Enormity of IT job losses yet to be assessed: IT Minister

Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday said the enormity of IT job losses is yet to be assessed even as media reports suggested huge job losses in the sector.

"Media reports have suggested there were huge job losses in the IT sector, but the enormity of such job losses is yet to be assessed," he said in the Legislative Council here.

Kharge was replying to a query pertaining to IT job losses raised by BJP member Capt. Ganesh Karnik during question hour.

Giving figures of IT job creation in the last three years in Karnataka, Kharge said there was a dip from 61,500 in 2014-15 to 49,500 jobs in 2015-16, but it increased by 3,000 to 52,500 in 2016-17.

Asked what steps had been taken by the government to update technological skills of graduating engineers in the wake of usage of new technologies, including automation and robotics, Kharge said he has discussed the issue with NASSCOM members.

"To address various issues dogging the IT industry, we held a meeting with Nasscom members.They stressed the need for implementing schemes to update skills of graduating engineers," he said.

Moreover, government also had launched I-4, KESDM and Startup policies to give a boost to the IT sector to create more jobs, Kharge said, adding that these schemes would provide various sops to youth wanting to open startups.

Kharge said state-run KEONICS has opened 254 training centres to enhance skills of the youth and had trained 25,100 youth in the last academic year.

The government also opened Centres of Excellence in Aerospace, data science, artificial intelligence, robotics and cyber security, he added.

Government also had created a corpus of over Rs 340 crores in the current budget for the purpose. It had also launched 'Yuva Yuga' scheme to train youth in other industrial sectors and had provided industrial training to 1.10 lakh youth, the minister said.

According to NASSCOM, IT exports from Karnataka was to the tune of about Rs 2.20 lakh crore in 2015-16 and direct employment in the sector was around

10 lakh people.