The country’s first centre of excellence in online gaming will be set up in Shillong by the union government, to promote startups and entrepreneurs from the northeast to develop the next-generation online gaming ecosystem. This was announced by Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday, 13th January 2023, in Shillong.
The minister said that the Digital India Startup Hub through Software Technology Parks of India will set up India’s first centre of excellence for online gaming in Shillong by March 2023. The Shillong Centre of Excellence is aimed to catalyze companies and entrepreneurs from India’s northeast to create the next-generation online gaming ecosystem.
While interacting with journalists at a press conference in Shillong, Rajeev Chandrashekhar said, “It is the vision of PM Narendra Modi that the next wave of startups and entrepreneurs must come from Shillong, Kohima, and other parts of North East India.”
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Electronics and IT has recently released Draft changes to the IT Rules 2021 with respect to Online Gaming for public comment. The Minister also emphasized the importance of digital skills after Covid, as the rate of digitalization of products, services, and gadgets continues to rise globally.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar said, “Imparting Digital Skills to the youth in North East Region to enable them to grab opportunities of jobs and entrepreneurship in the fast-expanding Digital economy is an article of faith for Shri Narendra Modi Government.”
He announced another initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT to set up a state-of-the-art facility under the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) to provide training on cutting-edge Digital Skills at Shillong. A 10-acre campus shall soon be ready for this purpose which shall cater to the skilling requirement of youth in the North East Region.
The Minister also stated that the government is re-launching Skill India under PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) 4.0, which would train about 50,000 youth in Meghalaya in future-ready skills and provide them with industry-backed job opportunities.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar added, “PM Narendra Modi is building New India with re-imagined ambitions and aspirations for the young Indians. There are multiple opportunities available today and therefore skills become important to take advantage of these opportunities. Skills are the new Passport to Prosperity.”
In terms of other states in the North East Region, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has set a target of skilling roughly 60,000 youth in Tripura and 35,000 in Nagaland across a range of authorized courses under PMKVY4.0.
