Information Technology has always been a priority for the Rajasthan Government. Chief Minister of Rajasthan is known to be tech-savvy and so is her vision. Prodigious boost has been given to industries and technology since she came to power in December 2013. CM Raje believes that to make the Youth ‘World Citizens’, it is important to connect them to the globe. Huge importance has been given to the Tech and Startup sector in the Rajasthan Government Budget 2015-16. It is because of these efforts that Rajasthan is steadily, yet silently, leveraging modern technology to improve citizen services, grow economic prosperity and make their youth self-sufficient.
It is no surprise that in the modern times, IT holds a significant standing in the process of development and growth of any state. CM Vasundhara Raje understands how IT can bridge the gaps between citizens, services and localities – how IT can be that bridge between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’. Raje Government’s innovative and tech-friendly approach shows in its work. The underlying theme in governance is to remove bottlenecks in administration, ease regulations, overhaul the infrastructure and use technology to improve governance, give benefits and empower people. From launching the first of its kind Startup Policy to crowd sourcing funds for Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan, Rajasthan Government is leaving no stone unturned in bringing technology to ease the life of its citizens.
With the idea of empowering the Information Technology sector as well as supporting Startups, the Government of Rajasthan’s Department of Information Technology & Communications recently organized the first ever ‘Rajasthan IT Day’. A confluence of young entrepreneurs, students, businessmen, technocrats, investors and mentors, CM Raje herself inaugurated the daylong event. The Rajasthan government partnered with InnoFest (iSpirt) to being in a plethora of Startups as they interacted and learned from a panel of renowned investors, venture capitalists and learned mentors and presented their ideas and vision. It was also an incredible opportunity for students to learn and grasp the art of business and entrepreneurship from the best in the field.
Startups and Innovation was the focus baseline for at the event. While young entrepreneurs got great exposure on how to boost R&D for their company, engage business and partnership relations, developing repute with companies and the importance of thinking outside the box, the young students were inspired by the various panel discussions.
The highlights of the Event were:
- Expo Zone– A techzibhition to showcase innovative products from across India that included Robotics workshops.
- Hands-on Gesture Hardware Workshop with Balaji Lakshmanan
- Panel Discussions on various topics like crowd funding – The How, What and Why, Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Student Entrepreneurs Track
- iKen Workshop – For all early stage entrepreneurs or aspiring ones, the iKensession during Rajasthan IT Day 2016 was extremely educative. The session included introduction to basic design thinking skills in students and tips on developing the ability to deal with unconventional situations that require creative, unique and multiple concepts
Around 1400 delegates witnessed the events with over 200 key decision makers. An original structure with a day of keynotes and panels in plenary sessions interspersed with expert master classes and networking sessions make these summits essentials for reaching a unique audience: CIOs, IT Managers, IT Project Managers, COOs, ICT Decision Makers, IT Developpers, IT Networks Managers, CISOs, etc.
Apart from these, a platform that was provided to curated startups for pitching their ideas to a panel of Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists. This was a golden opportunity for IT startups working in any field such as healthcare, banking, education, e-commerce et al to showcase their work and attract investors.
Rajasthan IT Day saw some big names from the startup ecosystem as key speakers who shared their stories and helped the young entrepreneurs with various concerns that startups face. Some of them were Sharam Sharma (iSPIRIT), Anu Acharya (MapMyGenome), Varun Sheth (Ketto), Nidhi Agarwal Kashyap (Kaaryah Lifestyle Solutions), Manjula Sridhar (Aujas Network) and Shreyans Jain (Under 25 Club).
On the occasion of Rajasthan’s first IT Day, Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje also launched ‘RajNET’— a wide area network connecting the State capital with all 9,894 gram panchayats and 183 municipal areas — to strengthen connectivity and allow the inclusion of remote areas through Information Technology. Built as a multimode connectivity network (through VSAT and terrestrial linkage), RajNET facilitates voice, video and data connection, enabling effective delivery of citizen services like Bhamashah, e-Mitra and MNREGA across the State, including its remotest areas. This is first of its kind network in the country. Under the Digital India programme, GOI has set a target of creating this level of connectivity across the country by December 2016, but Rajasthan, with special push from CM Raje, has already achieved this goal in March 2016.
Government of Rajasthan has started making efforts to encourage Startups with an aid of Rs 500 crore as a part of the Rajasthan Startup Policy. Not only this, Government of India has also set out Rs 100 billion for startups to encourage young entrepreneurs and help the Indian economy as well as the Employment scenario improve.
CM Vasundhara Raje is keen to uplift the IT sector and is willing to make Rajasthan the next hub for technological innovation in India. On the day of the event, she connected to e-mitra kendras in various villages via RajNET. She patiently spoke to the overseeing youths about their incomes and the problems faced. She talked to e-Mitra operators in Baran, Bharatpur, Churu, Rajasmand, Sirohi and Udaipur and inquired about the services being offered at their centres along with encouraging them for their work. She also distributed state IT Awards to officials of different departments for making government IT enabled services available to the people with ease. She expressed how her dream was to make Rajasthan the Start-up, Incubation and Entrepreneurship hub of Northern India.
We believe that if we work together, we can achieve much more than we would have, working in silos #RajasthanITday : https://t.co/86lVEmKCb0
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) March 21, 2016
I urge the Youth of Rajasthan to #StartUp — partner with us to change your life and a million others. #StartUpRajasthan #rajasthanitday
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) March 21, 2016
A balanced eco-system to encourage #startups is in place – all you need now is hardwork, application & strength to accept the challenge!
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) March 21, 2016
If ‘Smart Grids’ and ‘Smart Cities’ are to become reality, we shall also need ‘Smart Citizens’. #RajasthanITDay
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) March 21, 2016
“We are stepping into a new world, where aspirational youngsters are wanting to enter into any part of the world. That’s why we wish to open incubation centres all across the state, so that our Youths’ aspirations are realized,” the CM said. She said that there was a time when IT and Rajasthan were contractions in terms, but today the state was breaking new grounds in IT sector and IT-enabled services. She called upon the young people of the state to upgrade their skills in the use of modern tools for self-betterment and that of the society. She said that talented young generation of the state needed support. “This is why we are emphasizing on Skill Development. IT-based Start-ups and disruptive business models, are looking for the right skills,” she added.
“Our philosophy of governance is one of partnerships. We believe that working together the government can achieve much more than working in silos,” she said while inviting the new generation of entrepreneurs to partner with the government for development of Rajasthan. Smt. Raje said that very soon Cyber Crime Units would be established in every Police Range of the state.
She urged the young entrepreneurs present in the hall to give a commitment to take up the torch of IT till the last mile in the yet unreached rural areas. She said that in Rajasthan, tools of Information Technology started changing lives every day. The Point of Sales machine in a Ration shop, pension through biometric verification, e-Mitra counters etc. were making lives simpler and better. She added that in the government, Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) made exchange of financial information between departments easy and fast and further went on to mention about Rajasthan Sampark portal and successful use of IT services in grievance redressal in different departments.
Chief Minister Raje summed up her address with a simple line – “if Smart Grids and Smart Cities were to be a reality, we also need Smart Citizens”, and we agree! For Rajasthan to usher into a new era of Technology, it is very important for its youth to start skilling themselves and become Smart, Aware Citizens of Rajasthan.
