'300,000 youth to get jobs in IT industry in three years'

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Nov. 15: Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung has said that within next three years, employment can be created for three hundred thousand youths in the IT industry. 

Inaugurating the 'Startup and Idea Fest-2024' organised by Living with ICT here in the Capital on Thursday, Minister Gurung expected equal support from the government and the private sector in the development of the IT industry.

Minister Gurung, who is also the government spokesperson, said that in the first year, the Ministry will revise the policy and in the second year, the government will manage the budget and start the necessary work for the IT sector. 

For this, Minister Gurung said that the government has plans to introduce AI policy, prepare IT infrastructure, and allocate budget.

He also promised to build IT Park and Knowledge Park in Kathmandu during his tenure. 

He said that the aim of making the country digital will be started by making the government work of local bodies technology-friendly. 

"We will start Digital Nepal from the local level, and gradually expand it," said Minister Gurung. 

The words and actions of creating Digital Nepal are being done on one side. 

By improving it, we are starting to develop the policy system, infrastructure and information technology in a planned manner, Minister Gurung explained. 

Ajit Kumar Sah, Chairman of the IT Council, said that success can be achieved if the government can continue the work it is currently doing in the field of information technology. 

Rabindra Dhakal, Secretary at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), said that it is necessary to encourage the youth to stay in the country, and for this, cooperation of industrial establishments is necessary.

Pankaj Jalan, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, said that it is necessary for the government to come up with a strategy to retain the youth in the country through policy reforms. 

Jalan requested the government to remove VAT, noting that technology users were discouraged when VAT was imposed even on digital payments. 

Former Minister Ganesh Sah said that there is a lot of potential for IT hub in Nepal and discussed that unemployment problem can be reduced.

Rajan Lamsal, President of Living with ICT, suggested to follow good governance practices along with the creation of digital infrastructure, policy reforms to fulfil the government's digital framework objectives.

Various IT-related innovative works are on display at the Startup and Idea Fest, which will be held until Friday.