KTR says term 'Information Technology' redundant, should be 'Intelligent Technologies'

IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday sought to redefine IT as ‘Intelligent Technologies’ instead of the decades-old information technology. “I believe the time has come to truly define IT, from information technology as it was known for two decades, since that definition does not hold good now in 2020. It is not just about information anymore, it’s about intelligence,” he said.

He was addressing delegates, including engineering faculty from across the globe and the country, at the ‘7th International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education’ hosted by the Anurag Group of Institutions at Venkatapur near Ghatkesar.

Stating that the State government had declared 2020 as the “Year of AI”, Rama Rao highlighted the growth story of the State and spoke on various topics, including the status of engineering education in Telangana, in pre and post-bifurcation eras, emergence of Hyderabad as an IT hub, various government initiatives to accelerate growth and development in Tier-2 cities and other towns and the need for



industry-government collaboration during his 30-minute address.

“Telangana understands the changing trends in industry and is keen on ensuring that our students do not miss out on the emerging technologies,” he said and mooted the idea of ‘Practice School’ option, an educational innovation seeking to link industry experience with university education. This, he said, should be introduced in the curriculum.

Pointing out that the State had been in the forefront of adopting cutting-edge technologies, be it in data analytics, blockchain, AI or robotics, the Minister said the State had launched T-Hub, We-Hub and T-Works in the past five years, which had catapulted the State into the top bracket in the start-up ecosystem.

Rama Rao, tracing the education scenario in Telangana, particularly in the engineering stream, before and after the bifurcation of AP in 2014, said the State now has more than 220 engineering colleges with a total intake of 1,20,000 students in various fields of engineering.