Shillong: The country’s first centre of excellence in online gaming will be set up in Shillong by the union government, to promote startups and entrepreneurs from the northeast to develop the next-generation online gaming ecosystem. This was announced by Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday, 13th January 2023, in Shillong.
Digital India Startup Hub through the Software Technology Parks of India shall set up India’s first Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming at Shillong by March 2023, said Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The Centre of Excellence in Shillong is expected to catalyse startups and entrepreneurs from the entire North East Region to build the Next Gen Online Gaming ecosystem.
“It is the vision of PM Shri Narendra Modi ji that the next wave of startups and entrepreneurs must come from Shillong, Kohima and other parts of North East India”, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar while interacting with journalists at a press conference in Shillong.
It is pertinent to mention that the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has recently circulated Draft amendments to the IT Rules 2021 in relation to Online Gaming for public consultation.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar said, “Imparting Digital Skills to the youth in North East Region to enable them to grab opportunities of jobs and entrepreneurship in the fast-expanding Digital economy is an article of faith for Shri Narendra Modi Government.”
He announced another initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT to set up a state-of-the-art facility under the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) to provide training on cutting-edge Digital Skills at Shillong. A 10-acre campus shall soon be ready for this purpose which shall cater to the skilling requirement of youth in the North East Region.
The Minister also stated that the government is re-launching Skill India under PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) 4.0, which would train about 50,000 youth in Meghalaya in future-ready skills and provide them with industry-backed job opportunities.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of Digital Skills post Covid, as the rate of Digitalization of products, services and devices continues to increase across the globe.
