Kathmandu, June 12: In order to develop Nepal as a hub for information technology, in the next fiscal year’s budget, the government has declared information technology decade, with ambitious targets of Rs. 3,000 billion export and employment of 1.5 million, but the stakeholders are confident that they can be achieved.

Speaking at an interaction on ‘Information technology decade and upcoming work direction’ organised by the Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal (SEJON) in the capital on Tuesday, concerned experts said that it would be easy to export information technology services worth Rs. 3,000 billion in ten years if the policies are stable by reforming existing acts and legislations. 

Finance Minister Barsaman Pun said that through the budget of fiscal year 2024/25, the government is trying to encourage the private sector by making policy decisions to protect and promote the industry in order to achieve the goal of exporting information technology services worth Rs. 3,000 billion and creating 500 thousand and 1 million indirect jobs in 10 years.

Finance Minister Pun said that a high-level commission would be formed for policy stability in the information technology sector by preparing a legal basis by giving priority to information technology.

He said that the ‘Digital Nepal Framework’ would be revised and institutional arrangements would be made for its implementation and monitoring, and the operation of information technology parks with high-speed internet, electricity, security and other infrastructure in Kathmandu Valley and Butwal would be carried forward.

He said that the government was planning to build 10 IT parks covering at least every province.

Stating that the private sector would ‘drive’ the information technology related service industry like the agriculture, tourism, and energy sector, he said that the state did not want to do business and that the tax issues could be improved by discussing them again.

He said that information technology decade would develop confidence that intellectual labour could be done from Nepal instead of physical labour abroad and that one did not have to go abroad to earn income.

Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma clarified that a task force would be formed under the leadership of the ministry to achieve the goals of the IT decade and a clear blueprint of the activities to be done every year would be drawn.

Nepal Telecom and Nepal Telecommunication Authority are preparing the budget accordingly for the implementation of the policies taken in the information technology sector by the budget, she said and added that the government was ready to consume domestically produced software in the country.

She said that free space would be provided in information technology parks to be built in Kathmandu and Butwal and various programmes would be held in public-private partnership.

Minister Sharma said that the government had dedicated to move forward by revising the necessary policies and laws for the promotion of digital economy, startup and innovation, job creation, and the improvement of digital governance.

She said that the next fiscal year would be the departure year of the information and technology decade and that information technology would be established as a pillar of the economy. 

Minister Sharma said that the Digital Nepal Framework, which started in 2076 B.S., had not been implemented effectively. 

She said that 100,000 people were working in the IT sector and it was difficult because the government did not have a clear data.