Tura, February 11: As a fruition of a cherished dream of the people of the Garo Hills region, the much-awaited Tech Park at Tura is about to become a reality. The Ministry of Development of the Northeastern Region (MDoNER) sanctioned INR 126.94 crores on Thursday, 8th February under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) scheme for the Tech Park.
The Tura Tech Park is but the latest milestone in Meghalaya’s short-but-remarkable journey towards becoming a technology hub of the North East. One of the first projects initiated by the state government soon after coming to power was the ShillongTech Park.
On the occasion of its inaugurationwhich coincided with the 50th Anniversary of Meghalaya’s statehood – Chief Minister Conrad Sangma expressed hope that ‘the state’s talented youngsters would no longer have to leave home in search of coveted job opportunities’. Proving the CM right, Shillong Tech Parkcreated 1,500 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs opportunities for Meghalaya’s IT professionals in less than a year.
Enthused by that success, the Government announced plans for a Second Phase of the Park in New Shillong Townshiplast year. It is expected to generate another 3,000 direct and 9,000 indirect jobs.
To capitalize further on this nascent wave, IT and IT-enbled-Services (ITeS) are about to be accorded ‘Industry Status’ in the recently formulated ‘Meghalaya Industrial & Investment Promotion Policy’ which will offer a set of lucrative incentives to investors in the sector.
The Government is also finalizing a new IT&ITeS Policy that will harness latest technologies like AI, Blockchain and Internet of Things for the state’s benefit. The Tura Tech Park is a continuation of that effort.
To quote the understandably delighted Chief Minister, ‘I didn’t have the slightest doubt that the Shillong Tech Park will usher in a new era for Meghalaya.
But I wanted to spread the IT-boom evenly throughout state. The idea of the Tura Tech Park was born out of that aspiration’. The CM’s conviction with the Shillong Tech Park were proven right – and how! There is little reason to do doubt his optimism about its Tura sibling.
