State Innovation Council meets

GANGTOK, 31 Oct [IPR]: The first meeting of the recently constituted State Innovation Council was held today at the conference hall of Manan Kendra, Gangtok.
The meeting was chaired by Chief Secretary R. Ongmu and attended by ex-Chairman, NASSCOM and Mentor for Sikkim State Innovation Council, Kiran Karnik and Former Secretary, Government of India, Veena Upadhyaya. The purpose of the meeting was to set an agenda for promoting innovation in the State, and to assess already existing innovations in various sectors.
In her opening remarks, the Chief Secretary informed about the innovative initiatives of the State Government in the form of missions like the Organic Mission, the Green Mission, Capacity Building Programmes, innovations in health, education and agriculture sectors.
She welcomed advice from the experts from the National Innovation Council to help the State formulate an efficient mechanism to showcase these innovations through technological aid.
Chairman of the National Innovation Council, Sam Pitroda, available for discussion through video conferencing, while complimenting the State for having formed a well-constituted State Innovation Council, suggested inclusion of representatives from Non-Governmental Organisations, women’s groups, and educated youth from diverse fields for a wider perspective.
He stated that Sikkim is a leading State in terms of providing quality of life to its citizens and in the environmental field, and that it has the capacity to provide leadership in these areas at the national arena.
The progress should extend to fields like education, health, governance, forestry, agriculture and industry by way of innovation, he suggested and stressed that technology is just a means to achieve a larger goal of inclusive development, and that the State should constantly innovate.
“The current progress should pave the way for inter-generational development. While the National Innovation Council acts as facilitator, the real work in the field is to be done by the State Innovation Council”, Mr Pitroda further stated.
In his reply to issues related to problems of fibre connectivity in the state, Mr Pitroda suggested that wi-fi connections can be established at 4-5 major towns and sub towns on pilot basis and subsequent efforts should then be made to take the connectivity to the panchayat centres.
Speaking on the occasion, Development Commissioner cum Secretary Planning, Nim Ethenpa shared that the State could benefit from capacity and skill development in the IT sector so that the opportunities in these sectors could benefit the Sikkimese people and the state could restrict outsourcing in such sectors. She also requested for a CGM office of the BSNL to be established in Sikkim to tackle the issue of connectivity. Her suggestions were received positively by the experts.
Secretary, IT, Rajesh Verma, in his presentation, highlighted the vision 2015 statement of the State Government, the Missions of the Government and their progress, path breaking initiatives, IT related innovations and awards and recognitions bestowed upon the State Government.
A presentation on the path breaking 'cyber village' in Melli Dara constituency in South Sikkim was made by Member, Gram Planning Forum Melli Dara, Ganesh Rai.
Mr Kiran Karnik, in his address, acknowledged the innovations of the State Government in various sectors. He drew parallel from the innovation models used by smaller countries like Japan and Switzerland and encouraged the Sikkim Government to consistently innovate to sustain the limited resources and maintain its reputation as a happiness powerhouse, by providing value to every little initiative.
Former Secretary, Ms. Veena Upadhyaya briefed about the roles and responsibilities of the State Innovation Council and suggested that a clear road map be provided through convergence and consolidation to meet the objectives. She stressed that cross-sectoral collaboration would lead to optimum utilisation of resources in a sustained and economic manner.
She laid emphasis on the need for proper documentation of activities, creation of a web portal dedicated to SIC, encouragement in areas like taxonomy and biotechnology, and extensive study of biodiversity to tap the medicinal benefits of rare species of plants.
The meeting was also attended by Development Commissioner DPERNECAD, Principal Secretary HRDD, Secretary IT, Secretary Agriculture & Horticulture, Director, Commerce & Industries Department,representative from Sikkim University, and officers from IT Department Government of Sikkim.