Digital economy to offer 5-7 million job opportunities: Prasad

India’s burgeoning digital economy is expected to provide job opportunities to about 50-70 lakh youth in the country by 2020, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said yesterday.

Reiterating the Centre’s commitment towards the country’s growth, Prasad said it is important to have affordable and inclusive technology to ensure growth and prosperity for the masses. Speaking at the Digital Haryana Summit, he said the country’s digital economy is growing fast and by 2020 it is expected to provide job opportunities to about 50 to 70 lakh youth.

The event was jointly organised by IT industry body Nasscom. Prasad welcomed the launch of the cyber security policy by the state and said Haryana is the first in the country to implement such a policy.

Haryana is a base for thousands of Indian and global tech companies and there is a huge potential for the state to become an electronics and mobile manufacturing hub, he said.

Assuring support to the state government, Prasad said a digital revolution needs to be brought in Haryana and entrepreneurs need to play a larger role in helping with the digital transformation of the villages. He cited the example of the Centre’s scheme to promote setting up of BPOs in smaller towns, Prasad exhorted that the such units be set up in cities like Rohtak and Jhajjar.