Mizoram: Embracing IT  

Mizoram is all set to become the first North-Eastern State to break the grip of IT illiteracy with the help of North Eastern Council.

No wonder that the literacy rate in this State is the second highest in the country. It has become the first North-Eastern State to expose its youth to software development.

The first batch of 200 IT professional have already completed year-long training. Enrolment of the second batch is already complete. In this process, Mizoram is creating a workforce which is capable of bringing IT revolution in the State. This will in turn help Mizoram to remove the tag of backwardness, which is still deprived of a railway link with other parts of the country.

The project launched by North Eastern Council (NEC) has come as a boon for the Mizo youths. With literacy rate so high, there is no dearth of unemployed educated youth in the State. Earlier, the unemployed youths had to leave the State in search of a better future. But from now it appears that the exodus will stop.   

The training entails an initial foundation module and later a professional module, culminating in project-based work experience with the ICT Cell of the Government’s planning department. Far sighted, the Government envisages that the IT project will help it avoid outsourcing the state’s e-governance programmes to outsiders and instead involve its own citizens. Content will also be developed in the Mizo language.

“We could even develop software for government departments of other north-eastern States,” says Lalthlamuana, Deputy Secretary (IT) in the Mizoram Government, who has put the PPP in place. However, he laments the limited Internet broadband connectivity and the frequent interruptions that plague the State.

“We have been asking for better connectivity from BSNL and have also asked Power Grid Corporation to set up lines here, but not much has happened on that front yet,” he says. Lalthlamuana was also echoing the concern of the students, some of whom have bought themselves computers after the start of the programme. New Horizons’ training centre receives Internet connectivity for its students only once a week on Saturday.

“Though the students are thrilled with the training, lack of access to the Internet is a dampener,” says Sourav Basu, Associate Vice-President, New Horizons India Ltd.

For the trainees, the IT course has not only been an eye opener but also a new road that they can take into the future.

Mizoram being a largely agrarian economy, the opportunities for youngsters here are few and far between. “This is a great opportunity for us and I am thankful to NEC for sponsoring it. After passing out, I hope to get into the business of web hosting,” says 28- year-old-graduate Chawngzarliana Chawngthu. Multimedia seems to interest the students the most. For 23-year-old C.Hualneihtluangi, it is the most exciting part of the course and has inspired her to give tuitions in her free time and buy herself a computer.

“I think my future will be bright after the course, I didn’t even know how to use a mouse when I came here. Now I am confident of starting an IT company,” says 28-year-old JH Lallungmuana. Masters in economics from Ahmednagar, VL Lawmna is interested in getting into the web-based software development industry after the course. “Though the course is very challenging, this business does not require too much investment and therefore is possible to get into,” he says.

For New Horizons, the benefit is not just monetary — the company sees the massive potential of bringing IT to the region. The US-based company made its entry into the Indian IT training and education space in 2002 with a joint venture with Shriram Group Company, Shriram Global Technologies & Education Ltd.

“It is not so much the economic rewards but to be able to include the north-eastern region in the IT revolution. They had been ignored till now. Our endeavour was to create an example in the PPP space. On the cards are similar projects in all the north-eastern States and we have bid for them too,” says Ajay Sharma, President and CEO, New Horizons India Ltd. Sharma envisages training as many as 5,000 students across the seven Sister States of the region if the company wins the other PPP bids as well. Basu explains that the course will put the students on a par with software professionals across the globe.

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