Govt mulls renaming Department of IT

In an effort to redefine the priority given to manufacturing of electronic hardware, the government is planning to rename the Department of Information Technology (DIT) as the Department of Information Technology and Electronics (DITE).

This is based on the proposals given by a task force set by the government a year before to suggest measures to stimulate the growth of IT, IT-enabled services (ITeS) and the electronics hardware manufacturing industry. Electronics hardware production rose from Rs 84,410 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 94,690 crore in 2008-09, a growth of 12.1 per cent.

“We are thinking of renaming the department, as it does not adequately reflect the priority attached with electronics manufacturing. This is being taken up by the department and advanced action is taking place in this area. This should happen in the next six months to one year,” said a DIT official.

Says the DIT’s five-year strategy for electronics: “It is felt that the electronics and telecom industry requires a dedicated set-up that understands the complicated technical nuances of this industry, as also the rapidly changing world trends and capital movements linked to it. Therefore, in order to give the above focus, a National Electronics Mission with adequate powers should be set up, so as to give a fillip to the manufacturing of electronic hardware in India in a mission mode.”

The task force was headed by Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems and had Nasscom president Som Mittal as a members.

“Although the rechristening of the Department of Electronics (DoE) was done and DIT was formed, it was interpreted as if the government had stopped its focus on the electronics industry. The new name is communicating that very well,” said Vinnie Mehta, former executive director, Manufacturers Association for Information Technology and member-secretary of the task force.