Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Delivering a speech at the ‘I-Way to Viksit Assam’ session during the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit today, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said that Asia’s largest data centre of 1 million sq ft is planned to be established in Guwahati. In his part, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma requested Union Minister Scindia to lay a cable from the Bay of Bengal, through the Brahmaputra river, to Assam for reliable network.
On the first day of the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit at Khanapara field, the ‘I-way to Viksit Assam’ session was held after the plenary session. Union Minister Scindia took part in the session in the presence of the CM and senior officials of the Telecom department.
Union Minister for Communications and DoNER while speaking on the occasion said that Assam has got all the potential to become a potential driver of growth of the nation. He also said that considering its locational advantage and immense possibility it is not only a gateway to ASEAN countries, it is a gateway to the entire Global South and a manufacturing and logistics power house. He also said that considering the fast paced growth that the state is registering it has all the potential to become an important part of Prime Minister’s dream of Viksit Bharat.
In his speech, Scindia said Assam is the gateway to the Southeast Asia and is a ‘land of limitless possibilities.’ He asserted that Advantage Assam will lead to advantage for India. He pointed out that PM Modi has a ‘relationship of the heart’ with the Northeast and that the central government had provided funds to the tune of Rs 1.03 lakh crore for the development of the NE region. He further said that 1,800 km of railway track has been laid in the NE. He also said that the number of airports in the NE region has increased from the earlier 9 to 17 airports.
“Guwahati airport is becoming an international hub,” he said. Regarding data services, he stated that India is the world’s cheapest data provider. “Earlier, the cost of 1 GB data was Rs 268. Now, it costs Rs 9.08 per GB. The world’s average price of data is $2.59 per one GB,” he stated.
Regarding 5G labs, the Minister said that earlier there were two 5G labs—in IIT-Guwahati and NIIT-Silchar. From today, the third such lab will start functioning at Gauhati University. “We are looking at Asia’s largest data centre with an area of one million sq ft to be set up in Assam,” he said, while adding that telecom network will be extended to the last village of Assam.
“Semiconductors are our future and Assam is now the epicentre of semiconductors,” he added.
During his speech, CM Dr Sarma said, “In Assam, there is a concept of forest villages in addition to revenue villages. The Government of India has not extended telecommunication network to these forest villages. Assam has around 4,000 such villages and the villagers there are deprived from accessing the network. I request Mr Scindia to look at how quickly we can provide telecom network to our forest villages. This issue does not only affect Assam but also the entire NE region. I hope the minister will try to resolve the issue.”
The Chief Minister further said, “As we know today, lots of announcement regarding AI data centres have been made here. However, reliable network is very important for us. People say that because of the sea, Tamil Nadu and other states are getting good reliable cable. May I request the Hon’ble minister to see whether an optical fibre cable can be brought from the Bay of Bengal through Brahmaputra river, to the mainland of Assam. If this is done, the data would be reliable, fast and Assam will be hugely benefitted. This will be game changer for Assam.”
He added that as the BPOs are shifting their bases from Tier 1 cities to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, in coming two to three years cities like Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Jorhat will have several BPOs and the consequent requirement of high speed data.
IT Minister Keshav Mahanta, special Chief Secretary Sayedain Abbasi, Nokia India Country head Tarun Chhabra, President Mobile Business and Devices Reliance Jio infocomm Ltd Sunil Dutt, CMD BSNL A Robert J Ravi and host of other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Also Read: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Discusses Development Initiatives With DoNER Minister Scindia
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