Ministrys Site To Propagate Infotech

The ministry of information technology is planning to launch a campaign to promote the benefits of information technology among the masses. The campaign will reflect infotech minister Pramod Mahajan's message, "IT for masses".

Apart from this, the ministry will also set up a mega website containing facts on the information technology avenues open in the country. The website will be in line with the recommendations of the national task force on information technology.

As the first step towards this, the ministry has already created a website www.itfriend.doe.gov.in. The website offers information on the industrial policy, Exim Policy, various government schemes for the IT industry and policy guidelines.

 

"This site is the first step towards the mega site that has been planned," a senior government official said. "The present site has been created to further follow up on the foreign investment projects as well as contract foreign investment," he added.

The infotech ministry will also popularise the concept of information kiosks that will offer ISDN services, remote database access, government and community information systems, market information, desktop video conferencing, tele info and other Internet applications.

According to an infotech ministry source, the Internet and information kiosks are going to play a major role in the ministry's plans to ensure that information technology percolates down to the grass root level.

The government will also try to encourage entrepreneurship, particularly in the rural areas, in information technology.

"We are trying to popularise the financial benefits that an infotech entrepreneur can have in a big way so that the rural population would be benefited from this," said a government official.

At the same time, the government will popularise the country's IT potential and the policy benefits that India has, to attract foreign investments in the field.

The infotech ministry is also planning to enlist the Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity to spread IT awareness among the public.

The message that the government wants to spread is that the IT age has arrived in a big way and there are avenues untapped in which IT can make the life of people more affordable.