MPSIDC [Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation Limited]

Economic Development Policy

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

POLICY INITIATIVES

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

The government is committed to empowering the citizens through information dissemination. It shall leverage Information Technology for the above. It therefore proposes to

Launch a Gyandoot drive: It is proposed that all districts shall use information technology to disseminate information to its citizens using the “Gyandoot” model by the next year. "Gyandoot", offers an online face of the government and delivers services online to the citizens through information kiosks. This model has been very successful in Dhar. The Government is committed to replicating the same across the State. Some of the services currently offered through Gyandoot are

»	Agriculture produce auction centre rates
»	Copies of land records
»	Online registration of applications
»	Public grievance redressal
»	Rural e-mail facility
»	Online matrimonial facility
»	Information regarding government programs and schemes
»	Downloadable forms for applications, licences, certificates etc.
It shall be the endeavour of the government to constantly explore newer technologies (e.g. - wireless) to find a cost effective and user friendly solution for providing access.

Bhojpatra: aims at citizen empowerment through information dissemination. This is being launched in Bhopal with the support of the Government of India. Bhojpatra will initially provide an online interface between the citizens and the Collectorate, the Municipal Corporation and the Police Department in addition to providing other useful information required by the citizens. Access will be provided through information kiosks located in different parts of the city. A market study has already been carried out to understand the information needs of the people. This project is expected to get operational by the year 2002. Other services like online payment of utility bills & taxes will also be added subsequently. At the same time the government shall initiate the exercise of improving the back end processes of the above departments.

All the departments of the state government shall create user friendly and citizen centered web-sites so as to enable the citizens to extract information easily and download forms for transacting business and for grievance redressal. Various government departments are ensuring information access through their web sites

IT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

The government shall leverage Information Technology to increase the responsiveness and efficiency of governance and to bring about transparency in its processes. MAP_IT will be the nodal agency for these initiatives.
A phased approach will be adopted to ensure the following:

Digitisation of information / records with the various departments
The government shall strive to computerise on priority, functions with maximum public interface and revenue generation capabilities. This process has already commenced in the following departments:

»	Land Records, Registration, Commercial Taxes, Transport, Treasury

Setting up of a state WAN to provide connectivity and ensure free flow of information across departments
The government will strive to provide state-wide connectivity through a WAN at the earliest. It will encourage the use of a technology that enables inter-departmental communication. The state is considering the constitution of a Technical Advisory Committee constituting experts from the technical domain to lay down technical standards and assist the departments in selection of technology.
Networking of the offices of the following departments has already commenced.

»	Transport, Commercial Taxes, Treasury Operations, Mandi Board, Police
»	The departments located in the mantralaya are also being connected through a LAN

Providing an online interface to the citizens
The government will strive to provide online, citizen services for departments with a public interface and potential for revenue generation. The government will also endeavour to involve private sector participation in these initiatives. The transport department is offering these services through a private sector player on a BOO basis. Similar projects will be carried out for other departments also.

Streamlining the work flows and back-end processes of the departments
The government is committed to improving the back end processes and the systems of departments. The processes of each department will be studied to identify opportunity areas. Efficient work flows will then be designed to ensure

»	Efficiency & increase in productivity
»	Transparency in systems and
»	Better decision-making

Training and Capacity enhancement of government officials.
The government is committed to increase the use of Information Technology in its functioning. To suitably equip its personnel, an enhanced and enlarged training programme has been envisaged in the state policy on training. Suitable changes in the personnel policy are being proposed to make computer literacy widespread amongst the employees

The government is committed to encourage the use of Information Technology for facilitating co-ordination between various departments through better flow of information. This has been started with the usage of applications like e-mail and Internet in various government offices. The government will endeavour to allow Intra departmental electronic approvals to ensure speed in transactions.

All departments of the state government shall prepare an IT sub plan from the year 2002-03. Formation of Intra-departmental committees is being proposed to suggest judicious use of IT in the departments. Departments will also be encouraged to invest in computer hardware and training of the employees.

A large number of government departments have already started the process of using Information Technology. The details of some of these projects are given in Annexure I. (refer Annexure I at the end of this chapter)

IT FOR WEALTH CREATION

Information Technology is a high - potential high-growth sector and can be used as a vehicle for creating wealth. Leveraging Information Technology for wealth will lead to higher disposable incomes and therefore to revenue generation through the multiplier effect also. The IT industry will also provide employment opportunities to a large number of people and help in the development of the support industry.

The Government will endeavour to enable and facilitate the growth of IT industry in the state. It has therefore initiated the following:

Created An Enabling Environment

A separate Department of Information and Technology has been set up: The Department of Information Technology is responsible for the following:

»	Laying out the IT Vision for the state
»	Policy Formulation and Planning
»	Promotion of IT
»	Co-ordination with other Departments

MAP_IT will be the nodal agency for the IT for the Masses and for IT in governance initiatives: As the government’s think tank, MAP_IT assists in policy formation, guideline formulation and in laying out the road map for It induction at every level of the state. It is also the apex body for policy implementation Its responsibilities will include:

»	Policy Formulation and Implementation
»	Assisting government departments in their computerisation initiatives
»	Initiating IT Awareness Campaigns in the state
»	Promotion / Marketing of the state

MPSEDC will be the nodal agency for attracting investments in the IT industry. Its responsibilities include the following:

»	It will be the Single window for all IT Investments in the state and will ensure speedy approvals to the prospective investors
»	It will provide Facilitation and Escort services for the IT Industry
»	It will facilitate the Development, Operation and Maintenance of Software Technology Parks
»	It will aggressively market the state to potential investors.

MPSIDC as the premier industrial development institution of the state shall play an important role for promoting the IT industry in the state including development of IT parks. A similar role is envisioned for the Housing Board.

Developed IT Infrastructure

The government is facilitating the setting up of “Hi Tech Habitats” to promote IT Industry in the state.

»	MPSEDC has set up a small software technology park at Indore
»	The MPSIDC is in advanced stages of planning for setting up a new IT park at Indore
»	MPSEDC and MP Housing Board are jointly conceptualising an IT park in Bhopal.
»	The government is exploring creation of a separate body to carry out the operations and maintenance of the parks. This will ensure one stop clearances, speedy approvals and smooth and swift start-ups.
These IT Parks are envisaged to include
»	Built up Modules of International Standards
»	Built in electrical and communication ducts – Plug and Play facility
»	High Speed Telecom Connectivity through the existing Earth Stations
»	Dedicated Telephone Exchanges
»	24 hr. Uninterrupted Power Supply
»	Incubator facility for Entrepreneurs

Ensuring Extensive Telecom Connectivity

»	Right of Way policy has been announced
»	Speedy approvals at all levels will be provided

Ensured Availability of Trained Manpower

Availability of trained and skilled human resources is a pre-requisite for the development of the IT industry and for expanding IT applications in the state. The state government is committed to improving the quality and availability of trained manpower in the state. To ensure the availability of a talent pool in the state, the government is proposing the following initiatives.

A Centre Of Excellence In Information Technology: The government proposes to establish a centre of excellence in Information Technology at the Rajiv Gandhi Technology University in collaboration with leading private sector companies like IBM, Oracle etc. Roles and responsibility of the Institute are envisaged as

»	Ensuring Excellence in Education, Research and Application of IT
»	Producing Quality manpower of international standards.
»	Upgrading the curriculum and providing training to the faculty of the other IT Institutes
»	Conducting Research and Development with special focus on Commercial Applications
»	Establishing a strong relationship with the industry
A committee has been constituted to co-ordinate, network and attract private sector participants.

Increasing the number of seats in Computer Science: The number of seats at the diploma and degree levels have been increased substantially to 5000 at present. The number of seats available under the MCA programme have been increased to approximately 1800.

Computer Training in government schools and colleges: To ensure wide spread computer literacy in the state the government has initiated computer training in government run academic institution through a tie-up with a private sector player. This project has resulted in IT training courses being conducted in 233 government schools and 137 government colleges at very reasonable costs. The government proposes to expand the coverage of this project to include other government run schools and colleges also.

Institute for providing training for IT Enabled Services: To attract the ITES industry to the state, the government has established an IT enabled services training centre at Bhopal. Similar centres are planned at Indore and Gwalior.

In addition to the above under Project Head Start 7500 middle and primary schools are targeted to use IT as a teaching tool. By the next year this project will be expanded to cover 4000 schools.

Created a Favourable Environment

The government has initiated changes in the labour laws to create a favourable environment to attract the IT industry especially the IT Enabled Services industry to the state.

»	It has allowed 24*7 working days

Offered Competitive Incentives

The Government is offering competitive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to attract the IT Industry to the state. The details of the incentives being offered by the government are given in Annexure II. (refer Annexure II end of this chapter)

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	Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation Limited