Need for more IT engineers suggested

Kathmandu, Feb. 2: The president of the Asian-Oceanion Computing Industry Organisation (ASSOCIO) Asank Desai of India who is in Nepal for CAN Info-Tech fair, said that unless domestic market would increase, Nepal’s IT sector would not achieve competitiveness in the international front.

Giving reference to IT progress in his country, Desai said in most democratic countries, the system had put pressure on the government and the concerned stakeholders to march ahead in IT sector, Desai said at the two-day 8th ICT conference that started Friday at BICC.

Giving reference to the monthly production of mobile at 7 million units in his country and thousands of IT engineers every year, he said that there were only 3,000 IT engineers in Nepal, and that is not enough.

The two-day conference will focus on six tracks like effective communications, Vision 20-20, ICT usage in Finance, ICT Manpower Demand of the Century, Outsourcing Possibilities and Cyber Security.

�Look at the annual domestic and outsourcing possibility and evaluate them accordingly to advance in the IT sector,” Desai suggested.

On the second day of the conference, Manohar Bhattarai full time member of the High Level Commission for Information Technology (HLCIT) gave his view on the government’s initiation in the sector.

IT industry in Nepal grew by a thousand fold in the last two decade and the industry is now maturing as services-based industry, said Bhattarai.

�At the same time, Nepal’s investment in IT education in the last five years has started to show results and in a few years we will be able to stand on our own feet,” added Bhattarai.

Pankaj Jalan, programme chief of the ICT conference, said the conclusion drawn from the two-day discussion would help in lobbying for making a reliable policy. Our main goal of this year is to take Nepal into e-business, e-tourism, e-governance and others with focus on Vision 20-20.

Jalan said the conference would try to identify the needs of the remote areas, which are deprived of exercising IT products and facilities.

To a query about Nepalese computer users and access of IT in Nepal, he said that the figures and estimation have neither been maintained by the government or by the CAN. The CAN Info-Tech that started on January 29 would conclude on February 3.

src:http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=35505

Related posts:

1. Peeking into CAN InfoTech 2008
2. Prachanda’s Sidekick ‘Mahara’ highlights importance of IT