Minister Sharma calls for wider public-private cooperation to promote IT

Kathmandu, April 19: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, has spoken about the need to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors to increase citizens’ access to information technology.

During her meeting with a delegation from the Nepal Association for Software and IT Services Companies (NAS-IT) on Friday, the Minister said such cooperation is vital to enhance the use of communications and information technology for transforming the country digitally. 

 As the Minister asserted, citizens should be made widely aware of the IT innovation and the significance of its use in daily life.  “Its use should be for simplifying our life.”

According to the government Spokesperson, only a handful of people who represent the technical sphere well understand the significance of communications and information technology and the remaining population will consider themselves just consumers.  Escalation of IT to the mass is essential because IT is not merely a geek business, Sharma underlined. 

She also utilised the time to say the government is committed to implementing the concept of the Digital Nepal Framework with the greater realization that communications and information technology are pillars of good governance and prosperity.

She vowed the amendment of laws for spurring investment in communications and IT sector. Government-private sector collaboration is imperative to enhance IT and prosper country, the Minister reminded.

On the occasion, lawmaker Manish Jha stressed expansion of IT at the community level and schools so that it would be developed as a competitive sector. Millions of youths could be ensured jobs with IT knowledge and skills by introducing IT at schools where local and province governments can play significant roles.

Other speakers at the programme spoke the need for integrated data centre at local level, legal provisions to allow the establishment of foreign branches of Nepali IT companies, prioritization of IT industry, startups and investment, the establishment of IT board to ensure one-door system on IT activities, priority to national IT products in government services and IT park and hub.

The government could purchase software produced by the Nepali IT companies, according to them.