AGARTALA, August 5 (TIWN): “In a historic opportunity to boost the economy of the state with the introduction of the 3rd Internet Gateway in Agartala as IT hub in NE India, Tripura will be playing a vital role in NE India” said Saumen Sarker, Bank of America Vice president (Global Communications and Infrastructure Solutions) in a press briefing held at Agartala press club, on Wednesday. With the aim to promote Agartala as the India’s 3rd Internet gateway after Mumbai and Chennai, Tripura infoway.com is scheduled to organize 2nd Tripura Conclave on August 6, at Rabindra Bhavan 5 PM onwards, added Sarker in the press communique. The conclave would hold discussion on ‘How to lay the road-map for Agartala as 3rd internet gateway and how to bring investment through this Internet gateway in the state to generate employment for growth of the state’.Sarker stressed on the issue that Tripura has an adequate amount of resources, political stability, electricity and young talent in the state who can establish the IT sector in full-fledged manner with the introduction of the 3rd Internet Gateway in Agartala.

Sarker further added that it is a Golden opportunity for IT Industry and Economic roadmap of Tripura as India-Bangladesh surplus under-sea internet bandwidth (10 Gbps) sale agreement was signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic June 2014 visit to Dhaka in presence of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina.

It is to be mentioned here that on July 9 2014, the first-ever Tripura Conclave was held as a private policy dialogue initiative. It took up the issue of how Tripura can play into India's Look East foreign policy. The Conclave was organized with Bangladesh's former foreign minister Dipu Moni as the lead keynote speaker.

Eminent Journalist Subir Bhaumik (formerly BBC Eastern India Bureau Chief), has taken an initiative to put together a volume ‘Agartala Doctrine’ that is being published as a book by Oxford University Press.

Bhaumik said ‘Conclave doesn’t aim to build community hall or bridges; it is an initiative to bring Agartala in the thought map of the society’. Conclave is a platform to bring forward the thought power of the society.

As Tripura’s leading online media, this conclave will be initiating visionary dialogues on transforming Agartala and NE India as IT (Information Technology) destination, IT investments – so leaders from Indian IT Industry, officials from India and USA, UK, France, South Korea kind of top IT expert countries will remain present to enlighten the road map of IT in this region.

Many visionaries will deliver speech on the importance of IT Industry in a remote region like Northeast which can be flagged off and the potential for IT industry as a catalyst for economic transformation.

“However, conclave is a platform to bring forward the issue of the 3rd Internet Gateway in Agartala after Mumbai and Chennai but government is the sole authority to actually materialize the project”, said Convener of Conclave Subir Bhoumik.