Shimla, Jul 2 (IANS): The foundation stone of a Software Technology Park of India (STPI) was laid here on Monday by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur along with Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Proposed to accommodate 15 to 20 startups, the park will cost an estimated Rs 10 crore.

Thakur said that the state has initiated several steps to provide IT-enabled services to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' dream.

The startups at the park will provide direct employment to 300 to 400 information technology professionals in five years, the Chief Minister said.

He said another such park is proposed to be set up near the Gaggal airport in Kangra district, for which land has been identified.

The Chief Minister said the state is keen to set up e-hospital facilities in all district hospitals to ensure better and specialised health services to the people.

He urged the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology to provide all assistance in this regard.

Prasad said that the growth in exports by the STPI units from Rs 52 crore in 1992-93 to more than Rs 350,680 crore in 2016-17 showed that the STPI has played a key role in transforming the country as the most-preferred IT destination.

He said it has also played a phenomenal role in promoting Tier-II and III cities.

He said that 31 crore bank accounts were opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana to ensure direct benefit transfer to the poor.

The government has saved Rs 90,000 crore during three years by way of direct benefit transfer, Prasad said.

He said that 91 BPOs have been established in small towns in four years to help the youth in getting employment nearer to their homes. He also announced that more BPOs will be opened in Himachal Pradesh.

He announced that all district hospitals in the state would be made e-hospitals. He directed the National Informatics Centre to immediately start work in this direction.

The Union Minister also announced that the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology would be set up in Mandi. He announced that 50 villages of the state would be made 'Digital Villages'.

The Union minister said the STPI's additional incubation facility in Shimla would act as a resource centre for information technology, IT-enabled services units by offering general infrastructural facilities like ready-to-use incubation space, high-speed data communication with uninterrupted connectivity and other amenities required for export of software and services.