Rs 1.76 lakh crore this year: Minister Chennai, Jan 11 (PTI) Software exports from Tamil Nadu would touch Rs 1.76 lakh crore this year thereby making the State reach the third position in the country, Minister T Mano Thangaraj said here on Wednesday.

The Minister, holding the portfolio of information and technology and digital services, said at an event here that the government was focused on bringing in digitisation across departments to reduce the use of paper. "We are exporting software to various countries. This year, the exports are expected to reach Rs 1.76 lakh crore making the State achieve third rank in the country," he said after rolling out the 5G services of Reliance Infocomm's Jio in five cities in Tamil Nadu. The Minister attributed the rise in software exports on account of stable governance and rollout of various sector-specific policies by the ruling DMK. "We have a telecom policy, data centre policy and also research and development policy," he pointed out. He said the government was focusing on digitisation. Nearly 1.10 lakh files that were in the offices of various departments at the Secretariat have been digitised and IT officials were currently engaged in integrating the data between departments, he said. About 35 tonne of paper was used in a government office, and since paper is sourced from trees, paperless service was needed, he said. Therefore, nearly 235 government services were currently provided to the public through online.

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The Minister referred to Chief Minister M K Stalin's comments on boosting economic activity in tier-II and III cities so that there is an inclusive development across the State.

Thangaraj said the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Academy was providing training to skilling, and upskilling several students and appealed to corporates to join hands in this connection.

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"We request people like you (Reliance Jio) to join us through the corporate social responsibility initiative to offer training to employees," he said while addressing employees of Reliance Jio Infocomm.

The 5G service was launched in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Hosur, and Vellore besides Chennai.

According to officials, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has invested Rs 40,446 crore in Tamil Nadu for deploying the 5G network which would generate one lakh jobs directly and indirectly.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)