IT industry records significant growth

By Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

The Information Technology (IT) sector has shown significant growth and its benefit will trickle down to different strata of society.

“The industry is set to achieve export revenue targets and shows exponential growth with the country heading towards a knowledge hub.

The IT sector will become a key driving force in providing job opportunities by 2016, Information Communication Technology Agency, Chief Executive Officer, Rishan Dewapura told Sunday Observer Business.

“We will put our plan into effect soon. The ambitious target of $ 4-5 billion will become a reality by 2023. Considering the action taken so far where innovative IT solutions are provided, the country will produce sufficient IT professionals with an effective mechanism in place,” he said.

Sri Lanka produces IT professionals who could match the best in the world. We are encouraged in terms of quality of manpower and ensure that sufficient resources are available, he said.

There are comprehensive plans with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education have comprehensive plans to enhance additional industry competence with capacity building and skills development. Specific encouragement is given to creativity and innovation.

The e-swarnabhimani program is in place to recognise and to create a service-oriented mindset, Dewapura said.

The e-government initiative has made significant progress where infrastructure is concerned and the eco systems are already in place. The Lanka Government Network (LGN) will complete connecting 550 institutions by the end of this year.

The Lanka Gate is the service delivery platform and the country portal for citizens to access.

The service provided by the Lanka Government Cloud is more secure and cost saving, he said.

“The platform is now ready for take off and the country is on the correct path to become a knowledge hub and the mobile government initiative will provide services through mobile phones, Dewapura said.