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Follow UsGiven below are some of the highlights of the new IT policy announced by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at CONNECT 2002 event. The full text is available at
www.tn.gov.in
Promotional Initiatives: Approach
* The experience gained from the successful promotional efforts which resulted in projecting Tamil Nadu as the 'Detroit of South-Asia' will be utilized to display similar market savvy approach to make Tamil Nadu to emerge as Knowledge-Capital of India.
* Government will take effective steps to create a brand equity for Tamil Nadu and encourage participation in International / National events to position Tamil Nadu as the Destination of Choice. Government will manage a Destination of Choice Fund (DOCF) for these initiatives in association with corporates and professional bodies.
* Potential areas in ITES will be given preference so as to effectively increase exports from Tamil Nadu. A specific policy for ITES sector will be brought out.
* Government will encourage and send business delegations in Public-Private Partnership to emerging markets so as to create necessary networking environment to tap the large global market for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector of Tamil Nadu. Sufficient enabling environment for teaching foreign languages will be created, so that opportunities in major markets in non-English speaking countries like Germany, Japan, France etc., could be tapped.
* Government of Tamil Nadu will also facilitate the participation of SME's in Government approved International/ National IT trade shows and exhibitions so as to enable them to tap new markets. A 30% subsidy will be allowed in respect of the stall rent payable by the participating SME units with turnover not exceeding Rs 10 Crores in the preceding year.
* Simultaneously, the market base for the large players operating in Tamil Nadu will also be enhanced in areas like financial software services, multimedia, design services through effective use of International channels and forums wherever needed.
* A separate policy with industry specific incentives to attract hardware investments to the State will be formulated.
* Government recognizes the need to put in effective mechanism to deter infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Software piracy and crimes associated with Internet and IT. With the passage of IT ACT 2000 by Government of India, sufficient enabling mechanism including training for the law enforcing authorities will be put in place to deal with cyber crimes.
* The availability of English speaking IT skilled manpower in abundance will be leveraged to position Tamil Nadu to attain a dominant share in the export market in key area IT training and educational sector, outsourced processing services including backend work in industry verticals such as Finance, Insurance, Banking and Airlines.
* Domain expertise in non-IT areas will be synergized with IT Industries to expand their base of activities and level of penetration. This will promote Business Process Outsourcing (BPO's) for
MNC's.
* ITES afford a unique employment opportunity in the State. Skilled and Semi Skilled IT Professionals will find a place in ITES Industry.
* Computer Education program in the Government schools will be extended to enable the youth to pick up adequate computer skills down to 6th standard in a phased manner. Specialized training required for ITES employment will be built into the colleges training program.
* The Government will promote Tamil Nadu as a favored ITES destination. Keeping in view the cost-effective nature of this sector, action will be taken by the Government in
* Creating sector specific infrastructure facilities
* Amendment to legal and regulatory framework
* Creating a conducive environment
Social Initiatives
* Corporate health services, golf courses, International schools and such other special needs will be made available for business houses by encouraging private initiatives.
Infrastructural Initiatives
* Knowledge Industry Townships (KITs) will be created in the IT highway in Chennai through a Public Private Partnership program.
* Infrastructure like ELNET Software city and TIDEL in Chennai, TEX CITY at Coimbatore etc., have acted as beacons for software industries. A special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be created to own and take forward the initiatives to position Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tirunelveli and Salem as the best Tier II cities for IT investments. Specific focus will be made to attract substantial portion of the ITES market as well as BPO's market.
Physical Initiatives
* Enabling mechanism will be created so that existing Infrastructure in industrial estates like Perungudi/ Maraimalai Nagar/ Ambattur could be put into use in a cost effective manner by IT Companies.
Human Resources Development Initiatives
* Basic training in computers will be introduced in all schools from the high school level. The endeavor will be to cover all schools within a 5-year period. Training of teachers will also be done in a phased manner over the 5-year period. In addition to Government sponsored training programs, State Government will facilitate and co-ordinate with other sponsors like INTEL, IBM, APPLE, etc., for training of teachers.
* Government of Tamil Nadu will encourage IT Companies to obtain ISO 9000 process certification. Small Scale Industries (SSIs) will be eligible to claim the incentives offered by TIIC for obtaining such certification.
e-Governance and IT applications in Government
* Various computerization projects executed in Government Departments like Transport, Registration, Sales Tax and Education need to be integrated to effectively deliver the services needed by the citizens. Hence plans are made to introduce Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS).
* The front office and back office needs will be assessed by the creation of a high-powered Special Working Group (SWG) on e-Governance, which will be reporting to the TNITC. SWG will facilitate interdepartmental e-Governance initiatives in
* The assessment, implementation, monitoring and standardization of IT projects of the State.
* Synergy utilization of IT as an enabling tool for efficiency and effectiveness in EDS.
* Playing a key role in making an inventory of existing applications/ packages used in the Departments.
* Initiative and develop projects in IT applications.
* Develop Interoperability Systems and Standards for seamless transfer of information between domains and make it mandatory through legislative mechanisms.
* Initiate moves to encourage developing the linkages for the existing databases to the public domain to enable online activities and seamless integration.
* Initiative and develop Data Warehouses in every Department to facilitate the process of EDS. These data warehouses will be linked to the Central Database, which will be maintained by the Government Data Center.
* Set up and facilitate specific communication networks for the Government sector.
* Establish links worldwide with institutions for interchange of ideas & experience
* Develop Special pilot projects on Digital signatures, Smart cards, online security issues and Paperless Government.
* The policies and specifications as stipulated by the SWG will be supported with the best practice guidance, tool kits and
pilot projects. Connecting to the existing systems and databases and developing a comprehensive information system that integrates into a data warehouse for analytical data mining to support decision-making will be the core issue for the Interoperability standards.
* Steps towards conversion of the domain knowledge available in Secretariat and Government offices all over the State in key areas will be digitized and made available for all departments to facilitate a knowledge based decision making process.
* All Elected Representatives of the Legislative Assembly and Panchayat Chairpersons will be trained on the use of Computers and E-mail.
* Suitable innovative schemes will be devised in consultation with Government employees to upgrade the levels of IT usage in Government Departments up to the Section Officer level. Specific needs based syllabus will be drawn up to remove the techno-phobia in rural and semi urban offices.
* Touch screen kiosks with suitable bilingual software and Internet facilities will be deployed widely throughout the State.
* IT Act 2000 of Government of India, Chapter III, Section 4 provides for recognition of Electronic Records. Section 5 deals with legal recognition of Digital signatures. Government will come out with guidelines for e-signature and Electronic records as per Section 6 of the Act.
* Government of Tamil Nadu will set a specific annual target in order to ensure that e-governance activities of each department are completed within the next four years and will pass directives to take the following action:
* Create an IT cell with Secretary of the Department as the Chairman, Heads of the Departments as members and a nodal officer from the department as a convener in each Department/ Government Body for the implementation of IT Applications.
* Launch & ensure wide participation of existing staff in computer literacy programs.
* Prescribe knowledge of computers as an essential qualification for recruitment and promotion at various levels.
* Provide PCs and set up LANs with necessary software up to the Section Officer level.
* Develop and maintain a Portal for the Departments
The role and responsibility of the IT cell in each Department/ Government Body will be:
* To prepare an overall IT vision or strategy for a four year period for the Department.
* Identify the key areas which have maximum citizen interface, and which can be electronically delivered.
* Implementation, maintenance and frequent upgradation of the applications.
* Government will establish a Portal for exchange of information and views on the directions of the Government's IT strategy and emerging trends in the industry, identify key issues associated with EDS for viable Public Private Partnership, discuss the police framework to develop channels for EDS in an integrated manner. Government will also develop district level portal, to function as a hub for EDS services of the district, inform the developmental activities, propagate the policies, highlight the emerging areas for the non-urban areas, address the local officials and the elected public representative.