CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday launched the first phase of the state government’s free Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces scheme in Chennai, and said it his dream to see Tamil Nadu become a trillion-dollar economy and human resources capital of the world.
The DMK government had announced in the budget that free Wi-Fi will be rolled out at 1,000 places across major city corporations in Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Salem. Chennai will now have free Wi-Fi hotspots at 500 public places, including parks, bus stands, and beaches.
Speaking at the inauguration of the two-day IT summit, UmagineTN 2024, Stalin recalled the role played by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in revolutionising the IT sector, especially his foresight in unveiling the first IT policy in the country and establishing a separate department for IT in 1997. The IT summit is being held under the aegis of the state IT and digital services department at the Nandambakkam Trade Centre in Chennai.
Umagine to focus on AI, deep tech this year
IT and Digital Services Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan highlighted the state’s ambition to provide free Wi-Fi to 12,600 villages through Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation. TANFINET aims to provide 1 Gbps bandwidth connectivity to all 12,525 village panchayats in the state.
In a separate session of Umagine, IIT-Madras Research Park president Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala said the state could become a leader in innovation if it sets up three innovation hubs in three corridors — Tiruchy-Madurai, Coimbatore, and Hosur-Krishnagiri. Jhunjhunwala said IIT-M Research Park had launched 351 startups with a valuation of Rs 45,000 crore. Some of them started with a shoestring budget of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 have reached a valuation of Rs 10 crore to Rs 12 crore, Jhunjhunwala said.
He also highlighted the need to nurture 10 to 12 private engineering institutions. They should be run as autonomous institutions and must be free from government control, he said.
This year Umagine is focusing on six major areas — Artificial Intelligence and Deep Tech, Cyber Security, Connected Intelligence, Sustainability, Global Innovation Centres, and Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality. The minister added that the two-day event will have over 25 sessions and feature more than 150 exhibitors.
PTR made IT min to reform sector: CM
Putting an end to speculation on the reasons for change of portfolio, the CM on Friday said PTR was moved out of finance and made IT minister to reform the sector