Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 27 January 2022, as part of the first India-Central Asia summit, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in order to develop regional cooperation, put forward the idea of developing an action program in such areas as: 1) the introduction of digital innovations, financial -tech and blockchain technologies; 2) ensuring cyber security; 3) training of specialists.

It should be noted that many world players involved in the IT sector (Facebook, Google, Amazon), together with American and Arab investment funds, invest heavily in the Indian information sphere and develop cooperation with Indian IT corporations.

According to statistics, three out of four IT specialists in the world market are Indians. According to experts, the city of Bangalore (the capital of the state of Karnataka in southern India), where 38% of India’s IT exports are produced, may overtake San Francisco with its Silicon Valley as the world’s most important information technology center in the coming years.

Another major aspect is the solid human resource, which also, thanks to the timely programs adopted at the government level in India, has allowed it to become a leader in the IT industry. With an almost endless market for overseas orders, IT jobs have proven to be a lifeline for millions of ambitious and smart Indians.

In this regard, Uzbekistan has similar positions, our country has a serious demographic growth. In this regard, the introduction of Indian experience in the IT field opens up serious prospects for our young people to acquire in-demand professions.

In recent years, Uzbek-Indian cooperation in the field of information technology has significantly strengthened. A regulatory and legal framework has been formed, an exchange of experience in this industry has been established, Indian universities have been opened in Tashkent (Amity University) and Andijan (Sharda University), an information technology center named after Jawaharlal Nehru has been created on the basis of TUIT, which train personnel for the IT sector, in including software developers, specialists in the field of artificial intelligence and ICT management.

In addition, in 2019, the Joint Committee for Cooperation in Science and Technology was established. In the same year, the development of the Tashkent Technopark was launched in cooperation with the Society of Software Technology Parks of India. Over the past 3 years, the number of joint ventures in the field of information and communication technologies has tripled.

It is noteworthy that the pandemic sharply updated the development of information technology. In 2020, schools, universities, banks, insurance companies, offices, and some government facilities were forced to adapt to their activities in the lockdown - to work remotely. This was the impetus for the huge development of e-commerce, fintech and the IT industry in general, as well as a sharp increase in the need for IT specialists.

As noted by the Internet resource "hh.uz", specializing in job search, the IT sector in 2021 in the market of Uzbekistan took the 2nd place, as the most demanded professional area among employers. Since the beginning of 2021, companies operating in the field of IT, Internet, Telecom have posted about 6 thousand vacancies for job seekers on the website.

Also today, the number of residents of IT parks has reached almost 500 units. These are companies that are engaged in software development, database processing, business process automation, IT training and ICT export.

Moreover, unprecedented incentives have been adopted in Uzbekistan for the development of the IT industry. For example, residents of IT parks are exempt from income tax, unified social payment, and corporate tax.

Thus, the existing serious human capital in Uzbekistan, multiplied by the introduction of Indian experience in the IT industry, taking into account the conditions created for this industry, as well as the availability of available support from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, together can play a positive role in terms of the development of both domestic information and communication technologies, including in the training of qualified specialists, and in the region.

Malkov Sergey,

Leading Research Fellow, 

International Institute of Central Asia