Kohima, May 26 (IANS) An “Innovation NE Week” began in Nagaland capital Kohima on Monday to take forward the digital literacy and technical education in the northeastern region of India.

The “Innovation NE Week”, organised by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), has participants from all the northeastern states.

Addressing the inaugural programme virtually, Secretary, MeitY S. Krishnan said that the event is of great significance and would play a crucial role in advancing digital literacy and technical education in the northeast region of India.

He added that Nagaland is progressing well with 25 start-ups so far and has a large number of people who are comfortable in English which provides for a great advantage in the economic setup.

He emphasised that MeitY is focused on empowering and bringing new technology to the northeast and informed that out of 55 NIELIT centres in India, 20 are located in the northeast with Kohima NIELIT centre being one of the most active centres.

Krishnan said that MeitY has directly supported the northeastern states in a number of Information Technology-related ventures and added that establishment of new semiconductor facilities in Assam, near Guwahati, is one among them and the intent of the government is to offer employment primarily to the people from the region, which includes Nagaland.

Secretary, MeitY spoke on the big mission of NIELIT is to train people from the region so that they get employed and absorbed in the market.

He also informed about the capacity building initiatives for the northeastern states implemented by NIELIT and under which close to 1.79 lakh youths have been trained and benefited. He expressed confidence that the “Innovation NE Week” would open new ventures for the people.

Vice Chancellor and Director General of NIELIT, Dr. Madan Mohan Tripathi, in his address said that NIELIT under MeitY has played a crucial role in advancing digital literacy and technical education.

He mentioned that with over 56 centres and over 700 affiliated institutes, NIELIT offers industry aligned programs in emerging areas such as AI, cyber security, IoT, AR/VR, block chain technology, ESDM among others.

Dr Tripathi added that NIELIT offers education from skilling to research and also serves as a national accreditation body for IT and electronics training.

–IANS

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