PM directs 4th Industrial Revolution preparations

A mobilephone production line of Viettel (Photo: VNA)

In Instruction No.16/CT-TTG, Phuc asked all heads of central and local government offices nationwide, from now till 2020, to focus efforts on preparing the human resources and developing the infrastructure needed to implement the 4th Industrial Revolution. He called for concerted efforts to make Vietnam a start up nation, promising that the Government would develop specific mechanisms and suitable policies to facilitate this.

“It is time for Vietnam to focus efforts on promoting and creating a real breakthrough in digital infrastructure development, application and human resources development,” Phuc said.

To create conditions for enterprises to quickly absorb and develop new production technology, all ministries and sectors should apply e-government systems so that they can offer better quality services to the people and enterprises by further simplifying and modernising all administrative procedures.

The Instruction assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications to oversee the development of IT infrastructure to ensure that new IT technologies, particularly the 4G mobile network, run smoothly and safely throughout the nation by 2018.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to become a focal point, working with other ministries, sectors and localities to support development of the 4th Industrial Revolution, with emphasis on implementing several programmes including the National Science and Technology Programme on Mathematics, Physics and Basic Sciences.

The Instruction assigned the Ministry of Education and Training the task of promoting the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in general schools. The pilot STEM teaching programme will start implementation in the 2017-2018 academic year, laying a good foundation for the 4th Industrial Revolution to develop and grow in the country.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has to developed a plan to update the vocational training curriculum and tailor it to the labour development needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The PM has assigned the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to develop mechanisms and policies on taxes and finance in order to encourage enterprises to invest in applying new technology a well as in Research and Development (R&D) in the field of IT and other advanced technology.

The MOF has also been asked to review policies and implement Resolution No.41/NQ-CP on a preferential tax regimen to boost IT development and application in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Vietnam Academy of Social Science have been asked to study and evaluate developing trends of the 4th Industrial Revolution and report them to the PM, so that the Government can give timely instructions to all ministries, sectors and localities to update their missions, development strategies and plans.

Bac Ninh province has been selected as a pilot province to develop the smart city model in construction and hi-tech agriculture development. It will be a pilot site for science and technology applications through the use of mobile phones; and Ha Nam province will also pilot hi-tech agriculture with high-yielding crops.