2 lakh jobs added in IT sector since 2019: Ravi Shankar Prasad

He also said that India has become the top most performing country in the world in UPI in making digital payments

The IT sector has contributed 8 per cent to the country's GDP and two lakh new jobs have been added in the sector since 2019, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

He said the government also intends to lay BharatNet in villages all over India and the prime minister wants this to be accomplished in the coming 1000 days.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, the minister said India has attained its image in the world due to digital India.

"The IT sector has contributed 8 per cent in country's GDP. A total of 46 lakh people work in it, which include 14 lakh women. After 2019, two lakh people have got jobs in the IT sector,"he said.

Prasad said the success of online education has been confirmed by the one year of the pandemic, as school education was not interrupted even during the pandemic.

He also informed the House that a total of 70 lakh cases have been heard digitally by the Supreme Court and the High Court during the pandemic.

Highlighting the new developments in the IT sector, he said, India has become the top most performing country in the world in UPI in making digital payments.

"We are laying out BharatNet in all villages all over India. The prime minister wants this to be done in the coming 1000 days. But, surely once that is done, then a lot of opportunity will emerge to give more digital content to local schools," he said.

The minister said his focus in particular is to keep the government schools in mind while providing digital education, so that students there also get new opportunities to study.