Panaji, Jul 15(IANS): Israel should be a role model for Goa, a state which should aspire to become a very hi-tech centre at the cutting edge of technology, former director of Infosys, Mohandas Pai said on Saturday.

"A role model for Goa would be Israel, a very hi-tech centre at the cutting edge of technology....Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, robotics, big data, life sciences, at the cutting edge of research, cutting edge of innovation, primarily because we are undergoing a disruption in technology right now," Pai said while speaking at the formal launch of the state IT policy in the state capital.

"This disruption is being led by big data and AI. And there is an opportunity which is coming up, because people who have a legacy, people who have built earlier, have now to change and change is very difficult. In Goa we are starting almost with a clean slate," Mr Pai said.

He said Goa has to become a digital state to facilitate its IT ambitions.

"Every Goan should be connected to the web, every place should have high speed bandwidth. Children should learn new technology using handle devices. In colleges, you must have high quality data centres with all kind of knowledge and education system should change," he said.

"We should create an open innovation system, where companies can come up and set up their own start-ups, indulging in technology and state should have supporting role," he added.