Lok Sabha Question No. 3120 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-16
Subject: e-Governance
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: N.K. PREMACHANDRAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3120

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## E-GOVERNANCE

## 3120.     SHRI N.K.PREMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of Communications & Information Technology be pleased to state: -

- (a)  whether the Government proposes to introduce a scheme for comprehensive e-governance;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon;
- (c)  the action taken by the Government to create awareness among the rural population regarding the use of information technology;
- (d)  whether the Government proposes to introduce legislation for preventing misuse of information technology and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  the steps taken by the Government to strengthen mobile communication technologies and also to convert class rooms into smart class rooms; and
- (f)  the action taken by the Government on the proposal of the State Government of Kerala for IT development?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a)  and  (b):  Yes,  Sir.  The  Government  of  India  is  implementing  Digital  India  programme  to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. The programme is being coordinated by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and implemented by the entire Government. Digital India aims to provide the much needed thrust to the  nine  pillars  of  growth  areas,  namely  Broadband  Highways,  Universal  Access  to  Mobile connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology,  e-Kranti -Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for all, Electronic Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programmes. Various projects/schemes are being implemented under above nine pillars of Digital India to introduce comprehensive e-Governance in the country.

(c):      The  following  schemes  are  being  implemented  by  the  Government  to  create  awareness among rural population regarding the use of information technology:

(i) Digital Literacy to the masses: DeitY is implementing following two Schemes namely (a) IT Mass Literacy (National Digital  Literacy Mission) and (b) 'Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' ( दिशा ) under 'Digital India' for providing Digital Literacy to the masses.

(ii)  Common  Services  Centres  (CSCs):  The  CSCs  are  Information  and  Communication Technology (ICT) enabled kiosks with broadband connectivity to provide various Governments, private and social services at the doorstep of the citizen.

(d):   The Government of India has enacted 'Information Technology Act, 2000', amended in 2008 for preventing misuse of information technology. The Act provides legal framework for electronic  governance  by  giving  recognition  to  electronic  records  and  digital  signatures.  The formations of Controller of Certifying Authorities was directed by the Act, to regulation issuing of digital signatures. It also defined cyber crimes and prescribed penalties for them.

(e):  The  Government of India is implementing various schemes to strengthen mobile communication technology in the country. The details of the scheme are as follows:

-  Mobile  Seva  platform  has  been  developed  by  DeitY  as  the  core  infrastructure  for  all Government  departments  and  agencies  in  the  country  for  enabling  the  availability  of public services through mobile devices. It enables a Government department to integrate both  web  and  mobile  based  services  seamlessly  and  enhances  the  access  to  electronic services tremendously due to the very high penetration of mobile phones, especially in rural areas.
-  2199 mobile towers are being set up in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected States with a total estimated cost of Rs.3567.58 crore. 1517 sites are radiating as on 29.02.2016.
-  The  Government  has  approved  a  proposal  to  implement  a  Comprehensive  Telecom Development  Plan  for  the  North-Eastern  Region  (NER).    The  Project  envisages  to provide mobile coverage to 8621 identified uncovered villages by installation of about 6673 mobile towers, installation of 321 mobile tower sites along National Highways and strengthening of transmission network in the NER.  The estimated cost of implementation is  Rs.  5336.18 crore.  The Project would be funded from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
-  Mobile  coverage  to  balance  uncovered  villages  has  been  planned  to  be  provided  in  a phased manner, subject to availability of financial resources.
-  DeitY  is  implementing  a  scheme,  namely  'Enabling  All  Schools  with  Virtual  Class Rooms' to convert classrooms into smart classrooms. The project will enable the school teachers  to  reach  at  far  locations  without  physical  presence  and  on  the  other  hand empower the student to be taught by subject expert sitting at far end. The project aimed at creating  smart  virtual  classroom  facilities  in  3500  schools  &  50  District  Institute  of Education & Training (DIETs) across 7 states.

(f):   The Government of India is supporting the Government of Kerala in the successful adoption of e-Governance through technical consulting and financial assistance to multiple programmes. Few of the key initiatives supported by DietY includes:

-  E-District  project  is  being  implemented  as  a  state  Mission  Mode  Project  (MMP)  to provide various citizen centric services including e-Services of Revenue department and Forest department. 30,000 e-Certificates are being issued on a daily basis and so far over 1.8 crore e-Certificates have been issued through e-District MMP.
-  E-Office is being implemented in various Secretariat, Collectorate and Line Departmental offices in the state of Kerala.
-  Financial  and  Technical  consultancy  for  Cloud  enablement  in  the  second  State  Data Centre to offer e-Governance Services in Kerala
-  NOFN is  being  implemented  as  a  core  infrastructure  project  to  connect  all  the  Gram Panchayats in the country using high speed optical fibre. Kerala is the first state in the country to achieve 100% NOFN connectivity in all Gram Panchayats.
-  NKN  is  core  infrastructure  project  of  the  Government  of  India  to  connect  major academic, research and educational institutions in the state with high speed optical fibre.
-  Thiruvananthapuram is one the pilot district chosen for National Information Infrastructure  project  to  connect  all  the  networks  such  as  Kerala  State  Wide  Area Network (KSWAN),  NKN  and  NOFN  for  improved  availability, reliability and bandwidth.
-  MG University, Kerala has been selected as one of the 20 universities in the country to conduct Digital   India Workshop.

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