CHENNAI: To help the State leverage emerging technologies and promote innovation, the newly-constituted advisory council on the IT sector and emerging technologies is planning to develop a roadmap for attracting more companies and investment to tier-2 and tier-3 cities of Tamil Nadu, according to Information Technology Secretary Neeraj Mittal.
It is learnt that the State is looking at a paradigm shift from services-driven growth to growth in product development and the council will review the existing information and communication technology eco-system.
The 12-member ‘Advisory Council for Future — IT Sector & Emerging Technologies,’ constituted by the State government and chaired by Information Technology Minister T Mano Thangaraj, had its first meeting at the Secretariat on Monday.
During the meeting, the members also discussed improving Tamil Nadu’s readiness to adopt new technologies in hardware manufacturing. The discussion on IT/ITES starkly highlighted the fact that all sectors and products are now IT-based, with embedded software. There was growing recognition that growth in the service sector has to be captured to achieve the $1 trillion goal by 2030.
The council members recognised the need for focus on startup ecosystems and technologies such as robotics, gaming, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and genetic engineering. The meeting also discussed skill development and a curriculum update to ensure workforce employability with the spread of emerging technologies.
The members of the council include Dr Neeraj Mittal, Information Technology Department Secretary; Ajay Yadav, Managing Director of ELCOT; NG Subramaniam, COO, TCS; Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, former CEO and MD, Infosys Technologies; Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director of IIT, Chennai; and Madhavan Nambiar, former secretary, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.