India’s first centre of excellence on online gaming to come up in Shillong: Minister

New Delhi: 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, said IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday.

The Centre of Excellence in Shillong is expected to catalyse startups and entrepreneurs from India’s northeast to build next-gen online gaming ecosystem.

“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 the North East India,” said Chandrasekhar while interacting with journalists at a press conference in Shillong.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) recently circulated Draft amendments to IT Rules 2021 in relation to online gaming for public consultation.

The minister also highlighted the importance of digital skills in a post pandemic world, as the rate of digitalisation of products, services and devices continue to increase across the world.

“Imparting digital skills to the youth in northeast region to enable them to grab opportunities of jobs and entrepreneurship in the fast-expanding Digital economy is an article of faith for Modi government,” he said.

MeitY will also set up a state-of-the-art facility under the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) in Shillong to provide training on digital skills. A 10-acre campus shall soon be ready for this purpose.

The minister also informed that the government was re-launching Skill India through PMKVY 4.0, which will train around 50,000 youth in Meghalaya in future ready skills with industry-backed job opportunities.

“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”, he added.

Among other initiatives under PMKVY4.0, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has set a target to skill around 60,000 youth in Tripura and 35,000 in Nagaland across a spectrum of approved courses.