In a progressive step towards making the dream of Digital India come alive, the state of Haryana has decided to create one Wi-Fi zone in all 6,078 gram panchayats within two years and provide 4G services in every village in the next three years. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting held today, which was presided over by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Under the Haryana Information Technology (IT) and Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Policy-2017 that the cabinet gave a green signal to today, the state government plans on providing broadband connectivity to every household and Wi-Fi zone at all important public places in all towns and cities.

Earlier in the year, the Indian state of Kerala had also declared that it is working on providing free WiFi to the entire population of the state. Announcing the news, the state had said that the access to internet is as basic as the access to food or water.

In addition to providing Wi-Fi facilities, the five-year goal of the draft policy also includes generating employment for 15 lakh persons in the IT-ESDM sector by 2020, increasing the sector’s contribution to Haryana's GDP from 9.4 per cent to 15 per cent, and making Haryana a renowned name in India's research and development for ESDM by producing 1,000 patents.

According to a statement given by a government official to Hindustan Times, it is after the year 2000 that targeted policy for IT and ESDM sector is being launched.

The cabinet also took time to approve Haryana's very own startup policy, which aims towards developing the state as a resourceful and inventive startup hub by supporting and assisting the new-age innovators and entrepreneurial talents.

In May, we had reported how Delhi’s neighboring state Haryana had taken a progressive step and carved out its own draft policy aimed towards transforming the state into a startup hub by providing support to entrepreneurial talents and new-age innovators present in the state. This was followed by us reporting in August that the state government has finally converted the draft into a legit startup policy, which would soon be officially announced during the Digital Haryana Summit to held on 15th September.

This development was first reported in Hindustan Times.
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