J-K govt implementing Rs 427 cr vision document for IT sector

Jammu and Kashmir government has drawn up a Vision Document for the Information Technology sector in the state, which would see it spending Rs 427 crore on achieving various short and long-term goals.
Briefing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the steps taken towards that end, Commissioner Secretary, Science, Technology and IT, Bipal Pathak, said that the state data centre had started operating from this year and would enable the use of technology in some areas of e-governance.
Posting of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), Commercial Tax (Site) and National Population Register (NPR) was in the process and the Request for Proposal (RFP) for a state-wide area network has been floated, Pathak told Omar.

A Detailed Project Report was approved and RFP floated for an e-district scheme, he said, adding that the State Service Delivery Gateway was likely to be launched in January, 2014.
Under the capacity building programme of the J-K e-Governance Agency (JaKeGA), 150 officers have been trained in project management and soft skills along with 1,250 others who have been instructed in other forms of e-governance.
Pathak added that 130 Financial Advisers and Chief Administrative Officer (CAOs) in the Finance Department have been trained while a capacity-building exercise was held for 540 Accounts Officers and Assistant Accounts Officers.

Regarding e-procurement, he said 17 departments have been covered with 1,074 tenders for projects floated till date.

Payroll accounting and personal information system has been implemented, he added.
While 84 urban local bodies have been brought under e-municipalities, 140 locations have been covered under the mother and child tracking system, Pathak said.
Omar, meanwhile, gave his approval for the undertaking of projects of up to 10MW by Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency even as he laid stress on harnessing of solar and other non-conventional energy sources to meet the state's power requirements.
Omar was told that 28 mini and hydro-electric projects of about 50MW capacity have been taken up for execution in 2013 while 104 projects with 180 MW-capacity have been identified for development.