Lok Sabha Question No. 3009 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-16
Subject: Cyber Cafe in Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: ALOK SANJAR

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3014

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## CERT-In

## 3014.  SHRIMATI KOTHAPALLI GEETHA :

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Computer Emergency Response Team(CERT-In) has signed cooperation pacts with its counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan for cyber security, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the CERT-In is the nodal agency responsible for dealing with cyber security threats;
- (c) if  so,  whether  the  Memorandum  of  Understanding  will  promote  closer  cooperation  for exchange of knowledge and experience in detection, resolution and prevention of securityrelated incidents between India and the three countries; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the work done so far in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a):    Yes, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the area of Cyber Security with its counterpart agencies in  Malaysia,  Singapore  and  Japan.  CERT-In  signed  MoU  with  CyberSecurity  Malaysia  on November  23,  2015,  with  Singapore  Computer  Emergency  Response  Team  (SingCERT)  on November 24, 2015 and renewed MoU with Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (JPCERT/CC) on December 7, 2015.

(b):  The Information Technology Act, 2000 designated CERT-In to serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:

-  Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cyber incidents
-  Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents
-  Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents
-  Coordination of cyber incident response activities
-  Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and whitepapers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents
-  Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed

(c)  and  (d):  In  view  of  the  need  for  international  relationships  and  cooperation  issues,  the Government  has  made  concerted  efforts  to  determine  the  ways  and  means  of  expanding  the international  collaboration  as  well  as  exploring  the  possibility  of  commonality  of  approach between nations. This aspect of cooperation is being dealt with by way of security cooperation arrangements in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team and its counterpart agencies  that  are  willing  to  work  together  and share  information  in  a  timely  manner  for  preventing  cyber  attacks  as  well  as  collaborating  for providing swift response to the incidents.

The  scope  of  co-operation  between  India  and  other  countries  includes  the  following  areas relating to Cyber Security:

-  Exchange  of  Information  on  Cyber  Attacks  and  mutual  response  to  Cyber  Security Incidents
-  Cyber Security Technology cooperation
-  Exchange of Information on prevalent cyber security policies and best practices
-  Human Resource Exchange
-  Establishment of Broader Framework for Future dialogue

In the cyber domain, in view of the MoU and existing mechanisms of cooperation between India and  Japan,  both  countries  have  collaborated  to  deepen  the  contacts  for  effective  engagement, better  communication  and  coordination,  capacity  building,  information  sharing  and  strategic cooperation in international matters on issues of mutual interest.

Following  the  recent  MoU  with  CyberSecurity  Malaysia  and  SingCERT,      CERT-In  has established Point of Contacts (PoCs) with both counterparts to enable better communication and coordination  for  the  purpose  of  information  sharing,  incident  resolution  and  any  other  issues related to cyber security.

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3197

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## LOON AND WHITE SPACE PROJECT

## 3197.   SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN:

SHRI OM BIRLA:

SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:

SHRI CHANDU LAL SAHU:

SHRI K. PARASURAMAN:

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

- (a) whether Government has plans to allow Google's Project Loon and Microsoft's White Spaces project on a pilot basis;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof along with the security ramifications of such projects;
- (c)  whether  any  study  has  been  done  by  the  Government  to  present  a  cost-benefit  analysis  of such services;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the likely impact of such projects on the existing telecom operators in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) and (b) : Google India has approached DeitY to conduct pilot test of Project Loon in India. The matter was discussed with all stakeholders and it was concluded that frequency band 700900 MHz to be used in the pilot test of Project Loon is being used by cellular operators and if the pilot is carried out it will lead to interference with cellular transmissions. Revised proposal from Google India with change of frequency band is yet to be received. ERNET India, an autonomous organization  under  DeitY,  had  carried  out  a  pilot  testing  to  determine  whether  the  TV  White Space  Technology  is  appropriate  for  establishing  Internet  connectivity  in  Gram  Panchayat schools of remote areas.

Experimental  licences  have  been  issued  to  eight  applicants  for  carrying  out  experiments  at several  places,  using  TV  Whitespace  technology,  in  the  frequency  band  470-528  MHz.  The details of the applicant organisations and the frequency clearance given to them by this Ministry is enclosed at Annexure.

(c),  (d)  and  (e): The  cost  benefit  analysis  and  impact  on  existing  telecom  operators  becomes available at the conclusion of experiments.

********

H-14021/38/2016-WF Dated: 10 March 2016

th

Details of Frequency clearance given by WPC Wing for grant of Experimental license to various Educational Institution/ Industrial organisations/ Government.

| Applicant organisation/ Institution   | Location                                                                                                                                   | Frequency (in MHz)         | Amount of spectrum allocated   |
|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------|--------------------------------|
| IIT Delhi                             | IIT Delhi campus, Hauz Khas, New Delhi                                                                                                     | 525.0 MHz                  | 5 MHz                          |
| IIT Bombay,                           | Villages of Palghar district, Maharastra (Khamloli, Haloli, Ganje,Paragaon, Manor, and Maswan)                                             | 508.0 MHz                  | 10 MHz                         |
| IIT Hyderabad                         | villages in Medak district, Telangana and Coorg, Karnataka                                                                                 | 542 to 550 MHz             | 08 MHz                         |
| ERNET                                 | Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                 | 500- 510 MHz,& 518-568 MHz | 60 MHz                         |
| IIIT Bangalore                        | IIIT Bangalore campus, Hosur Road, Bangalore                                                                                               | 488 to 494 MHz             | 06 MHz                         |
| BHEL, Varanasi                        | Different locations at Varanasi (BHEL campus, Shivpur Tarna; Kashi Krishak Int college, Harhua; and Govt. Higher Secondary School, Bhatsar | 500-520 MHz                | 20 MHz                         |
| Tata Advanced Systems                 | Village Jaunti, Delhi, Geo-coordinates (28.75028oN / 76.96667oE)                                                                           | 542- 550 MHz               | 08 MHz                         |
| Collector& Magistrate, Amrawati       | Amrawati                                                                                                                                   | 505 MHz                    | 10 MHz                         |

********

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3139

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## DIGITAL LITERACY MISSION

## 3139.   DR. GOKARAJU GANGA RAJU:

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

- (a) whether the National Digital Literacy (NDL) Mission has achieved its annual target and if so, the State-wise details thereof; and
- (b) the details of the funds allocated under this scheme, State-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  and  (b):  DeitY  has  approved  two  Schemes  for  providing  digital  literacy  in  the  Country  as under:-

- i) A scheme entitled 'National Digital Literacy Mission' (NDLM) to train 10 lakh persons in digital  literacy  throughout  the  Country  was  approved  in  March  2014  at  an  outlay  of  Rs. 97.02 crore.
2. ii) Subsequently, a scheme entitled 'Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (DISHA) to train 42.5 lakh persons in digital literacy throughout the Country was approved in December 2014 under Digital India at an outlay of Rs.380.00 crore.

Both  the  above  Schemes  are  being  implemented  concurrently.  So  far,  under  these  Schemes, around  51.04  lakh  candidates  have  been  registered,  around  38.34  lakh  candidates  have  been trained and around 16.22 lakh candidates have been certified. The State/UT-wise details are at Annexure.

So far an amount of Rs. 32.07 crore (approx.) for NDLM scheme and Rs. 57.72 crore (approx.) for DISHA scheme has been released as Grant-in-aid to the implementing agency of the Schemes viz. CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. As per the Schemes, funds are not allocated statewise.

Finance  Minister  in  his  Budget  speech  on  29.2.2016  has  announced  a  plan  to  launch  a  new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional households within the next 3 years.

********

|      |                     | NDLM            | NDLM            | DISHA           | DISHA           | Cumulative Target   | Cumulative Target   |
|------|---------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| S.No | State/UT            | Original Target | Revised Target* | Original Target | Revised Target* | Original            | Revised*            |
| 1    | Maharashtra         | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 325000          | 310000              | 40300               |
| 2    | Bihar               | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 325000          | 310000              | 40300               |
| 3    | Gujarat             | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 250000          | 310000              | 32800               |
| 4    | Madhya Pradesh      | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 325000          | 310000              | 40300               |
| 5    | Uttar Pradesh       | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 325000          | 310000              | 40300               |
| 6    | West Bengal         | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 325000          | 310000              | 40300               |
| 7    | Tamil Nadu          | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 250000          | 310000              | 32800               |
| 8    | Karnataka           | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 250000          | 310000              | 32800               |
| 9    | Rajasthan           | 60000           | 78000           | 250000          | 325000          | 310000              | 40300               |
| 10   | Telangana           | 30000           | 39000           | 125000          | 162500          | 155000              | 20150               |
| 11   | Andhra Pradesh      | 30000           | 39000           | 125000          | 162500          | 155000              | 20150               |
| 12   | Jharkhand           | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 13   | Haryana             | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 14   | Assam               | 20000           | 20000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 13700               |
| 15   | Odisha              | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 16   | Uttarakhand         | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 17   | Chhattisgarh        | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 18   | Punjab              | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 19   | Jammu &Kashmir      | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 20   | Kerala              | 20000           | 20000           | 90000           | 90000           | 110000              | 11000               |
| 21   | Delhi               | 20000           | 26000           | 90000           | 117000          | 110000              | 14300               |
| 22   | Meghalaya           | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 23   | Nagaland            | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 24   | Mizoram             | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 25   | Manipur             | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 26   | Goa                 | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 27   | Arunachal Pradesh   | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 28   | Himachal Pradesh    | 6666            | 8666            | 30000           | 39000           | 36666               | 4766                |
| 29   | Chandigarh          | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 30   | Tripura             | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 31   | Andaman& Nicobar    | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 32   | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 33   | Daman &Diu          | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 34   | Puducherry          | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 35   | Sikkim              | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
| 36   | Lakshadweep         | 6666            | 6666            | 30000           | 30000           | 36666               | 3666                |
|      | TOTAL               | 899990          | 1129990         | 3850000         | 4627000         | 4749990             | 575699              |

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*266

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2016

## NATIONAL POLICY ON ELECTRONICS

## *266    SHRIMATI  KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA:

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

- (a) the salient features of the National Policy on Electronics;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to revisit the present policy;
- (c) if  so,  the  measures  being  taken  to  promote  production  of  electronic  goods; and
- (d) whether  any  proposal  from  the  State  Government  of  Telangana  has  been received in this regard and if so, the details and the status thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d):    A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *266 FOR 16.03.2016 REGARDING NATIONAL POLICY ON ELECTRONICS

********

(a) and (b): The salient features of the National Policy on Electronics are enclosed at Annexure-1. The policy can be revisited at an appropriate time.

- (c): The measures taken by the Government to promote production of electronic goods in the country are enclosed at Annexure-2.

(d): Under the Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) Scheme, two applications for setting up of Greenfield EMCs  at  eCity, Hyderabad  and Maheshwaram have been received from the Government of Telangana, which were accorded  in-principle  approval  on  08.08.2013.  The  final  applications  for  the aforesaid  Greenfield  EMCs  are  under  appraisal.  During  the  appraisal  of  these applications, some key information pertaining to the projects was sought from the Government  of  Telangana  which  is  still  awaited.  Photonics  Valley  Corporation, Government of Telangana has recently, on 09.03.2016, submitted a proposal for setting up a photonics project.

********

## Salient features of National Policy of Electronics, 2012 (NPE 2012)

The key objectives of the Policy are:

- (i)  To  create  an  eco-system  for  a  globally  competitive  Electronic  System  Design  and  Manufacturing  (ESDM) sector in the country  to  achieve  a  turnover  of  about  USD  400  Billion  by  2020  involving  investment  of  about  USD  100  Billion  and employment to around 28 million people at various levels.
- (ii) To build on the emerging chip design and embedded software industry to achieve global leadership in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), chip design and other frontier technical areas and to achieve a turnover of USD 55 Billion by 2020.
- (iii) To build a strong supply chain of raw materials, parts and electronic components to raise the indigenous availability of these inputs from the present 20-25 per cent to over 60 per cent by 2020.
- (iv) To increase the export in ESDM sector from USD 5.5 Billion to USD 80 Billion by 2020.
- (v) To significantly enhance availability of skilled manpower in the ESDM sector. Special focus for augmenting postgraduate education and to produce about 2500 PhDs annually by 2020.
- (vi) To create an institutional mechanism for developing and mandating standards and certification for electronic products and services to strengthen quality assessment infrastructure nationwide.
- (vii) To develop an appropriate security ecosystem in ESDM for its strategic use.
- (viii) To create long-term partnerships between ESDM and strategic and core infrastructure sectors - Defence, Atomic Energy, Space, Railways, Power, Telecommunications, etc.
- (ix) To become a global leader in creating Intellectual Property (IP) in the ESDM sector by increasing fund flow for R&D, seed capital and venture capital for start-ups in the ESDM and nano-electronics sectors.
- (x) To develop core competencies in strategic and core infrastructure sectors like telecommunications, automotive, avionics, industrial, medical, solar, Information and Broadcasting, Railways, etc through use of ESDM in these sectors.
- (xi) To use technology to develop electronic products catering to domestic needs, including rural needs and conditions, as well as international needs at affordable price points.
- (xii)  To  become a global leader in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) segment by promoting progressive higher value addition in manufacturing and product development.
- (xiii) To expedite adoption of best practices in e-waste management.
- (xiv) To source, stockpile and promote indigenous exploration and mining of rare earth metals required for manufacture of electronic components.
- To achieve these objectives, the policy proposes the following strategies:
- (i)  Creating  eco-system  for  globally  competitive  ESDM  sector:  The  strategies  include  provision  of  fiscal  incentives  for investment, setting up of electronic manufacturing clusters, preferential market access to domestically manufactured electronic products, setting up of semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities, industry friendly and stable tax regime. Based on Cabinet approval, a high level Empowered committee has been constituted to identify and shortlist technology and investors for setting up two semiconductor wafer manufacturing fabrication facilities. Based on another Cabinet approval a policy for providing preference  to  domestically  manufactured  electronic  goods  has  been  announced.  The  Cabinet  has  also  approved  Modified Special Incentive Package for the ESDM Sector and scheme for setting up of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs).
- (ii)  Promotion of Exports: The strategies include aggressive  marketing of India as  an investment destination and providing incentives for export.
- (iii)  Human  Resource  Development:  The  strategies  include  involvement  of  private  sector,  universities  and  institutions  of learning  for  scaling  up  of  requisite  capacities  at  all  levels  for  the  projected  manpower  demand.  A  specialized  Institute  for semiconductor chip design is also proposed.
- (iv) Developing and mandating standards to curb inflow of sub-standard and unsafe electronic products by mandating technical and safety standards which conform to international standards
- (v) Cyber security: To create a complete secure cyber eco-system in the country, through suitable design and development of indigenous appropriate products through frontier technology/product oriented research, testing and validation of security of products.
- (vi)  Strategic  electronics:  The  strategies  include  creating  long-term  partnerships  between  domestic  ESDM  industry  and strategic  sectors  for  sourcing  products  domestically  and  providing  Defense  Offset  obligations  for  electronic  procurements through ESDM products.
- (vii)  Creating  ecosystem  for  vibrant  innovation  and  R&D  in  the  ESDM  sector  including  nano-electronics.  The  strategy includes creation of an Electronic Development Fund.
- (viii) Electronics in other sectors: The strategy includes supporting and developing expertise in the electronics in the following sectors of economy: automotive, avionics, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), Industrial, medical, solar photovoltaics, Information and Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Railways, Intelligent Transport Systems, and Games and Toys.
- (ix) Handling e-waste: The strategy includes various initiatives to facilitate environment friendly e- e-waste handling policies.
- (x)  Governance Structure:  This envisages setting up a National Electronics Mission; Renaming of Department of Information Technology  as  Department  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (DeitY)  and  providing  encouragement  to  States  to promote the development of ESDM Sector.

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## Measures taken by the Government to promote production of electronic goods in the country

1. Promotion of electronics hardware manufacturing is one of the pillars of Digital India campaign of the Government.
2. Modified Special Incentive  Package Scheme (M-SIPS) provides financial incentives to offset disability and attract investments in the electronics hardware manufacturing. The scheme provides subsidy for investments in capital expenditure 20% for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25% in non-SEZs. The scheme is open to receive applications till 26 th July,  2020.  Under  the  scheme,  from  May  2014  to  February  2016,  Government  has  received  125  proposals  involving proposed investment of Rs.1,05,780 crore, which are expected to generate employment for about 1,70,000  persons.
3. Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) Scheme provides financial assistance for creating world-class infrastructure  for  electronics  manufacturing  units.  For  Greenfield  EMC,  the  financial  assistance  of  50%  of  the  project  cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.50 crore for 100 acres of land and for Brownfield EMC 75% of the cost of infrastructure, subject to a ceiling of Rs.50 crore is provided as Grant. Under the scheme, from May 2014 to February 2016, Government has accorded final approval to 7 applications for setting up Greenfield Electronic Manufacturing Clusters and 1 application for setting up Common Facility Centre in Brownfield Cluster. Also, In-principle approval has been accorded to 14 Greenfield EMCs and 2 Common Facility Centres in Brownfield Clusters.
4. Policy  for  providing  preference  to  Domestically  Manufactured  Electronic  Products  in  Government  procurement  is under implementation. So far, 9 electronic products and 23 telecom products have been notified under the policy.
5. Electronic  Development  Fund  (EDF)  policy  has  been  approved  to  support  Daughter  Funds  including  Early  Stage Angel Funds and Venture Funds in the area of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing, Nano-electronics and IT. The supported Daughter Funds will promote innovation, R&D, product development and within the country. The policy would be available for approval of new Daughter funds upto 31.3.2017. EDF has been launched on 15.02.2016. CANBANK Venture Capital Fund Ltd. (CVCFL) is selected as the agency to house the EDF. Four Daughter Funds have been issued in-principle letter of commitments for contribution from EDF.
6. A meeting of State IT Ministers and State Government Officials was held on 26.08.2014 to encourage them to actively promote electronics manufacturing. Several States have shown keen interest.
7. Approvals for all foreign direct investment up-to 100% in the electronic hardware manufacturing sector are under the automatic route.
8. Under the Electronics Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) Scheme, approved units are allowed duty free import of goods required by them for carrying on export activities, CST reimbursement and excise duty exemption on procurement of indigenously available goods, as per the Foreign Trade Policy.
9. Tariff Structure has been rationalized to promote indigenous manufacturing of electronic goods.
10. Mandatory compliance to safety standards has been notified for identified Electronic Products with the objective to curb import of sub-standard and unsafe electronics goods. As of now, 30 electronic products are under the ambit of this Order.
11. Two Schemes for skill development of 90,000 and 3,28,000 persons, respectively  in the electronics sector has been approved to provide human resource for the industry.
12. The Scheme to enhance the number of PhDs in the Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT Enabled Services (ITES) sectors has been approved. 3000 PhDs are proposed to be supported under the Scheme.
13. Keeping in view the huge indigenous requirement on account of roadmap for digitalization of the broadcasting sector, Indian  Conditional  Access  System  (iCAS TM )  has  been  developed  to  promote  indigenous  manufacturing  of  Set  Top  Boxes (STBs). The iCAS TM is available to domestic STB manufacturers at a price of USD 0.5 per license for a period of three years as  against  market  price  of  USD  4-5  per  license  for  other  competing  products.  The  implementation  of  iCAS TM in  the  cable networks has already started.
14. An Electropreneur  park  has  been  approved  for  providing  incubation  for  development  of  ESDM  sector  which  will contribute IP creation and Product Development in the sector.
15. National Centre of Excellence in Flexible Electronics (NCFlexE) is being set up in IIT Kanpur with the objectives to promote R&D; Manufacturing; Ecosystems; Entrepreneurship; International Partnerships and Human Resources and develop prototypes in collaboration with industry for commercialization.
16. National Centre of Excellence for Technology on Internal Security (NCETIS) is being set up at IIT-Bombay with the objective to address the internal security needs of the nation on continuous basis by delivering technology prototypes required for internal security and to promote domestic industry in internal security.
17. Centre for Excellence on Internet of Things (IoT) is being set up in Bengaluru jointly with NASSCOM.
18. An Incubation center with focus on medical electronics is being set up at Indian Institute of Technology - Patna.
19. The  Department  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (DeitY)  provides  funding  under  several  schemes  for promotion of R&D, including support for International Patents in Electronics & IT (SIP-EIT); Multiplier Grants Scheme and Scheme  for  Technology  Incubation  and  Development  of  Entrepreneurs  (TIDE)  in  the  area  of  Electronics,  ICT  and Management.

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*278

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2016

## FREEDOM 251 MOBILE

## *278     DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of launch of the world's cheapest smart phone 'Freedom 251' in the country recently;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and whether any complaint has been received by the Government against the company;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the action  taken by the Government thereon;
- (d) whether the Department of Electronics and Information Technology has set up an internal panel to assess the viability and credibility of this smart phone/ project; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  other  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to protect the interest of customers?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (e):    A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *278 FOR 16.03.2016  REGARDING FREEDOM 251 MOBILE

********

(a) and (b):  The phone 'Freedom 251' was advertised in media to be sold at a price of Rs.251/(plus  Rs.40/-  for  shipping),  by  the  company  M/s.  Ringing  Bells  Pvt.  Ltd.  The  phone  was advertised  with  following  technical  specifications:  1.3  GHz  Quadcore  processor,  running  on Android Lollipop 5.1, 1 GB RAM, 8GB internal storage expandable upto 32GB, 4' qHD Screen, 3.2 MP AF Rear and 0.3 MP front camera and 1450 mAh Battery. Some concerns were raised regarding the offer made by the said company. The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) vide letter dated 17.02.2016 inter-alia informed that a smart phone with the aforesaid specifications cannot be  manufactured  and  made  available  at  such  a  low  price  of  Rs.251/-.  Others  have  expressed concern  on  the  genuineness  of  the  offer  and  have  urged  that  consumer  interest  be  suitably protected. Some Members of Parliament had also complained.

- (c),  (d)  and  (e):    The  Government  through  various  Departments  is  taking  steps  to  protect  the interest of consumers. A complaint has been received against M/s. Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd. by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. The Directorate of Enforcement is investigating the matter for possible contraventions of the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.  Further, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has taken suo motu action on the news coverage by TV channels/newspapers etc.  and  sent  email  to  Serious  Fraud  Investigation  Office  (SFIO)  on 19.02.2016 to keep a watch on the activities of the company which appear to be suspicious. In response SFIO has sent their Research report dated 23.02.2016 prepared by Market Research & Analysis  Unit  (MRAU)  along  with  proposal  to  call  for  information  under  section  206  of  the Companies Act, 2013 from Registrar of Companies (ROC). On the basis of the report of SFIO, Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide Letter dated 25.02.2016 has advised Regional Director (North Region) to direct ROC, Delhi to take up the matter with the company and its directors under section 206(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 and send a report through the Directorate.

Also, an internal committee was constituted by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) on 20.02.2016 to review the issues involved in Freedom 251 mobile phone. M/s.  Ringing  Bells  Pvt.  Ltd.  was  informed  vide  DeitY's  letter  dated  22.02.2016  that  mobile phones have been mandated under 'Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements  for  Compulsory  Registration)  Order,  2012'  for  compliance  to  Indian  Safety standards w.e.f. 13 th September 2015. Therefore, the company was required to comply with BIS registration based to Indian safety standards.

********

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3099

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## SECURITY ISSUES IN IT SECTOR

## 3099 SHRI E.T. MOHAMMED BASHEER:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  study  on  the  security  related  issues  in  the Communication and Information Technology sector and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  there  is  any  mechanism  to  check  the  operating  systems  developed  by  the  private players in the Communication and Information Technology sector?
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (a) whether the Government plans to encourage the open source software; and

(b) if so, the steps taken in this regard so far?

## ANSWER

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

(a):  The  area  of  Communications  and  Information  Technology  is  characterized  by  rapid developments and fast changing obsolescence. With every IT product introduced into the market, newer  vulnerabilities  are  discovered,  leaving  scope  for  malicious  actions.    In  tune  with  the dynamic nature of Information Technology and limited window time available for an effective response, continuous efforts are required to be made to detect and prevent cyber attacks by way of      continuous  threat  assessment  and  near  real-time  situational  awareness.    Such  timely information  enables  coordinated  actions  by  the  stakeholders  to  take  appropriate  proactive  and preventive actions.

Accordingly,  concerted  efforts  have  been  made  to  harvest  the  requisite  information  from multiple  sources  including  Communications  &  Information  Technology  sector.  These  include incidents reported to and tracked by  Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), technical  measures,  security  cooperation  arrangement  with  overseas  Computer  Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and leading security product and service vendors as well as agencies within the government. In addition, the study reports published by various agencies across the world are also studied to understand the historical data with respect to global threat landscape and threat predictions. As such, Government has not felt the need to conduct a separate study on security related issues.

(b) and (c):  The National Cyber Security Policy has laid a clear emphasis on reducing supply chain risks by way of testing infrastructure and facilities for security evaluation of Information Technology  products,  building  trusted  relationship  with  vendors  and  service  providers  and enhancing  awareness  among  users  with  regard  to  threats  and  vulnerabilities  as  well  as consequences of security breaches.

In  this  direction,  Standardisation  Testing  and  Quality  Certification  (STQC)  Directorate  has established  Common  Criteria  (CC)  test  lab  for  security  evaluation  of  IT  products  including Operating Systems.  With the result, India is now recognized as a certification producing country as  part  of  the  Global  Common  Criteria  Recognition  Agreement  (CCRA).    Following  this, security evaluations done in India are acceptable among all the CCRA nations without the need for further testing.

(d) and (e):  Government has taken many initiatives for encouraging the open source software, which are as follows:

- i. 'Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software for Government of India'   has been notified  in  March,  2015  as  part  of  Digital  India  Initiative  to  encourage  the  formal adoption and use of Open Source Software (OSS) in Government organizations.
- ii. The Department has implemented various projects like National Resource Centre for Free  &  Open  Source  Software  (NRCFOSS), Open Technology  Centre (OTC) and Establishment  of  Support  Centres  during  last few  years, which  have  led  to development  of  various  Open  Source  Software  and  capacity  building  in    area  of Open Source Software.
- iii. Indigenous GNU/Linux  based Operating System'Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS)'  with  Indian  languages  support has been brought out by NRCFOSS,  Centre  for  Development  of  Advanced  Computing  (CDAC),  Chennai. BOSS is available in Desktop, Server and educational version EduBOSS.   BOSS has  been  released  under  GPL  (General  Public  License)  and  is  available  for  free download at http://bosslinux.in. Support Centres have been set up for popularization and adoption of BOSS/ EduBOSS. CDAC has also developed Secured BOSS which is being deployed in strategic sector.
- iv. Communication  has  been  sent  to  all  State  Governments  and  UTs  for  possible deployment  of  BOSS  /  EduBOSS.  BOSS  has  been  successfully  deployed  in education, government and defense sectors in various States including Tamil Nadu, Kerala,  Maharashtra,  Chhattisgarh,  Haryana,  Orissa,  Tripura,  Pondicherry  and Andaman & Nicobar  Islands.    Current  installed  base  of  BOSS  and  its  variants  is around 32 lakhs.

********

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3061

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## MISUSE OF MATRIMONIAL SITES

## 3061 DR.  SHRIKANT  EKNATH  SHINDE: SHRI  FAGGAN  SINGH  KULASTE: SHRI  VINAYAK  BHAURAO  RAUT:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that matrimonial sites are being misused for dating, cheating and exploiting women and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is planning strict regulations for these websites;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the time by which a final decision is likely to be taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  d):      Instances  of  frauds  on  matrimonial  websites  are  brought  to  the  notice  of  the Government time to time. A committee has been constituted by  Ministry of Women and Child Development  with representative of Ministry of Home  Affairs (MHA),  Department  of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and online service providers of the matrimonial sites to work out the possible ways for better regulations in order to mitigate and eliminate the frauds in the digital space concerning matrimonial sites.

********

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *267

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## COMMON SERVICE CENTRES

## *267 SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

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

- (a) the  number  of  Common Service Centres set  up during  last  three  years  and  the  current year so far, year and State-wise;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  fixed  any  target  for  setting  up  more  Common  Service Centres and if so, the details thereof, year and State-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  have  one  Common  Service  Centre  per  Gram Panchayat and if so, the action taken in this direction; and
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  survey  regarding  the  functioning  of established Common Service Centres, and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d):   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO *267 FOR 16-03-2016 REGARDING  COMMON SERVICE CENTRES

*******

- (a):  The year and state wise status of setting up of Common Services Centre (CSC) during last three years ( 2013 to 2015) and till February-2016 are at Annexure-A.
- (b):   Yes, Sir. The year and state-wise details are at Annexure-B.
- (c):   Yes, Sir. The following actions have been taken by the Government :
-  'CSC 2.0: A Way Forward' Project has been approved, in which it has been decided to establish additional 1.50 lakhs CSCs (from existing One lakh CSCs) to cover at least one CSC in every Gram Panchayat across the country.
-  The Implementation Guidelines has been issued to States/ UTs. (http://deity.gov.in/content/csc2.0-way-forward-0)
-  Advisory has been issued by Ministry of Panchayati Raj to all States and UTs, requesting to colocate  the  CSCs  in  the  Gram  Panchayat  (GP)  Premises  or  provide  suitable  space  near  the  GP Bhawans.
-  District and State level workshops have been organised in different States across the Country to encourage/motivate villagers to engage themselves as CSC VLEs.
-  A National level workshop for Women has been organised in New Delhi to encourage/motivate the women to become successful entrepreneurs through CSCs.
-  A State  level  workshop  for  all  the  Village  Level  Entrepreneurs  (VLEs)  of  Haryana  has  been organised  recently  to  encourage/motivate  award/incentivise  the  villagers  to  become  successful through CSCs.

In  addition,  during the last 2  years, the following significant improvements have been made under CSC Scheme -

-  Number  of  Active  CSCs  have  increased  to  1,57,040  as  on  29.02.2016  from  83,950  (as  on 31.05.2014);
-  New Services namely Banking, Insurance and Pension under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana have made CSCs very vibrant;
-  Digital Saksharata Abhiyan (DISHA) for undertaking digital literacy has enabled active citizen participation through CSCs;
-  About 600 workshops at Central/State/District level have been organised across the Country for training and advocacy;
-  Railway,  Passport,  Election,  Educational  Services  of  National  Institute  of  Electronics  & Information Technology (NIELIT) and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) have been rolled out through CSCs;
-  Aadhaar Enrolment/Updation has been enabled through CSCs;
-  The Government is determined to include the women and marginalised sections of the society in the CSC movement significantly. The following actions have been take :
- o Government has already issued guidelines to give preference to women as VLEs;
- o Awards/Incentives  are  being  conferred  to  successful  Women  Village  Level  Entrepreneurs (VLEs);
- o To encourage more participation of women, success stories are being published in monthly eMagazine and News Letter.
- o 500 women belonging to weaker sections were trained under DISHA to become VLEs.

(d): Yes, Sir.  The following assessment studies/ surveys have been got conducted by the Government:

1. Mid  Term  Assessment  of  CSC  Initiative  (  Indian  Market  Research  Bureau  International, April 2010): The findings are at Annexure- C
2. Impact Assessment of Indian Common Services Centres (International Telecommunications Unions, May 2013): The findings are at Annexure- D.
3. Assessment Study of Common Services Centres in Seven States (CIPS, March 2014): The finding are at Annexure-E.

*******

## Annexure-A

| YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative)   | YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative)   |   YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative) |   YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative) |   YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative) | YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative)   |
|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| Sl No.                                       | State                                        |                                         2013 |                                         2014 |                                         2015 | Till Feb-2016                                |
| 1                                            | Andhra Pradesh                               |                                         3932 |                                         4116 |                                         4550 | 4893                                         |
| 2                                            | Arunachal Pradesh                            |                                          169 |                                          200 |                                          200 | 200                                          |
| 3                                            | Assam                                        |                                         3659 |                                         3915 |                                         2753 | 3816                                         |
| 4                                            | Bihar                                        |                                         7027 |                                         8286 |                                         8243 | 8894                                         |
| 5                                            | Chhattisgarh                                 |                                         2068 |                                         4394 |                                         5100 | 6416                                         |
| 6                                            | Goa                                          |                                           12 |                                            0 |                                            0 | 0                                            |
| 7                                            | Gujarat                                      |                                        12910 |                                        13685 |                                        13685 | 14708                                        |
| 8                                            | Haryana                                      |                                            2 |                                          228 |                                         1932 | 2060                                         |
| 9                                            | Himachal Pradesh                             |                                         2372 |                                         3336 |                                         3036 | 3442                                         |
| 10                                           | Jammu &Kashmir                               |                                          849 |                                          989 |                                         1111 | 1226                                         |
| 11                                           | Jharkhand                                    |                                         4393 |                                         4693 |                                         4705 | 4752                                         |
| 12                                           | Karnataka                                    |                                          822 |                                          904 |                                          904 | 1148                                         |
| 13                                           | Kerala                                       |                                         1913 |                                         2004 |                                         2682 | 2779                                         |
| 14                                           | Madhya Pradesh                               |                                        10126 |                                        13207 |                                        13207 | 13651                                        |
| 15                                           | Maharashtra                                  |                                        25003 |                                        31272 |                                        31207 | 32313                                        |
| 16                                           | Manipur                                      |                                          388 |                                          392 |                                          399 | 526                                          |
| 17                                           | Meghalaya                                    |                                          196 |                                          227 |                                          221 | 235                                          |
| 18                                           | Mizoram                                      |                                          122 |                                          136 |                                           43 | 136                                          |
| 19                                           | Nagaland                                     |                                          109 |                                          220 |                                           45 | 239                                          |
| 20                                           | Orissa                                       |                                         4636 |                                         6335 |                                         5469 | 7391                                         |
| 21                                           | Punjab                                       |                                         2075 |                                         3569 |                                         3567 | 3778                                         |
| 22                                           | Rajasthan                                    |                                         4720 |                                         7453 |                                        10360 | 9795                                         |
| 23                                           | Sikkim                                       |                                           24 |                                            0 |                                          191 | 196                                          |
| 24                                           | Tamil Nadu                                   |                                         1878 |                                         1130 |                                         5440 | 5625                                         |
| 25                                           | Telangana                                    |                                            0 |                                         3464 |                                          843 | 3616                                         |
| 26                                           | Tripura                                      |                                          146 |                                          146 |                                          202 | 206                                          |
| 27                                           | Uttar Pradesh                                |                                        14079 |                                        17882 |                                        19776 | 36479                                        |
| 28                                           | Uttarakhand                                  |                                         1487 |                                         2079 |                                         2152 | 2300                                         |
| 29                                           | West Bengal                                  |                                         5972 |                                         6337 |                                         5534 | 7040                                         |
| STATES                                       | TOTAL                                        |                                       111089 |                                       140599 |                                       147557 | 177860                                       |

| YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative)   | YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative)   |   YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative) |   YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative) |   YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative) | YEAR - WISE CSC SET UP STATUS (Cumulative)   |
|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| Sl No.                                       | Union Territory                              |                                         2013 |                                         2014 |                                         2015 | Till Feb- 2016                               |
| 1                                            | Andaman and Nicobar                          |                                            0 |                                           35 |                                           35 | 36                                           |
| 2                                            | Chandigarh                                   |                                            1 |                                           28 |                                           28 | 29                                           |
| 3                                            | Dadra and Nagar Haveli                       |                                            0 |                                            8 |                                            9 | 60                                           |
| 4                                            | Daman and Diu                                |                                            0 |                                            1 |                                            7 | 43                                           |
| 5                                            | Delhi                                        |                                           75 |                                           91 |                                           91 | 172                                          |
| 6                                            | Lakshadweep                                  |                                           13 |                                           15 |                                           15 | 15                                           |
| 7                                            | Puducherry                                   |                                           55 |                                           56 |                                           56 | 62                                           |
|                                              | UTs TOTAL                                    |                                          144 |                                          234 |                                          241 | 417                                          |
| 36                                           | GRAND TOTAL                                  |                                       111233 |                                       140833 |                                       147798 | 178277                                       |

The State / UT-wise target to cover Gram Panchayats with CSC is as follows:

| Sl No.   | State             |   Total GPs planned |   GPs to be covered by March 2016 |   GPs to be covered by Dec 2016 |
|----------|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |               12833 |                             12833 |                           12833 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |                1779 |                               923 |                            1779 |
| 3        | Assam             |                2196 |                              2196 |                            2196 |
| 4        | Bihar             |                8463 |                              6050 |                            8463 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      |                9734 |                              5752 |                            9734 |
| 6        | Goa               |                 189 |                               189 |                             189 |
| 7        | Gujarat           |               13735 |                             13735 |                           13735 |
| 8        | Haryana           |                6155 |                              6155 |                            6155 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh  |                3243 |                              2042 |                            3243 |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir    |                4128 |                              1213 |                            4128 |
| 11       | Jharkhand         |                4423 |                              2962 |                            4423 |
| 12       | Karnataka         |                5628 |                              5628 |                            5628 |
| 13       | Kerala            |                 979 |                               979 |                             979 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh    |               23012 |                             14643 |                           23012 |
| 15       | Maharashtra       |               27920 |                             24123 |                           27920 |
| 16       | Manipur           |                 165 |                               165 |                             165 |
| 17       | Meghalaya         |                1463 |                               703 |                            1463 |
| 18       | Mizoram           |                 776 |                               392 |                             776 |
| 19       | Nagaland          |                1123 |                               543 |                            1123 |
| 20       | Orissa            |                6234 |                              4289 |                            6234 |
| 21       | Punjab            |               12800 |                              6650 |                           12800 |
| 22       | Rajasthan         |                9946 |                              9946 |                            9946 |
| 23       | Sikkim            |                 165 |                               135 |                             165 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu        |               12618 |                             12618 |                           12618 |
| 25       | Telangana         |                8787 |                              8787 |                            8787 |
| 26       | Tripura           |                1038 |                               552 |                            1038 |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh     |               51914 |                             32948 |                           51914 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand       |                7555 |                              3438 |                            7555 |
| 29       | West Bengal       |                3351 |                              2765 |                            3351 |
|          | STATES TOTAL      |              242352 |                            183354 |                          242352 |

| Sl No.   | Union Territory        |   Total GPs planned |   GPs to be covered by March 2016 |   GPs to be covered by Dec 2016 |
|----------|------------------------|---------------------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman and Nicobar    |                  69 |                                 1 |                              69 |
| 2        | Chandigarh             |                  17 |                                17 |                              17 |
| 3        | Dadra and Nagar Haveli |                  11 |                                11 |                              11 |
| 4        | Daman and Diu          |                  14 |                                14 |                              14 |
| 5        | Delhi                  |                   0 |                                 0 |                               0 |
| 6        | Lakshadweep            |                  10 |                                10 |                              10 |
| 7        | Puducherry             |                  98 |                                98 |                              98 |
|          | UTs TOTAL              |                 219 |                               151 |                             219 |
| 36       | GRAND TOTAL            |              242571 |                            183505 |                          242571 |

## Annexure-B

The  assessment  was  conducted  through  Indian  Market  Research  Bureau  International (IMRB International) to understand whether the CSC Scheme rollout has been taking place in the right  direction  and  collect  feedback  on  the  CSC  Scheme  from  various  stakeholders  likewise: Village  Level  Entrepreneurs  (VLE),  Service  Center  Agencies  (SCA),  Citizens,  Government Agencies  (GA),  Local  Level  Intervening  Institutions  (LLII)  and  National  Level  Service Providers (NLSP).

The survey was conducted across 19 states covering 15 SCAs. A structured questionnaire was  administered  to  respondents  across  the  above  segments  to  capture  their  experiences  and views on different aspects related to the CSC Scheme.

The key observation results of the assessment are as follows:

- a) 58% of the CSCs were operational, while 38% were yet to be established. Further, 4% had shut down.
- b) Almost half (46%) of the CSCs were open 7 days a week - providing rural citizens with additional flexibility to access services.
- c) More  than  95%  of  the  VLEs  interviewed  were  found  to  be  SSC/HSC  or  with  higher educational qualifications.
- d) 10% of the VLEs were found to be female - indicating that the CSC Scheme is creating a movement for empowering women in rural areas.
- e) More than half of the VLEs were found to have received some training and most of them were satisfied with this training across parameters.
- f) 74% of the CSCs earned less than Rs 3000 per month. For 45% of the VLEs, operating a CSC is the only source of income.
- g) Government Functionaries cited frequent power cuts as a common reason impacting the CSC usage.
- h) As per the village head, central location of the CSC (59%) and reasonable service charges (58%) are the top 2 driving forces for the usage of the CSCs.

## ANNEXURE-D

Impact Assessment of Indian Common Services Centres (International Telecommunications Union, May 2013)

The study focused on offering the status report of the CSCs as well as identifying and highlighting the best practices and successful models within the scheme. In doing so, the study highlighted the challenges facing the scheme, especially the ones that take the scheme away from realising the implementation of CSCs.

The  study  helped  to  gain  an  understanding  of  the  situation  that  prevails  in the implementation of the CSC scheme. In addition, the study compared Indian CSCs with the global telecentre movement and highlighted the best practices that have emerged in India. This has also helped in offering recommendations for strengthening the scheme.

The key observation results of the assessment are as follows:

- a) USO funds are required for addressing access and content needs of the CSCs
- b) Legal and institutional framework are required to maximise the use of CSCs
- c) Encourage local level R&D to stimulate local innovations and contributions to CSCs
- d) CSC SPV for stimulating partnerships for delivering services through CSCs
- e) Consider recognising all public access points for CSC up scaling plan
- f) Developing service level charter to move towards professionalising the CSCs
- g) Developing common branding to achieve impact
- h) Constitution of Indian CSC network as a means to encourage peer-learning
- i) Consider investing in developing a CSC ecosystem
- j) Develop outcome mapping exercise to establish credibility and long-term sustainability

## ANNEXURE-E

## Assessment Study of Common Services Centres in Seven States (CIPS, March 2014)

An  independent  assessment  study  was  conducted  through  Centre  for  Innovations  in Public  Systems  (CIPS),  Hyderabad.  The  States  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  Jammu  &  Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tripura were identified for the study.

The purpose of the study was to obtain meaningful pointers as regards (i) the nature and extent  of  the  success  of  the  CSC  project  in  achieving  its  purpose  and  objectives;  (ii)  the administrative issues affecting the performance  of the CSCs; and (iii) the sustainability of the CSCs in the long run.

Study reveals that following are some aspects, which if addressed appropriately, would contribute to greater success of the CSC scheme.

-  The states do realize that CSC is an important vehicle for providing citizen services and as a part  of  the  larger  reform  agenda  of  transforming  the  socio-economic  status  of  the  rural populace.
-  Greater role by DeitY in policy and resource support through a steering committee approach,
-  Strengthening of the institutional framework,
-  Greater involvement of district administration in the implementation of the CSC Scheme,

It also emerged that the success of the CSCs depends on the following:

- VLE is a woman
- CSCs have high visibility
- Militancy is not affecting CSC operations
- Floor area is more or higher no of counters
- Internet availability is longer is better
- Electricity is available
- CSCs have power backup
- Availability of power supply is better
- CSC is the only source of income for VLE
- VLE is educated & have computer knowledge
- Suitable training is given to VLE
- Promotional campaigns by SCA and VLE are higher
- CSC is the only source of income for VLE

********

## 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.

*******

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3202

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## LEGISLATION FOR DATA PROTECTION

## 3202.     SHRI  PRALHAD  JOSHI:

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

- (a) whether the Government is planning to introduce a new legislation for data protection in India;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a),  (b) and (c):  Section 43, Section 43A and Section 72A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides comprehensive legal framework for privacy and Security of data in digital form. Section  43A  mandates  that  body  corporate,  who  collect  personal  data  or  information  must provide  privacy  policy  for  handling  of  or  dealing  in  personal  information  including  sensitive personal  data  or  information  on  their  websites.    Sections  43  and  43A  of  the  Act  provides  for compensation to be paid to the victim in case of unauthorized access of information and leakage of  sensitive  personal  information  respectively.    Section  72A  provides  for  punishment  for disclosure of information in breach of the lawful contract.

Further,  the  bill  namely  'The  Aadhaar  (Targeted  Delivery  Of  Financial  And  Other  Subsidies, Benefits And Services) Bill, 2016' passed  in Lok Sabha on 11 th March 2016 contains a chapter relating to protection of information collected and stored by Unique Identification Authority of India  (UIDAI)  and  correspondingly  a  separate  chapter  on  offences  and  penalties  thereto. Provisions of data protection also exists in the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the rules therein. There is no such proposal with the Government at present to introduce a new legislation for data protection in India

********

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3178

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## SPREAD  OF TERRORISM VIA SOCIAL  MEDIA

## 3178.     SHRI   C.  MAHENDRAN: SHRI PR. SENTHIL NATHAN:

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

- (a) whether acts of terrorism are being spread through social networking sites;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to take any action to curb the spread of terrorism via social networking sites; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) and (b):  Cyber space is a complex environment of people, software, hardware and services on  the  Internet.  Cyberspace  has  distinct  and  unique  characteristics  as  compared  to  physical space.  The cyberspace is virtual, borderless and offers complete anonymity. With a borderless cyberspace coupled with the possibility of instant communication and anonymity, the potential for  spread  of  terror  through  the  use  of  social  media  is  higher  than  ever,  posing  a  threat  to sovereignty  and  integrity  of  the  country.  The  Security  /  Intelligence  agencies  are  regularly monitoring social media sites. Instances of using the social media/ websites by terror groups has come to the notice of the Government from time to time.

(c) and (d):   Government takes prompt action under Section 69A of Information Technology Act 2000 for blocking of websites/ URLs with objectionable contents, whenever requests are received from designated nodal officers or upon Court orders for blocking of websites/ URLs. Section 69A of  the  Information  Technology  Act  2000  empowers  Government  to  block  any  information generated,  transmitted,  received,  stored  or  hosted  in  any  computer  resource  in  the  interest  of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to above.

The  Information  Technology  (Intermediary  Guidelines)  Rules  2011  under  Section  79  of  the Information Technology Act requires that the Intermediaries (such as social media) shall observe due diligence while discharging their duties and shall inform the users of Computer resources not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that is harmful, objectionable and unlawful in any way.

********

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3098

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## NET BANKING FRAUD

## 3098 SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK:

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

- (a) whether instances of scams using IP addresses from abroad have come to the notice of the Government;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the number of cases registered in this regard, State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to provide training to State police and cyber crime cell to prevent such scams; and
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  making  any  plan  in  collaboration  with  the  Government  of other countries to stop the misuse of IP addresses and if so, the details thereof and the time by which it is likely to be implemented?

## ANSWER

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

(a):  Several  cyber  attack  techniques  are  used  in  combination  while  committing  scams  and  net banking frauds.   The fraudulent activities comprising of phishing, lottery scams, ATM/Credit Card frauds, internet banking frauds, and other banking frauds involve usage of e-mail to trick the users to steal their identity credentials and commit fraud. The Indian Computer Emergency Response  Team  (CERT-In)  receives  reports  regarding  phishing  incidents  affecting  users  of online banking. As per information reported to and tracked by CERT-In, 534 Phishing Incidents were  reported  in  year  2015.  In  342  incidents,  the  phishing  websites  are  hosted  in  countries outside India involving Internet Protocol (IP) addresses from abroad.

(b):  As  per  the  data  made  available  by  Reserve  Bank  of  India  (RBI),  8765,  9500,  13083  and 11997 cases related to ATM/ Credit/ Debit Cards & Net Banking related frauds were reported by the  banks  during  the  year  2012-13,2013-14,2014-15  and  2015-16  (upto  December  2015) respectively.  Details  regarding  involvement  of  scams  using  IP  addresses  from  abroad  are  not available with RBI. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered one case in the year 2014 involving IP address outside the country.

(c):  Government  has  taken  various  steps  to  provide  training  to  Law  Enforcement  agencies including State police to prevent cyber crimes and scams.  Such steps include:

- i. Cyber Crime Cells have been set up in all States and Union Territories for reporting and investigation of Cyber Crime cases.
- ii. Government  has  set  up  cyber  forensic  training  and  investigation  labs  in  the  States  of Kerala,  Assam,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Tripura,  Meghalaya,  Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir for training of Law Enforcement and Judiciary in these States.
- iii. Industry associations such as Data Security Council of India (DSCI), NASSCOM, Cyber Forensic  Labs,  set  up  in  certain  States,  have  taken  up  tasks  of  awareness  creation  and training programmes on Cyber Crime investigation.
- iv. Academia  like  National  Law  School,  Bangalore  and  NALSAR  University  of  Law, Hyderabad are also engaged in conducting several awareness and training programmes on Cyber Laws and Cyber crimes for judicial officers.
- v. Number  of  Cyber  forensics  tools  for  collection,  analysis,  presentation  of  the  digital evidence  have  been  developed  indigenously  and  such  tools  are  being  used  by  Law Enforcement Agencies.
- vi. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) are involved in providing basic and advanced training to Law  Enforcement  Agencies,  Forensic labs and judiciary on the procedures and methodology of collecting, analysing and presenting digital evidence.
- vii. Government has formulated a set of investigation manuals with procedures for Search, Seizure Analysis and Presentation of digital evidence in courts.  The manuals have been circulated to Law Enforcement Agencies in all States.

(d):    The  Indian  Computer  Emergency  Response  Team  (CERT-In)  receives  reports  of  cyber security  incidents  and  analyses  the  same.  For  resolution  of  incidents  involving  IP  addresses outside  the  country,  CERT-In  devises  response  measures  in  coordination  with  its  counterpart agencies in foreign countries. Besides this, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are signed between CERT-In and overseas CERTs for enhancing cooperation in the area of cyber security for effective resolution of cyber security incidents and mitigation of cyber attacks.

**********

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3076

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## E-BHARAT PROJECT

## 3076.       SHRI GANESH SINGH:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to implement E-Bharat Project under E-Governance in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the financing mechanism thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a):      The  Government  of  India  is  implementing  E-Bharat  project  under  National  eGovernance Plan (NeGP) in the country.
- (b):    The  Government  of  India,  in  the  year  2011,  has  availed  a  loan  for  an  amount  of US$ 150 million from World Bank, towards programme management and financial support for  National  e-Governance  Plan  (NeGP).  Being  a  Development  Policy  Loan,  this  loan  is expected  to  support  critical  policy  measures  within  Government's  overall  e-Governance reform  agenda  leading  to  more  robust  implementation  of  NeGP,  with  significant  social benefits  for  the  population  and  positive  impact  on  the  poor.  Department  of  Electronics  & Information Technology (DeitY) approached Ministries/Departments of GoI and all States/UTs to undertake projects under the funding available. It was also communicated that the funding to the approved projects would be in the nature of 100% grant-in-aid.
- (c):      The  Implementation  Guidelines  for  e-Bharat  project  was  issued  on  31.10.2012.  The project proposals have been invited from Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments/UT's.  As  on  date,  40  project  proposals  have  been  approved  with  the  total project outlay of Rs. 484.37 crore.

********

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3009

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## CYBER CAFE IN RURAL AREAS

## 3009. SHRI ALOK SANJAR:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to open cyber cafes in rural areas of the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the aims and objectives;
- (c) whether certain areas have been identified for the purpose; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d):   There is no proposal under consideration of Government of opening cyber cafes in rural areas of the country. The Government is rolling out Common Services Centres (CSCs) in the  country.  It  is  envisaged  to  set  up  at  least  one  CSC  in  each  of  2,50,000  Gram  Panchayats. 1,78,277 CSCs have been set up till February 2016, out of which 1,22,065 CSCs are in Gram Panchayats.

********

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3199

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## CONFERENCE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

## 3199.   SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT: SHRI FAGGAN SINGH KULASTE:

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

- (a) whether  the  National  Conference  of  Women  Village  Level  Entrepreneurs  was  held recently;
- (b) if so, the issues discussed therein;
- (c) whether the Government proposes for more participation of women in social transformation through digital revolution in the country and if so, the details of action plan proposed in this regard; and
- (d) the details of the services being offered by Common Service Centres (CSCs) and the extent to  which  it  has  been  able  to  reduce  corruption  and  malpractices  in  rural  areas  in  the country;

## ANSWER

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

(a)  and (b):  Yes, Sir. The National Level conference was held on 20th February 2016 in New Delhi to celebrate and felicitate the contribution of Woman Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) in harnessing the opportunity provided by the  Common  Services  Centre  (CSC)  under Government of India's Digital India Initiative.

Deliberations made during the conference are as under:

-  The  women  VLEs  shared  their  experiences  on  offering  e-governance  services  and spreading digital literacy in the community;
-  Two  panel  discussions  were  held  on  'Digital  Literacy  and  Education  Services'  and 'Women's Empowerment through Digital Services'.

(c):  Yes, Sir. The Government is determined to include the women and marginalized sections of the society in the CSC movement significantly. The following action has been proposed:

-  Government has already issued guidelines to give preference to women as VLEs.
-  Awards/ incentives are being conferred to successful women village level entrepreneurs (VLE).
-  To  encourage  more  participation  of  women,  success  stories  are  being  published  in monthly e-Magazine Tarang and newsletters.

(d): The list of services being delivered through CSCs is at Annexure.

Common Services Centre  (CSC)  enables  citizens  to  avail  the  Government  and  other  services closer to his place of residence in a transparent and timely manner. The ability of CSC to insulate citizens from interfacing Government officials to a great extent addresses the issues of corruption and delay. With the launching of further G2C services to the citizens through CSC it is expected that the issues of corruption can be addressed to a great extent.

## List of Services available through CSC network

## (A) G2C Services:

1. Issue of certificates: Caste, Income, Birth &  Death registration, Land records, Domicile.
2. Employment Registration.
3. Application for Ration Card, Application for pension (old age, widow etc), Application for Minority Scholarship/Girls Education Scholarship
4. PAN  Card  Services,  UIDAI  Services,  Election  Commission  of  India  (EC)  Services, Passport Services.

## (B) B2C Services:

1. Mobile / Data Card / DTH Recharge & Mobile Bill Payment.
2. Electricity Bill Payment
3. Tour  &  Travel  (Booking  for  Air  &  Bus),  IRCTC  Service  (through  IRCTC  authorized centres).
4. e-Commerce service ( Purchase of Various Products)

## (C) Educational Services:

1. Digital Literacy under National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM)/Digital  Saksharata Abhiyan (DISHA)
2. Brilliant Tutorials, Animation Courses
3. IGNOU Services, NIELIT Services and NIOS Services

## (D) Financial Inclusion Services:

1. Banking Services through Business Correspondents Agents
2. Insurance Services (IRDA-Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority)
3. Pension Services (PFRDA-Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority  of India)

## Other Services:

1. Agriculture Service & Skill Development.
2. Income Tax filing & Know Your TDS service.
3. Health Care Services: Telemedicine, Jan Aushadhi Registration for medical stores.
4. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Registration for Toilet Scheme
5. Registration of Workers & Submission of Claims for Building and Other   Construction.

*******

## Annexure

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2994

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

## 2994.        SHRI C.S. PUTTA RAJU:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  frame  a  social  media  policy  for  strategic dissemination of information and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  convergence  and  integration  of  communication through an identified hub on social media?

## ANSWER

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

- (a):  Government of India has notified  'Framework & Guidelines for use of Social Media for Government  Organisations'    on    8th  Sept  2012.  The  framework  &  guidelines  have  been formulated with a view to help Government Ministries, Departments & agencies   to make use of social media platforms to engage more meaningfully with their various stakeholders. The document provides an in-depth review of types of social media, their characteristics and challenges in their uses.
- (b):  'MyGov' platform is a Citizen engagement platform  developed by  the Government  of India to promote the active participation of the Indian citizens in their country's governance and development.  'My Gov' currently has about 18.8 lakh registered users.  State instances have  also  been  provided  to  Govt.  of  Maharashtra  &  Haryana  on  a  test  basis.    Nearly  40 Ministries/Departments of Government  of  India  have  organised over 1200 Citizen engagement activities on 'My Gov'.

*******

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3038

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 16.03.2016

## ENCOURAGEMENT  TO INDUSTRY

## 3038           SHRI RABINDRA  KUMAR  JENA:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken steps to encourage industry for offering services such as IT-based security systems for protection of buildings and campuses as well as surveillance and response capabilities, computers in schools, initiating e-governance projects and LED lighting;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) and (b): Government  has  taken  several steps to encourage  domestic  electronics manufacturing industry for production of  electronic goods, including security  and surveillance systems, computers, telecom equipment and LED lighting, which are enclosed at Annexure.

The Government has regular interactions with industry regarding initiation and implementation of projects/schemes under Digital India programme. The schemes/projects under implementation have undergone extensive stakeholder consultations with Industry/Industry Bodies. The consultations  with  industry  have  been  conducted  for  various  schemes/projects  like  Digital Locker,  Mobile  as  Digital  Identity,  e-Sign,  Geographical  Information  System  as  Decision Support System (DSS), Unified Mobile Platform for e-Services delivery, etc.

- (c):  Does not arise.

*******

Steps taken by the Government to encourage domestic electronics ( including security and surveillance systems, computers, telecom equipment and LED lighting) manufacturing industry

1. Promotion  of  electronics  hardware  manufacturing  is  one  of  the  pillars  of  Digital  India  Programme  of  the Government.
2. The differential excise duty dispensation made available to mobile handsets/ tablet computers has been extended to the  Routers,  Broadband  modems,  Set-top  boxes  for  gaining  access  to  internet,  Digital  Video  Recorder  (DVR)  / Network Video Recorder (NVR) and CCTV Camera / IP Camera, wherein, these will be charged Excise Duty of 4% (without input tax credit) while Countervailing Duty (CVD) on imports shall be 12.5%. To enable this, parts, components, accessories and sub-parts used for the manufacture of parts, components, accessories have also been exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD), Excise Duty/CVD and Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD).
2. Duty structure has been rationalised for promoting domestic manufacturing of electronic goods.
3. Policy for providing preference to domestically manufactured electronic products in Government procurement is under implementation. 9 electronic products viz., Desktop PCs, Laptop PCs, Tablet PCs, Dot Matrix Printers, Smart Cards,  LED  Products,  Biometric  Access  Control/  Authentication  Devices,  Biometric  Finger  Print  Sensors  and Biometric Iris Sensors and 23 telecommunications products have been notified in furtherance of the policy.
4. Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) provides financial incentives to offset disability and attract investments  in  the  electronics  hardware  manufacturing.  The  scheme  provides  subsidy  for  investments  in  capital expenditure - 20% for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25% in non-SEZs. The scheme is open to receive applications till 26th July, 2020.
5. Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC)  Scheme  provides  financial assistance for creating world-class infrastructure  for  electronics  manufacturing  units.  For  Greenfield  EMC,  the  financial  assistance  of  50%  of  the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.50 crore for 100 acres of land and for Brownfield EMC 75% of the cost of infrastructure, subject to a ceiling of Rs. 50 crore is provided as Grant.
6. Approvals for all foreign direct investment up-to 100% in the electronic hardware manufacturing sector are under the automatic route.
7. Electronic Development Fund (EDF) policy has been approved to support Daughter Funds including Early Stage Angel Funds and Venture Funds in the area of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing, Nano-electronics and IT. The supported Daughter Funds will promote innovation, R&D, product development and within the country.
8. A meeting of State IT Ministers and State Government Officials was held to encourage them to actively promote electronics manufacturing. Several States have shown keen interest.
9.    Under the Electronics Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) Scheme, approved units are allowed duty free import of goods  required  by  them  for  carrying  on  export  activities,  CST  reimbursement  and  excise  duty  exemption  on procurement of indigenously available goods, as per the Foreign Trade Policy.
10. Mandatory compliance to safety standards has been notified for identified Electronic Products with the objective to curb import of sub-standard and unsafe electronics goods. As of now, 30 electronic products are under the ambit of this Order.
11. Two Schemes for skill development of 90,000 and 3,28,000 persons, respectively  in the electronics sector has been approved to provide human resource for the industry.
12. The Scheme to enhance the number of PhDs in the Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT Enabled Services (ITES) sectors has been approved. 3000 PhDs are proposed to be supported under the Scheme.
13. An Electropreneur park has been approved for providing incubation for development of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector which will contribute IP creation and Product Development in the sector.
14. National Centre of Excellence for Technology on Internal Security (NCETIS) is being set up at IIT-Bombay with the  objective  to  address  the  internal  security  needs  of  the  nation  on  continuous  basis  by  delivering  technology prototypes required for internal security and to promote domestic industry in internal security.
15. National Centre of Excellence in Flexible Electronics (NCFlexE) is being set up in IIT Kanpur with the objectives to promote R&D; Manufacturing; Ecosystems; Entrepreneurship; International Partnerships and Human Resources and develop prototypes in collaboration with industry for commercialization.
16. Centre for Excellence on Internet of Things (IoT) is being set up in Bengaluru jointly with NASSCOM.
17. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) provides funding under several schemes for promotion of R&D, including support for International Patents in Electronics & IT (SIP-EIT); Multiplier Grants Scheme  and  Scheme  for  Technology  Incubation  and  Development  of  Entrepreneurs  (TIDE)  in  the  area  of Electronics, ICT and Management.

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