IBM, Rajasthan ink IT deal

The 'Invite' programme to enhance local talent pool in Rajasthan

The department of IT and communications of the Rajasthan government and IBM India today announced the state would participate in IBM India's INVITE (Initiative to Nurture a Vibrant IT Ecosystem) programme.

This is an initiative aimed at significantly contributing to capacity-building efforts in states by enhancing the local talent pool, which would make the state attractive for IT investments.

Speaking at the occasion, Rod Solomons, an executive of IBM India, said, "Across the globe we are working with governments and the academia to build a workforce in keeping with the emerging requirements of a global, diverse marketplace and changing demographic trends."

This partnership will offer benefits to the state in healthcare, tourism, public grievance etc, and will provide government agencies a better appreciation and understanding of the benefits of IT

Student teams, along with their faculty guides, will work in identified areas and will develop IT solutions, using a cross-platform open source and technologies based on open standards. Through this, the IT industry would have the opportunity of recruiting students with project experience and the IT solution providers would be able to build solutions more efficiently by taking the prototype solutions as base.

Rohit Singh, secretary, department of IT & communications, government of Rajasthan, said, "In order to ensure that the youth of Rajasthan do not lag behind in skills in information technology, it is necessary that the institutions in the state start looking at IT as an essential ingredient of education.

"IBM is a worldwide leader in information technology and we are confident that the partnership with IBM will give a strong push in that direction. Project Invite gives us an opportunity to provide a conducive environment that would help students in the state excel."

Rajasthan increased its investment outlay for e-governance projects by 188 per cent during 2005-06 and has constituted a high-level IT task force for this.

The state government is taking measures on e-governance throughout the state, covering all the sectors with a view to provide hassle-free, transparent and efficient service to the common man (both in urban and rural areas).

The thrust areas will be citizen centric service delivery, back end computerisation, IT infrastructure creation and human resource development.