GOVT TO SET UP THINK-TANK TO ADVISE IT ON IT MATTERS
Chennai
The Times of
A think-tank comprising experts in information technology in the academic and research fields and senior corporate leaders will be formed to assist the state government on policy matters and help the administration keep itself abreast of advancements in the industry.
Moving the demand for grants for information technology in the Assembly, IT minister Dr Poongothai said the proposed think tank would meet at periodical intervals to advise the IT department on addressing policy related matters and furthering the cause of e-governance in the state.
A think-tank was essential in the field of IT which was constantly advancing with new improvements to technology, to make it possible to provide more services to the public in an economic and viable manner. It would assist the department keep pace with changes in the international IT scenario, she said.
With more firms interested in investing in Tier II cities in the state, a help desk would be established for IT firms seeking to set up base here, Poongothai announced. Pointing out that the state was leading the nation with 29 percent growth in software exports against the national average of 12 percent this year despite the global recession. The exports have gone up to Rs 36,650 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 28,426 crore in 2007-08. The work force increased from 2.40 lakh to 2.85 lakh in the same period, she added. From the time the DMK government assumed office in 2006, the state’s annual software exports has exceeded the national average, she contended.
PAY UTILITY BILLS THROUGH CELL PHONES
Shyamala Seetharamanan
Financial Chronicle The Hindu Business Line The Times of India (Chennai edition)
People of Tamil Nadu will be able to pay their utility bills though mobile phones soon.
Hinduja-group company Defiance Tech is developing the platform and if the government’s plans work out on time, the pilot service will be rolled out in the next 30 days.
The mobile governance initiatives were announced by the state IT minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna during the legislative assembly session on Monday. “The platform is ready and the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot) is now aligning the service with Reserve Bank of
The mobile platform is part of the state’s e-governance initiatives, for which a policy will be framed this year. The state is also coming up with a common portal for online access of services such as land, birth and death registrations. The Centre and the state are together committing Rs 16.13 crore for the project.
“Basic IT infrastructure in the form of State Data Centre, Tamil Nadu state wide area network and the 708 points of presence has helped to drive e-governance applications in ten departments. There is now a need for an e-governance policy to ensure that in the maze of the activity there is consistency in approach,” Aruna said.
“Interoperability, upgradeability and security standards will be defined so as to prevent repetitive work in application development,” she added.
The government has also proposed to institutionalise the existing structure by creating a special purpose vehicle called the Tamil Nadu e-Governance agency , she added.
The agency would act as the support body to draw up standards for projects and capacity building, she said.
The state’s e-governance initiatives are supported by the data centre at Perungudi near Chennai.
TN has proposed to set up a second data centre in the same premises at an estimated cost of Rs 55.8 crore with aid from the Centre. A disaster recovery centre is also being set up at
As part of the e-governance initiative, Tamil Nadu is creating paperless offices. across several state departments. The initiative is also being extended to offer citizen services.
The common service portal will help to download forms and submit applications electronically.
The submitted e-form will then be routed through State Service Delivery Gateway to the respective field office of the concerned department.
TN FRAMES E-SECURITY POLICY
Chennai
Business Standard The Hindu Business Line
The state government is framing an e-security policy to give broad guidance and specific measures for information security across all the government departments. The policy will be released in 2009-2010, according to an IT department release on Monday.
The government is also planning to bring out a policy in 2009-10 on e-waste and its management. The policy will work towards minimising e-waste generation, utilise generated e-waste for beneficial purposes through reuse and recycling and ensure environmentally-sound disposal of residual waste.
The release further said that the IT department will work with mobile service providers, government departments, financial institutions and others concerned to deliver citizen services. “Mobile governance will become an important mode of service delivery, offering online services to citizens and to businesses,” it said.
The state portal will soon become a common interface for availing government services by citizens and business community. The total cost of this project is Rs 16.13 crore and will be carried out with financial assistance from the Union government, the release added.
A Tamil Nadu e-governance agency is also proposed whereby all the basic information and documentation on IT applications in the state will be stored and can be retrieved easily whenever required. This will also ensure that adequate records on all IT applications are permanently available.
MITTAL, POSCO, SAIL, TATA, ALL HAVE TO QUEUE UP FOR COAL BLOCKS
The Economic Times
They may commit investments of thousands of crores but Mittal, Tata or SAIL will have to bid like anyone else if they want coal blocks for their power or steel projects, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has said.
"We are coming out with a new policy for captive coal blocks ... Everyone will have to bid if they want coal blocks," Jaiswal said, when asked about a report that L N Mittal has complained about the delays in getting coal and iron ore mines for his Rs 50,000 crore steel project each in Jharkhand and Orissa.
The government would introduce a policy facilitating e-auctioning of coal blocks for captive use, possibly in next three months. The move will speed up the process of such allotments, he said.
With the competitive bidding, the Coal Ministry seeks to generate additional revenues, which will be used in exploring new coal properties. The e-auctioning, he said, would also check the prevalent undervaluation of the dry fuel.
POSTAL DEPT’S PROJECT ARROW ALLOCATED RS 170 CRORE TO ENHANCE BRAND IMAGE
Kirtika Suneja
Business Standard
Project arrow, the flagship project of the Department of Posts (DoP), which intends to make the post office ‘a window to the world of the aam aadmi’, will be extended to 500 post offices by September 30.
The average spending on a head office under project arrow is 20-30 lakh, taking the total on the project to around Rs 170 crore.
Project arrow was launched in April 2008 in 50 identified post offices in 10 circles in the first phase, with a funding of Rs 12.5 crore. Phase-II was launched on January 1 and the government has already spent Rs 74 crore since then, on 450-450 post offices.
The plan is to equip the 500 identified post offices with required hardware and software and internal kiosks.
Planning for infrastructure on payment to wage earners under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), is under way.” This is to happen by August this year in all rural post offices through web-based technologies,” said a highly placed source.
SATYAM TAKING BACK SHAKY STAFF
Ruchi Hajela & Mahua Venkatesh, New Delhi
Hindustan Times (Delhi edition)
Niharika Jaiswal ,who had been part of a 8,500-strong pool of surplus work-force kept in suspended animation after the fraud that mauled Satyam Computer Services, has been asked to join back Mahindra Satyam, the born-again version of the Hyderabad company.
The entire pool may soon find itself back on the company’s rolls.
Jaiswal, a 24-year-old software engineer, is one of the 1,100 employees who have been taken back by the company after it created the half-way house as a prelude to possible layoffs aimed at cutting costs.
Last month, the company had decided to put 8,500 employees who were considered ‘excess’ on a ‘virtual’ bench for four to six months. However, with the growth of the business, many more employees are expected to be called back to work.
"Around 1,100 associates have been placed already and depending on the business prospects we hope to call back or re-deploy all those who were put on the virtual pool. Those with required skill sets and technology background will be preferred," Sridhar Maturi, head, media relations at Mahindra Satyam told Hindustan Times.
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