for electronics industry,” Prasad said.

At the IT Panchayat held on Tuesday, the minister met product startups to understand the constraints they are operating under and discuss their product development needs.