IT SMES FOR GREATER SHARE IN E-GOVERNANCE PROJECTS
Kolkata/Bhubaneswar
Business Standard
The IT SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Orissa have urged the state IT department to come out with a new ICT (information and communication technologies) policy which would enable these units to have a greater share in the implementation of the e-governance projects in the state.
Presently, the share of the large IT units in the implementation of the e-governance projects in Orissa is more than ten times that of the SMEs, said Subhadarshi Mishra, secretary, Confederation of Information Technology Enterprises (CITE).
Mishra said, a new ICT policy was needed to overcome the anomalies existing between the large IT units and the SMEs in the state.
As against 230 acres of land allotted to the large IT players in the state, the SMEs have been allotted only 30 acres. While the 10 large IT units have a workforce of around 4000, there are 57 IT SMEs employing 6000 people.
The new ICT policy should be framed by the state government based on the progressive IT practices of neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal and also taking into account the global IT scenario post 2005.
Besides, the new ICT policy should incorporate enabling provisions for the IT SMEs like exemption of electricity duty, rent subsidy as well as waiver of VAT (value added tax), he added.
Bijoy K Sahoo, president, CITE pointed out that the IT SMEs were facing problems related to physical possession of land in the Infocity area of the city.
He said that though the units were allotted land, they were unable to take physical possession of the plot, adding, “The Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) needs to hand over bounded land to these units.”
Speaking on the occasion, P K Mohapatra, the state IT secretary said, “We need to revisit our ICT policy which was formulated in 2004. The state IT department will come out with a new ICT policy in 2010.”
Referring to the fast implementation of the e-governance projects in Orissa, he said, the state chief minister will inaugurate the e-registration project on January 1, 2010.
The e-registration project is being taken up at a cost of Rs 63 crore and it will be implemented on a BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis by the Orissa e-Governance Services Limited, a special purpose vehicle formed by the Orissa Computer Application Centre and IL&FS- Infrastructure Development Corporation.
INCLUSION, VERIFICATION ARE CHALLENGES OF UID PROJECT
Divya Trivedi, Ahmedabad
The Hindu Business Line
Although the unique identification number will not be mandatory, the number of services requiring it - from checking into a hotel to opening a bank account - will mean that anybody wanting to avail of services in India would not be able to do it without a UID number, according to Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India.
“The UID does not bestow Indian nationality or citizenship to the holder and absolutely no rights or entitlements, but all residents of the country will get an identity through it. The decision as to whom should it be given to or not is being discussed in the public sphere and a decision has not been reached yet. The challenge is to make it simple enough to verify and yet secure enough to avoid duplication. It is a tussle between strong inclusion and secure verification,” he said, while replying to queries at a meet organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Gujarat.
Nilekani was in Gujarat to speak to the Chief Minister. The UID is a massive coordination exercise and requires all State governments and various agencies to agree for it to become possible politically and sustainable for many years to come. The UIDAI has spoken to various Ministries, regulators, 15 State governments and expects to roll out the process of enrolment by February 2011.
IN GUJ, NILEKANI PINS COASTAL SECURITY ON ID PROJECT
Jumana Shah & Himansh Dhomse
DNA
The country is waiting with bated breath for the implementation of the ambitious Unique Identification (UID) project initiated by the Union government. But Gujarat may well come out on top because of its concerns regarding the identification of residents in the coastal villages of Saurashtra, and of people living in Kutch close to the Pakistan border.
These were among the main concerns articulated at the first meeting between UID chairman Nandan Nilekani and chief minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Nilekani also met senior bureaucrats of the state.
Nilekani's hectic day on Tuesday started with a jog on the IIM campus, followed by a public lecture at Tagore Hall, and a meeting in Gandhinagar in the afternoon. It ended again at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad -- his favorite place in the city -- where he was putting up for two days.
After a genial talk at the institute about the UID project, Nilekani spoke to DNA about his meeting with the 15th state government for cooperation in the implementation of the project, concerns about Gujarat's coastal security and how he is getting used to becoming a 'Cabinet-rank' minister, from an IT czar.
Excerpts:
How was the meeting with the CM and state government officials?
I have been meeting ministers and bureaucrats in all states for the UID project, which is why I also met Gujarat government officials. On Tuesday, I met Modi for around half-an-hour and he showed interest in the project. The meeting was fruitful. The Gujarat government is going to be one of the registrars in the project. Overall, I got a good response from the government and after explaining the whole project, the government is quite keen to participate. I must appreciate the civil service cadre of Gujarat - very sharp. I met the chief secretary, forest officials and several others for around two hours on Tuesday afternoon.
Coastal security formed a good chunk of the discussion?
It is a concern and it was a part of the discussion, as it is a part of the UID project.
When will the first UID be issued?
We have set the target for February 2011 by when we will start issuing numbers.
UID TO TELL IF YOU'RE WHO YOU CLAIM TO BE
Ahmedabad
DNA
The unique identification project of the Union government is perhaps its most ambitious and is likely to have a far reaching and profound impact across all sections.Yet, few of us actually know anything about the project. So, when chairman of the UID authority of India Nandan Nilekani spoke for almost 60 minutes at a stretch on Tuesday morning about the project, the audience was undeniably captivated.
"UID is not a card; it is only a unique number for every resident of the country. The purpose of UID is mainly to verify whether a person is the one he is claiming to be. Having a UID does not give a him/her any rights or privileges. It is a simple method for agencies to know your resident (KYR)," Nilekani said.
"All the processes to further check on his credit history, or any other verifications will not be included in the UID project. They will be called KYR+," "heNilekani was addressing an audience of more than a thousand businessmen and students of the city, as part of the Lincoln Lecture Series organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
"The verification will be done online through a biometric identification system, which will be put in place over the next few years," he said. The task is mammoth and Nilekani admits as much.
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