Local Goa News

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Google to transform Goa into digital state

PANAJI: Internet services giant Google will now promote digital literacy in the state and help Goa become digitally empowered by providing its services to IT start-ups and helping businesses go online apart from putting the state’s rich cultural heritage on the global map.

The Goa government on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Google India in the presence of vice president, Google Southeast Asia and India Rajan Anandan. Also present on the occasion were Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, Chief Secretary R K Srivastava and director of department of information technology Ameya Abhayankar.
The scope of the MoU will be “all-encompassing” and “it will bring the best of Google to Goa,” announced Anandan. He said that the MoU will cover several services including providing cloud credits to IT start-ups, helping small businesses go online, promoting android developer education and making all government sites mobile-friendly among others. Any individual, who is android certified is guaranteed to get a job, said Anandan.
Over the last one year, the global giant has engaged with the Goa government in various ways and conducted internet safety education in 98 schools, he said and pointed out that Google has prepared curriculum for internet safety education for school students and initiated teacher training for 460 schools, covering 80,000 students.
The Chief Minister termed the MoU as “technology partnership” and said that it would help in creating sound environment for digitization. He said that Goa needs to be known as an IT state instead of a tourist state as it has a large number of IT students passing out from engineering colleges.
The Chief Minister, who is also the Minister for Information Technology, said that the signing of the technology pact will hopefully be the turning point for the development of IT industry in the state. Women and self-help groups are expected to benefit as Google has a special ‘internet saathi’ programme to further internet familiarity among people.
Google India officials were present in full force on the occasion. Also present were members of the Goa industry, Goa IT Professionals Association, vice president of Manufacturers Association for IT (MAIT) Nitin Kunkolienkar and several IT entrepreneurs.
Google will not be having a physical presence in Goa post signing of the MoU, clarified Anandan, adding that it would have its program managers, engineers and marketing team frequently visiting the state.
The global giant is partnering with the central government in Digital India Mission and recently completed the task of enabling 40 railway stations across the country with Wi-Fi service.
Apart from supporting the Goa government in digitization, Google will also help in putting the state’s rich cultural heritage on the global map by creating a digital repository of the architectural and heritage sites.

TOI Goa News

1 comment:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete