Telangana and Illinois State Governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that paves way for collaboration and interaction between the two States in various fields through sharing of expertise. Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce) and Hardik Bhatt, Secretary of Innovation & Technology and State Chief Information Officer signed the Agreement inChicago, Illinois on Monday representing Telangana and Illinois States respectively. Minister for IT, MAUD and NRI Affairs K Taraka Rama Rao and Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Consulate General of India, Chicago were present at the event. KTR is on the second leg of his business visit to the USA to promote Telangana business and attract investments to the State.
The Agreement facilitates the two States to extend cooperation in the areas of Smart State Solutions, e-governance, entrepreneurship, innovation, business incubators, job creation and best practices. Under the Smart State solutions, Illinois State will introduce “Array of Things” sensors for air pollution monitoring in Telangana. The two States will share best practices, tools and processes for
disaster & emergency management, data management, data analytics, open data and Intelligent Transportation Systems. Under the e-Governance, the two States will strive to transform state agencies by incorporating communications and information technologies into their operations. The two governments will share information and insights on the e-services implemented in Illinois and Telangana, evaluate them for their effectiveness and impact on citizens.
The MoU aims to promote entrepreneurship in both the States by facilitating interaction between entrepreneurs and holding hackathons for high citizen impact applications. Under the Agreement, the two States will work to establish UI Labs, an innovation accelerator, in Telangana and to replicate innovation labs in Telangana back in Illinois. It aims to promote innovation in the industry of Illinois and Telangana. The MoU also details on establishment of joint business incubators to support development of high technology solutions and foster start-up culture. The two States will also work for identifying job creation initiatives and share best practices and lessons learned related to policies and regulations, financial models and standards. (NSS)