KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, said the IT sector with significant contribution to the economy is yet to be protected and promoted by the state.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the  ‘INFO Developers CAN Infotech-2023’ that kicked off here today, the minister described the present time as an ‘IT era’, stating that it had made a significant contribution to the economic prosperity of the country.  

As the minister assessed, the IT sector has been a good source of revenue collection, but the production of human resources at a sufficient level has not been possible as it is yet to become a top priority for the state. 

“The prolonged political instability in the past prevented us from clearly identifying our areas of priorities and as a result, we are required to hire IT personnel from outside the country,” the minister said.     

Highlighting the need to increase the use of IT in the delivery of basic services to the people, the minister said the use of IT had its greater role in maintaining transparency in the public service delivery system.

The minister utilized the forum to assure that a broader approach would be implemented to make Nepal’s IT sector more competitive and priority would be attached to issues of drafting the required  laws.

Also speaking on the occasion, Senior Vice President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Chandra Prasad Dhakal said the use of IT had noticeably increased in Nepal with the COVID-19 pandemic as a larger section of population switched to online system with the imposition of lockdowns to control the infection risk.

“Some of the IT creations in Nepal are capable of competing globally,” he said, echoing the need to prioritize the Nepali productions for local use as well. He advised the government to have a policy for home-developed Nepali software systems in the government agencies.  

The concern of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Chairperson Rajendra Malla was that the government policies regarding the IT sector were positive but their effective implementation was missing.

Pressing for the idea of a one-door approach to deal with IT companies, he stressed the need for a provision allowing Nepali companies to have a partnership with any foreign company investing in the country. 

As he said, domestic resources, home-grown ideas, innovations and technology should be the priorities of the state to promote the IT sector which has relatively higher potential to contribute to the country’s economic prosperity. 

The Confederation of Nepalese Industries Vice President Birendra Raj Pandey said the export of IT products would have a greater contribution to the national economy.

(RSS)

 
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