Govt to bolster ICT for better living standard
Says adviser as SoftExpo2007 kicks off
Star Business Report
The government is committed to bolster the growth of ICT sector for improving the living standard of people by using information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool, Science and ICT Adviser Tapan Chowdhury said yesterday. "For the development of the society ICT has a definite role to play and we are aware of the role for building a knowledge-based society", the adviser said while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of a five-day exposition of IT and IT-enabled services. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) is organising the show styled 'SoftExpo2007' at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. The adviser said in the era of globalisation private sector is the driving force for overall growth of a particular sector and the government has widened opportunity for ICT sector by linking the country with submarine cable that will further accelerate the growth of this sector. He also thanked the organisers for arranging such kind of fair that, he said, will create a common platform for students, teachers, experts, professionals and businesspeople. Describing the performance of the information technology (IT) sector of the county, the BASIS leaders said the domestic IT market grew by 50 percent last year while the growth of software export was 150 percent. They said dearth of skilled manpower in the sector and lack of adequate financing for the IT companies are the two major problems for taking the growth rate even higher. "The universities of the country create around 2,000 IT graduates every year whereas the annual demand for skilled workforce in the sector is 4,000", said BASIS President Sarwar Alam. The private sector alone cannot flourish the IT sector without proper government help, Alam said stressing government-private joint efforts for gaining expected momentum in this potential sector. A total of 125 local ICT companies are showcasing software, IT solutions and services, multimedia and animation, e-commerce and job portals, internet and data communication services, telecoms services, and high-end hardware at the fair. The show is open for all between 10am and 8pm everyday with an entry fee of Tk20. Cellphone operator AKTEL is the main sponsor of the event while Microsoft Bangladesh and Business Promotion Council of commerce ministry are the co-sponsors. The Daily Star, Channel i and Radio Today are the media partners. Fahim Mashroor, treasurer of BASIS, Kamshul Kasim, chief technical officer of AKTEL, and Firoz Mahmud, country manager of Microsoft Bangladesh, also spoke at the function.
| 
