Babul bats for state, pvt collab for IT ventures with focus on start-ups

Kolkata: State Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) minister, Babul Supriyo on Tuesday pitched for collaboration with the private sector for providing a real push to IT ventures particularly the start-ups in the state.

“Bengal holds immense potential for aggressive investment in the state. I assure all cooperation from the state government. People who have not invested yet, come and do it. We are here to make the investment experience harmonious. We need to accelerate businesses. Government cannot do it alone. Participation from the private sector is required,” said Supriyo while addressing the 22nd edition of the ICT East organised by CII in Kolkata. The minister said that places such as Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad are oversaturated and cost of living in these cities are much higher than in Bengal. The minister welcomed artificial intelligence but suggested it should not phase out human intelligence completely.

“Digital transformation should not control the ecosystem. We should leverage digital transformation to create good businesses that uplift the lives of people across society. Responsible AI is essential for this,” Rajeev Kumar, Principal Secretary of IT & E department said.