THE road from the Information Technology (IT) footpath to the superhighway may be full of potholes. But if the National Task Force on IT has its way, the drive should be smooth.
It has advised banks to treat the IT industry as a priority sector for the next five years. Bigger banks will be expected to create IT financing cells in cities with a large number of infotech companies.
One of the most important recommendations is the creation of a mega website to promote and market Indian software. In addition, the government is expected to encourage computer servers in India. At present, the majority of the websites are hosted on servers located in the US.
Several premier national institutions like the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, will be encouraged to increase their output of computer science students threefold. Besides, the Indian Institute of Information Technology will be set up and given the status of a deemed university.
To ensure that IT permeates to the lowest level, a unique wired villages pro-gramme has been launched in Kolhapur district in Maharashtra. Several more such projects will soon follow. While the villages will prepare to be networked, value-added services—electronic kiosks, automated teller machines and smart cards—will make the e-world more accessible. All the 600,000 telephone PCOs around the country are already in the process of being converted into information kiosks.
To address the need for a cybercop, an information security agency is proposed to be set up at the national level. Moreover, a national policy on information security, privacy and data protection for handling of computerised data is to be framed within the next six months. Before that can come into effect, of course, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, will have to be suitably amended.
The task force has also recommended that all notifications and amendments to the procedures and laws will have to be issued by the respective ministries and departments within three months of the report being submitted. So, the pace at which the recommendations are implemented will decide the pace at which you conduct your business.
