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Uttar Pradesh to join states flaunting IT policies

UP Information and Technology Minister Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh told reporters that the draft policy has been submitted to the state

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government for approval.

The policy envisages radical developments in the information technology discipline within next 10 years with a cumulative investment of Rs 250 billion in both public and private sectors.

State's Principal Secretary, IT and Electronics, R N Trivedi said with the introduction of the proposed policy, the state's IT industry's annual turnover would leap to Rs 100 billion from the current level of Rs 10 billion per annum.

The policy aims at creating a state-level super information highway with wide network connecting state headquarters and districts on computers with online information on various departments by 2003-2004.

To begin with, NOIDA and Kaval towns (Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra and Lucknow) would be linked with the state headquarters and in the next phase small cities and towns are slated to be brought online.

Trivedi said the policy also envisages installing computers in government offices where government and public interface is larger like in the development authorities, municipal corporations, sales tax offices and electricity departments. This he points out would lead to quick information dissemination and billing.

The government will also open information kiosks at various places where information will be available over the Internet, he said.

According to Singh, besides the IT policy, an action plan to promote the sector would be unveiled shortly.

Claiming that the Uttar Pradesh government would be an "electronic government" by 2008, he said that in addition to the two existing software technology parks at NOIDA and Kanpur, five more STPs would be established in the joint sector at Agra, NOIDA, Dehradun, Lucknow and Varanasi.

Trivedi informed that two 'Indian Institute of Information Technology', one each at Allahabad and Kanpur, have been planned.

While the central government has already accorded sanction for the Allahabad institute, talks are underway with IIT Kanpur to open such an institute with its technical support and know how.

The Kanpur institute is likely to be set up near the IIT campus, he said.

He said that a 'High-Tech City' encompassing 100 acres would be established at NOIDA, an 'Electronic City' has been planned at Agra and a cyber city at Kanpur.

Highlighting the IT vision, Trivedi said that computer literacy and training would be imparted to all government employees, and government offices up to district level and would be linked by computers in three years, teshil level in 5 years and block level in 10 years.

The state headquarters and district offices will also be linked through high-speed data communication, he added.

UNI

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