West Bengal govt rolls out new IT policy

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has unveiled a new IT policy to make the state as one of the leading states in the country in the sector.

Banerjee rolled out the policy while launching the Bengal Silicon Valley Hub in New Town, a fast-growing planned satellite city in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, last week.

The new policy will be focused on 3D printing, big data analytics, animation and gaming besides, cyber security INTERNET-of-Things (IoT), robotics, drones, fin tech, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, quantum computing and others, a notification said.

"West Bengal has surged ahead economically and seeks to leverage IT for social welfare and economic development. The state's vision is to become one of the leading states in India in the IT, ITeS, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and ESDM (Electronic System Design and Manufacturing) sectors," it said.

"The policy strives to unlock the vast potential of the IT&E to design a paradigm shift in the sector, all the while fostering social welfare," it said.

The policy also aims at accomplishing following strategic objectives such as creating new jobs in the sector besides, upskill, reskill and skill the population of the state to empower them for targeting jobs in the digital economy.

"It also aims at enhancing brand West Bengal as an epicentre of cutting-edge R&D in IT and promote innovation and enhance contribution to the global value chain. And also foster social benefits through digital technology and create an empowered populace," it said.

The notification also claimed that the policy would "enable West Bengal to transform into a knowledge-driven, technologically-enabled welfare society with extensive use of IT and ITeS, there increasing employment opportunities and promoting the state as a preferred investment destination."