IT dept seeks 3% of state budget for e-governance projects

The Orissa information technology (IT) department has sought three per cent of the allocation of the State Budget for implementation of e-governance projects of different departments.

The department has suggested that 10 per cent of such allocation (0.3 per cent of the Plan Budget) may be allocated for innovative projects which can be scaled up later for full scale implementation.

The IT department has emphasized that 0.5-1 per cent of the total Plan Budget needs to be allocated for internal capacity building for taking up e-governance projects in each department.

The capacity building would focus on three items- basic computer skills, functional skills for business process re-engineering and user requirement study and e-governance project management.

The state IT department has planned to promote IT literacy programmes for panchayat members, filed level functionaries, especially school teachers, panchayat secretaries and health workers as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The above members can be utilized as 'Master Trainers' for Adult IT Literacy Programme.

It may be noted that the Orissa e-Governance Services Limited (OeSL), a special purpose vehicle formed by the Orissa Computer Application Centre (OCAC) and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) is preparing a project called 'ICT for Masses' with funding support from the Department of Information Technology, Government of India and multilateral funding agencies like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and Department for International Development (DFID).

Simultaneously, it has been planned to enhance internet connectivity and improve the functioning of the Common Service Centres (CSCs) for improved access to the citizens and for providing online learning tools and materials.