'UP Can Proudly Claim To Be Amongst The Top It Hubs In The Country'

IN A TÊTE-À-TÊTE WITH EXPRESS COMPUTER, Kumar Prashant, Special Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Uttar Pradesh, shares the vision of the UP Government for strengthening the IT infrastructure, and highlights how the Yogi Adityanath-led government desires to replicate the success of the IT industry witnessed by Noida and Greater Noida in other parts of the state

- Vishwas Dass

UP has made strides in the field of information technology in recent years. The state is trying to use IT to the optimum to ease and strengthen citizen services. How do you see the current state of Uttar Pradesh's technological progress ?

Uttar Pradesh can proudly claim to be amongst one of the top information technology hubs in the country. The state has seen an upsurge of investment in the field of IT and electronics sectors over the past couple of years under the 'Make In UP' program. During UP Investors Summit 2018, the department of IT & Electronics was able to attract investment worth ̀ 55,000 crores of which ̀ 41,000 crores was inaugurated in the Ground Breaking Ceremony (GBC) phase one conducted in July 2018. Some leading industry players having pledged investment in Uttar Pradesh are Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Haier, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Jio, among others.

Could you please brief us about the latest IT initiatives of the Uttar Pradesh Government which has brought about a paradigm shift?

Implementation of E-Tendering has brought much-needed transparency in the public procurement system. Uttar Pradesh, amongst other states, won the first prize from the Union Government for timely implementation of the E-Tendering portal. On the policy front, introduction of both IT & Startup Policy and Electronics Manufacturing Policy in year 2017 helped us in creating a conducive policy environment for attracting investments from leading global electronics manufacturing companies and top IT/ITeS organisations.