Dearth of IT sector hampers Kashmir growth
Where other industries in Kashmir are struggling for improvement, the Information Technology (IT) sector continues to remain missing from Kashmir.– Reuters (File Photo)
SRINAGAR: Decades of conflict have not only resulted in innocent killings, disappearances and custodial deaths, but have also stalled the development of Kashmir Valley.
Where other industries in Kashmir are struggling for improvement, the Information Technology (IT) sector continues to remain missing from Kashmir.
This has not only added to the unemployment issues but has also forced thousands of Kashmiri youth to leave home for IT related jobs elsewhere.
“The absence of an IT industry is a major void in our society,” said Nazir Ahmad from the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He said the industry could not only augment the state economy, which is mostly supported by tourism, but would also generate employment.
Adeel Shah, 26, has come home after seven months. He left Kashmir to pursue his career in electronic engineering seven years ago.
“I never wanted to leave home,” says Shah, “ but since there is no IT sector in our Valley, I had to move to Banglore.”
Adeel is working as a software programmer in Cognizant IT solutions.
Thirty-two-year-old Mohammad Shafat added from New Delhi that he wishes to come back home but dearth of IT jobs is standing in his way.
“I have been living away from home for 10 years now. I want to live in Kashmir but that is not possible unless some IT park is established there.”
Shafat has done software engineering from Delhi.
Besides IT parks and industries, Kashmir lags behind in IT education as well. Kashmir Valley has only one government engineering college, the National Institute of Technology (NIT), and one private school, the Srinagar School of Management (SSM) College of Engineering and Technology.
SSM provides only diplomas in IT, while it is the NIT that offers degrees. Students who cannot be accommodated in NIT have to move out of the state or study abroad.
SSM principal Dr N.A. Shah said it is imperative to develop the IT industry to secure the future of Kashmiri youth. “Our intelligent and hardworking youth are suffering because we do not have proper IT education and IT industries here,” he said.
IT-inclined students leave Kashmir every year, he added.
Students studying civil engineering courses are well absorbed in various sectors in Kashmir but those from the IT field suffer.
The privilege of getting education outside Kashmir is also limited to students hailing from affluent families. Those from the lower-middle class and poor families have no option but to switch to other options.
Twenty-three-year-old Mudasir always wanted to be an engineer. But the absence of related education forced him to switch to Arts.
“I love handling electronic devices. I have been repairing them since my teenage years. But I could not pursue engineering as there is just one college for it.”
He says he still dreams of being an engineer.
“But I cannot afford going to Delhi or other place for my education. I have to continue with humanities as my subjects.”
Scores of students who wish to make their career in IT sector feel anxious about their future.
“I want to pursue my career in the IT field but my parents will not allow me to move out of the Valley. I am really confused,” said Areeba, a student of Class 12.
She says even if she gets admission at NIT Srinagar, she has no job avenues here.
The state government, on the other hand, has been trying to woo various MNC’s to establish their companies in Kashmir.
Kashmir’s Minister of Science and Technology, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi blamed the conflict and disturbances in the Valley for the delay in the entry of IT companies.
“Disturbances are a major setback in this respect because multinational companies feel insecure in setting up their companies here,” Mehdi said.
He added that even as MNCs and other IT companies want to set up their offices here, “they feel insecure. They do not want to come to a place which is insecure and where work is affected.”
Some initiatives are being taken at the government level to set up the IT sector, Mehdi said, adding that land in the outskirts of the Valley had been earmarked for an IT park. “It will be funded by the government of India. We are pursuing the legal part and hope to work on it soon.”
He stated that the government intends to provide all possible incentives to various IT companies to motivate them to set up their offices and branches in the Valley.
Very misleading article. How did it die when it has not even seen its birth!!!! You want progress in the State, integrate with rest of the country. Who wants to invest, if an Indian citizen can not buy property there?
I was in Srinagar this summer and was heartened by the fact that there is considerable improvement in the security situation and people are now looking for a normal life with opportunities.
The first order of priority is to set up two top class engineering colleges to attract the best and the brightest of the youth. Ditto medical colleges. I was hoping that Rahul Gandhi’s initiative in taking the movers and shakers of the Indian industry to Srinagar last summer would bring in more investments and jobs.That has not happened. The Indian Administered Kashmir Government has to be more proactive in attracting more investments and visit major industrial centres i.e. Bangalore, Chennai. Delhi, Pine, Hyderabad, Kolkata and persuade some of the biggies there to set up industrial and IT parks in the Valley.
Terror & development couldn’t go hand to hand……..
so what! i m also from odisha but now in hydrabad for an it job. it is not different for kashmir only.
The setting up of IT industries in Kashmir is a far fetched dream. As already pointed out there a lot of tier 2, and even tier 1 cities that do not have a big IT industry presence. It is concentrated on metros only.
Thousands of youth move out of their homes for better job opportunities from other states as well. The one difference I can think of is the lack of transport options to Kashmir from major Indian cities which makes it difficult for people living elsewhere to visit home often. In a way, I prefer kashmiri youth moving out of kashmir as it will help them integrate with India in a better way as compared to them living inside kashmir. That is very important pre-requisite for peace in the region.
However, there is no justfication for having a small number of professional institutes in Kashmir. The government and even the private institutions must invest in Kashmir to make education easier and accessible for the local possible. I suspect finding the right people (teachers and support staff) for setting up the institutes to be a bottleneck as it will be difficult to encourage people from outside kashmir to come and work there. Initially, Kashmir may not have the right number of teachers and support staff possible. I dont expect funding to be an issue though.
Again – everything comes down to people’s perception of how peaceful and safe is living in Kashmir. Surely its improving but more needs to be done to change this.
Well, IT industry has its own needs and expectations, just like other specialized industries – and cannot come up everywhere.
Leave aside J&K, even Guajart, the most idustrialized state in India does not have IT indsutry worth claiming. Gujarat has peace, security and lot of enggineering colleges.
Aspirants leave their home town/state in search of better education and jobs propsects is so very common in the modern world including other states of India.
Dear Sana
A truly written article, forget Multi National Corporations(MNC) even Indian IT Giant Infosys & others have refused to invest in Kashmir or set up a office because of disturbances & insecurity.
Regards
Suresh Shenoy-Bombay
States like bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh, MP, seven sister states, Anadaman Nicobar, Lakshwadeep, daman and diu, HP they too dont have IT industry. In India IT industry is limited to metro cities such as bangalore, chennai, mumbai,pune, NCR, Chandigarh, Kolkata etc
Peaceful environment is the prime requirement of investment and industry.
good
Equity in national prosperity has long been an issue in India. Its sad that kashmir has so few technical colleges, next time may be congress govt should stop pleasing mamta benargee and divert some funds to kashmir.
I am from Kerala, a small, yet, a beautiful province in the Indian Union. We too don’t have science parks or industrial houses or IT hubs. Most of our highly skilled people go to U.S, Australia. Besides U.S and U.K, our nurses tend to go to Europe. You can see large no. of skilled, and semi- skilled workers from Kerala in the gulf nations. Kashmiris too must seek better employment abroad. Why stick to the old birth place and rot in when we have two legs and a lot of dreams to roam. Before leaving, get a decent education. Then do one thing. Cheer up and be ready to roam. Be mobile. You are a free bird. Rest will seek you.
Dear Sana,
It is true that there is no IT sector is Kashmir. But then, that is the case with an overwhelming majority of the states. IT sector is concentrated primarily in Bangalore, Chennai, Noida and Hyderabad, with Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Trivendrum being the smaller IT centers. The complaint you’re making is the same with people of bigger states such as Rajasthan, MP, Bihar, Orisaa, Assam, Punjab etc, who have to go to the above mentioned bigger centers for IT jobs. Even if IT parks have been established in these states, they have seen little or no occupancy by companies, as due to lack of growth opportunities, good executives don’t really want to work over there.
Therefore, insurgency and Army presence is not to be blamed for lack of IT in Kashmir. Not every state can have an IT sector – and as far as I can see, Kashmir cannot realistically aspire for a thriving one.in the near future. It’s better to move out – Delhi/ NCR isn’t that far – if you want to make a career for yourself in IT.
First clear the weed. Then you can grow the vegetables and fruits.
Only a few states in India have a developed IT sector. Kashmir is not unique in not having an IT sector. Most of professionals in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Noida etc. are not locals but come from different states to make their carriers.
well I laugh when u guys are so worried about Kashmir, Palestine and so on……
Frankly are you doing well enough to care for others……JUST ASK THIS QUES TO URSELF AND YOUR LEADERS
vicous circle.. no jobs leads to more fertile ground for protests and violence which leads to less jobs. hopefully with more families having their children go out of Kashmir might create a change in outlook and lead to peace in the valley.
in india every univesity have additional separate qota for kashmiri student with scholarship.so dont blame govt alone young student shuld not make execuse of it
Better for the youth of Kashmir to go to an other place as this might integrate them more as Indians, than working in Kashmir and fighting for an independent Kashmir when financially established.
his is not something specific to Kashmir although speaking of Kashmir as a victim of sorts may generate readership.
I’m from Hyderabad, India and I ever since I finished my Engineering I have been on the move. One, because the IT sector was not that developed in early nineties; two, the number of jobs available were just not enough for local population; three, the advanced end of IT services were not that great. As a result, I worked in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, UK, Australia and the USA. Again, several cities in the UK and the USA.
The IT sector is doing great in Hyderabad today. There are a couple of reasons. One, the IT Businesses thought that it makes sense to start the shop in Hyderabad as the city achieved critical mass in talent supply chain. Two, the then Govt of Andhra Pradesh promoted the city in a big way with incentives to industries. Three, it all starts small – first the BPO services, then the lower end of IT, then the higher end of IT.
What Jammu & Kashmir needs is more colleges and more people willing to go to BPO first and the Govt incentives for Businesses – tax breaks and importantly, security. If these basics are in place and if the Talent supply increases, IT will come searching to J&K.
People have to be flexible in global village. Majority of Kashmiris are rigid and arrogant. They are abusive to minorities.
Whats wrong in moving to better places in search of better career? Good for national integration!!!
True Indian
good. Kashmiri youth are getting to see the rest of their country..
Companies do not appreciate terror, plain and simple! It is up to Kashmiris to renounce the violence and make the valley prosperous and booming.
same case with pakistan AJK/GB.
dont agree! because I know as I am one of them!
Thats not true, life here in AJK is much better. We have several IT houses and employment rates are decreasing. Plus with all the expatriates who are returning to AJK, many new business have started. We are hoping that with the completion of the AJK motorway connecting us to the capital Islamabad things are only bound to improve. Infact, many of AJK’s indicators are above the national average.
Several IT houese?? Can you name some of them??
Yeah, even I’m curious. Which are the IT houses that have set up shop in AJK, Gohar?
probably he means that IT’s presence in Kashmir is better than in many other parts like khyber pakhtunkhwa
Magic carpets genies out of a bottle and assorted stories tally with your post-same genre!
Same case with Pakistan in its entirity. There is no place in Pakistan, which is safe and peaceful for condcting uninterupted IT jobs
But AJK doesnt have insurgency right, so whats their excuse?
even worse may be