Doe Scheme To Spur Software Exports

The department of electronics (DoE) has launched a 10-point programme to promote export of packaged software by domestic companies. The programme includes setting up of a centre for excellence in Bangalore and putting pressure on the department of telecommunications (DoT) to lay 22,000 km of fibre optic cables every year.

DoE secretary Shyamal Ghosh said Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) will set up the centre of excellence in Bangalore to focus on aspects related to software engineering and project management as part of its plans to promote skilled software professionals. A sizable allocation has been made, he said.

The centre will be set up jointly by DoE societies: NCST and C-DAC. Ghosh said DoE had approached DoT for laying 22,000 km of fibre optic cable network every year to provide faster and better communication links.

 

To meet the growing need of manpower by the information technology industry, DoE has forwarded a plan to technical institutions like Indian institutes of technology (IITs) and regional engineering colleges to double the intake of students. This would help bridge the demand supply gap for qualified software engineers, Ghosh said. The department has mooted a plan to create a hub at IITs that will be connected to nearby infotech companies for exchange of technical data and research work.

DoE also plans to promote Japanese language among software personnel for developing specialised software packages built in the language.

DoE and DoT are working together on privatisation of Internet and on the issue of Internet service providers. A policy decision has been taken in principle towards this, the DoE secretary said. On software quality assurance, Ghosh said DoE was working on a scheme to help small and medium entrepreneurs to avail the services of quality certificates at affordable cost. According to Ghosh, who is also the chairman of the STPI governing council, STPI is investing in technical infrastructure including high-speed data communication facilities. Video conferencing using ISDN on the foreign end is being introduced in Bangalore, Noida and Hyderabad.