Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that Odisha has the potential to turn into a centre of electronic manufacturing. Mr Prasad, along with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, inaugurated the Software Technology Parks of India – ‘STPI ELITE’ and Secondary Data Centre of National Data Repository in Bhubaneshwar yesterday. Mr. Prasad said Centre wants Odisha to be the hub in the electronic manufacturing sector. He said, Cenral government is focusing on the development of Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Eastern Uttar Pradesh to make eastern India more developed, and to bring it at par with other developed regions of the country. Describing the STPI, Bhubaneswar as the biggest technology park in eastern India, Mr. Prasad said it will empower Odisha and reduce the digital divide between “digital haves” and “digital have-nots”. STPI will bring digital inclusion by way of a start-up revolution and large scale e-transaction through JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile), he added. The minister said through JAM and DBT, the government has disbursed 4 lakh crore rupees subsidy benefit.
Referring to Aadhaar, Mr. Prasad said divulging its details does not mean one’s iris and finger print data will get leaked. It has been indigenously encrypted so that no one can have access to the personal data of a citizen, he said.
Mr. Prasad said data authentication of 3 crore people is being done every day and 15 crore farmers have been given soil health cards. About 2.74 lakh hospitals have become digital hospitals through which tele-medicine facilities are being provided in Medical College Hospitals and many district headquarter hospitals.
Union Petroleum Minister Pradhan said, data mining and repository are highly needed for oil and hydrocarbon exploration, and production. He said, 3.5 crore rupees incentives were being provided to start-ups in the fields of innovation and incubation.
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