Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday emphasised on developing the information technology and imparting training to the youth community to handle the unemployment problem through outsourcing.

She vowed to root out corruption, militancy and all types of terrorism through incorporating modern digital technolo-

gies in the administration while inaugurating a three-day Digital Innovation Fair 2011 at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre.

Hasina said the government will introduce video conferencing system at offices of the Deputy Commissioners, Divisional Commissioners, Cabinet Division and the Prime Minister to ensure transparency and accountability in the administration.

“Outsourcing can be one of the most effective ways to remove unemployment problem,” she said.

The PM said community e-centre would be set up at every upazila which will open new avenue for the rural people to get the internet services.

Already, five community e-centres have been opened which the interested people, particularly the youth community, can use, she said.

Giving example of some 12-hour time gap between Bangladesh and US, Hasina said local people can make best use of this time gap by outsourcing.

She informed the audience that the much-awaited e-commerce is expected to be introduced by 2012.

Referring to the recently introduced e-book, the PM said the government is thinking to provide such devices to the students so they do not need to carry so many books into their classes.

“They (students) will only carry the device. They will open the e-books and study,” she said, adding long-awaited low cost laptop will soon come to market for public use. The laptops will be available atTk 12,000, Tk 15,000 and Tk20,000.

Hasina said to materialise the government's Vision-2021 it has started working

to bring 1,000 unions under optical fibre network while infrastructure construction works for providing broadband internet facilities to 56 districts and 57 upazilas will be ended by the current fiscal.

Besides, e-centre for rural community will be set up at 8,500 Union Parishads, she said.

The PM later visited various stalls at the digital fair. A total of 80 institutions under various ministries and departments and 6 private institutions are exhibiting their various e-services and products at the fair.

Tri-dimensional digital aviation map, online agriculture television, mobile SMSbased health services, digital land survey and management, digital holding tax management and online birth-death registration, digital signature, multimedia classrooms, digital content for teachers, education GIS map, mobile banking and many other e-services are being exhibited at the fair.

ICT Ministry, Prime Minister-run Access to Information programme and UNDP has jointly arranged the fair to be continued till tomorrow.

State Minister for ICT Yafes Osman and A2I project director Nazrul Islam Khan, among others, addressed the function.

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