JA Chowdary speaks to Yo! Vizag on the future code for the city

Special Chief Secretary and IT Advisor to Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, JA Chowdary, attended the Digital Education Summit, held by APITA (Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Academy) in Vizag. Speaking about the need for an educational transformation, here are the highlights of his conversation with Jaya Siva Murty.

Disruptive in 2018

“This is a year of transition and technological disruption. Technologies are all set to change the way we work in various areas, as diverse as agriculture, healthcare or even real-time governance. Digitisation has led to many jobs turning redundant, and some jobs won’t be there in the future because of this. New jobs, hitherto unheard of, will come up. This is a defining year, where we will do something new and innovative.”
Today’s Pre-requisite
“Education has to evolve and students need to keep the future relevance of what they’re studying in mind. They will only be able to survive in the active job market if they adapt new skill-sets and education. Educational institutions and digital education experts should impart more knowhow. We need to prepare if we don’t want to be hit negatively by this.”

Action Point Vizag

“Vizag used to be a sleepy city, and in the past, it was tough to get people here. However today, it is ready to embrace the wave of technology, and become a valley to reckon with, along with the lines of Silicon Valley. The positioning will mark the city as a promising global Fintech destination. To achieve this, competitions are being run across places like London, Singapore, New York, and Tel Aviv. The shortlisted companies will come in September for a demonstration, which will be part of the flagship programme. Winners will be granted one million USD. This event will garner global visibility for the city and it will become a destination for the next generation of start-ups and technologies. The start of real-time governance, which hasn’t happened anywhere else and the beginning of Google’s development center are other promising developments.”

A.P.’s Mandate

“Keeping the transformations in mind, our Hon’ble Chief Minister has brought forth a mandate that makes the State a forerunner in India and the world. Instead of adopting conventional ways of doing things, today we need to make the shift. That’s how we picked up blockchain technologies to work upon, with the first version in Amaravati. Soon all digital assets will become block-chain and Amaravati would use many technologies. It’s the first time in the world, that a 50 million strong state will take up this humungous task. This and the Fintech Valley will garner visibility for the state. Many start-ups and even large MNCs are coming here.”

The Rural-Urban Bridge

“The upcoming plans keep both rural and urban populace in mind. In fact, some companies are specifically looking at the rural mindset for their creativity. The innovative products of tomorrow need a new thought process and this is readily available in rural areas, where the minds haven’t been conditioned. In fact, there wouldn’t be any techno-coolie jobs like today, as new-age digital technologies would actually make for a level playing field for everyone.”

This is a defining year, where we will do something new and innovative.