Santosh Babu joins as MD, Elcot

Nearly two months of functioning without an MD, Electronic Corporation of
India (Elcot) the nodal agency of State Government of Tamil Nadu, has finally
got an executive on board. The State Government has appointed Santosh Babu,
Former District Collector of Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu as the new MD of Elcot and
Director of e-Governance and CEO. The post was vacant since the transfer of C
Umashankar almost two months back. Santosh Babu was appointed after T
Udayachandran, the successor of Umashankar, delayed in assuming charge as MD of
Elcot.

Babu, has successfully launched various e-Governance initiatives while being
district administrator of Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, and was instrumental in
rolling out the Krishnagiri District website that had web-based tracking and
monitoring system for out of school children, public grievance redress and an
e-governance project. He is also in the process of rolling out a new website
that will enable people from village panchayats to know the status of their
panchayats in terms of development.

Speaking on the delay in supplying low-cost laptops to students, a venture
started by Umashankar, the erstwhile MD of Elcot, Babu said the problem
pertaining to supply chain was the main reason behind the huge delay. “Around
3,204 students applied for laptop from Elcot and we have distributed the
machines to 1,604. There were problems in the supply chain, and a few bounced
cheques provided by students also affected the distribution system. We are
confident that we will be able to complete the distribution by September 15,” he
informed. He also mentioned that the absence of decision-making authorities in
Elcot also delayed the distribution process.

When questioned about the introduction of more such offers, he said it was up
to the IT Secretary to decide, as he has just assumed office. Bet he shared that
as the new MD of Elcot he would like to add value to what his predecessor-Umashankar
has done in Elcot.