UP data centre likely to be ready by Sept

E-governance in Uttar Pradesh will soon get a shot in the arm, when the state data centre (SDC), being set up by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), starts functioning.

SDC, which was earlier expected to be up and running by June, has been delayed by two months. “Much work on SDC has been done and the remaining task is underway on war footing. We are confident it would be complete by August-end or early September,” UP Development Systems Corporation Ltd (UPDESCO) managing director Narendra Singh Kushwaha told Business Standard here.

SDC entails an investment of about Rs 20 crore. All data pertaining to different government departments will be centralised in SDC.

The state government had awarded the contract to TCS last year. E-governance has three components – state wide area network (SWAN), common service centres (CSC) and SDC. SWAN refers to online connectivity for e-governance (being provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) and CSCs are the outlets to deliver the services (to be set up by private entrepreneurs). SDC is the central data pool.

According to the agreement, TCS would establish and manage the SDC for the next five years and host databases of various departments.

The CSCs, known as Jan Suvidha Kendra , are being set up all over UP to deliver services. CSCs would provide online income tax, caste, death, birth and domicile certificates, besides issuance/renewal of ration card, old- age pension etc.