Govt. keen on policy interventions to accelerate tech diffusion: Namal

Minister Namal Rajapaksa recognising CSSL ‘National ICT Leader of the Year’ Dr. Harsha Subasinghe. Also present are SLTMobitel Group CEO Lalith Seneviratne, CSSL President Damith Hettihewa and CSSL Past President Prabath Wickramaratne  

“This Government is keen to make necessary policy interventions to adopt Industry 4.0 cutting edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, Internet of Things (IOT), Robotic, Big

Ministry of Technology Secretary  Jayantha De Silva

Data Cloud Computing, etc. in the vital sectors of the economy,” said Minister of Youth, Sports & Development Co-ordination and Monitoring, State Minister of Digital Technology & Enterprise Development Namal Rajapaksa at the inauguration of the 39th National Information Technology Conference (NITC) 2021.  

Speaking further, Rajapaksa said: “The conference theme ‘Accelerate Technology Diffusion’ is timely and in line with the Government's vision. His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy statement ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ places a high priority for technology. ‘Creating a technology based society’ is amongst the top 10 policy priorities.”

Rajapaksa attended the occasion as the Chief Guest at the inauguration of NITC 2021 and CSSL National ICT Awards on 12 October. Ministry of Technology Secretary Jayantha De Silva was the Guest of Honour and the inauguration keynote speaker at the largest annual gathering of ICT practitioners.

The National Information Technology Conference (NITC) 2021 with the theme ‘Accelerate Technology Diffusion’ organised by the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) was held with a resounding success defying the pandemic on a virtual platform. 

Rajapaksa further said: “I am glad to announce that a of week ago Cabinet of Ministers approved my proposal to appoint a committee to report to the Cabinet on the acts, rules and regulations to attract investments and investors in the areas of digital banking, blockchain and blockchain related industries such as crypto currency.

“As a result of the efforts of Honourable Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who passionately strengthened ICTA during his presidency, the ICT industry has become a $ 1 billion export industry by now. The then President extended the existence of ICTA beyond 2007 with an amendment to the ICTA act 2003 in 2007, else ICTA would have been closed down in 2008. Today the ICT industry targets to achieve $ 3 billion foreign exchange revenue by 2024. If that happens the technology industry could fill a considerable share of the balance of payment deficit of our country by 2024. This will be a significant contribution by your industry.

“This Government gives the fullest support to the industry to achieve these targets. The five Technology Parks initiative is one example. Colombo Port City will also offer ultra-modern infrastructure for inventors of the digital sector to set up their companies in Sri Lanka. I firmly believe our digital industry under the leadership of His Excellency the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has the potential to become the highest foreign exchange earning industry in the country.

“The Computer Society of Sri Lanka and ICT professionals too have a great responsibility influencing policy makers to bring about necessary reforms in our education system in order to produce the knowledge and skills so that we don’t miss the industry 4.0 opportunity and actively participate in this massive global transformation and contribute to achieving national prosperity.” 

At the CSSL National ICT Awards Minister Rajapaksa recognised CodeGen International Founder and CEO Dr. Harsha Subasinghe as the ‘CSSL ICT Leader of the Year’ for his significant contributions to the ICT industry in Sri Lanka. 11 Other ICT professionals under 11 diverse categories were recognised at the CSSL National ICT Awards held as a part of NITC 2021 conference. 

CSSL President Damith Hettihewa welcomed the Chief Guest, Guest of Honour, CSSL Award winners, dignitaries, academia, conference speakers, researchers and delegates at the conference which featured two panel discussions, 30 local and international speakers, five research presentations, three product presentations and startup pitches to investors. 

ICTA Chairman and TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake and SLTMobitel (representing the Platinum Sponsor of NITC 2021) Group CEO Lalith Seneviratne also addressed the NITC 2021 inauguration ceremony. NITC 2021 Conference Chair Rasantha Hettithanthrige thanked all who contributed to conduct this year’s conference on a grand scale defying the challenges of the pandemic.

NITC 2021 was supported by the Ministry of Technology, Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka as the National Partner. SLTMobitel for the second year running was the Main Sponsor of the CSSL Annual Conference and partnered as the Platinum Sponsor of NITC 2021. Huawei was the Gold Sponsor of NITC for the second time around. Axiata Digital Labs was the Silver Sponsor. Facebook partnered with CSSL for the 2nd CSSL Colloquium at NITC 2021. FineTech was the Virtual Platform Provider. Independent Television Network was the Electronics Media Partner of the flagship IT conference of the country. IFIP, SEARCC and FITIS were Industry Partners, Garvi Design Studio as the Creative Partner and Prime Events was the Events Partner.