Government to bring new IT policy

Thiruvananthapuram: The government proposes to bring a comprehensive IT policy in consultation with all the stakeholders in two months, Governor P. Sathasivam announced in the Assembly on Friday.

Emphasis shall be given to increase the employability of our youth in tune with the changing demands of the IT industry, he added in his address to the House.

“My Government will launch several new initiatives and complete ongoing ones to propel our State into the forefront in the IT sector in India. The first phase of Cyberpark, Kozhikode, will be completed in this financial year. The ambitious Technocity Project in Thiruvananthapuram would be completed on a priority basis.”

The Governor announced that a new scheme for supporting 1000 selected innovative ideas in the Technology Sector with an assistance of Rs. 2 lakh for each would be launched. Open Innovation Spaces would be setup at various places of the State to meet and exchange innovative ideas and for discussion of concerned among the public.

“A virtual platform will be set up as Science and Technology Innovation and Commercialisation, Kerala (STICK) for facilitating interaction of R&D institutions, scientists, students, entrepreneurs, etc. and a physical lab will be set up at Technology Innovation Zone, Kalamassery for testing and refining the ideas developed through the platform.”

A State of the Art Security Operations Centre, he said, will be built to monitor traffic at the two State Data Centres and the State Wide Area Network and proactively act against potential cyber-attacks.

e-Office, the Digital Workplace Solution to transform offices to 'Less Pa Der' offices by automating office procedures will be rolled out in all departments of the Secretariat, all 14 District Collectorates, 21 Sub Collectorates, 71 Taluk offices and the Land Revenue Commissionerate. Other Department Directorates will also implement e-Office at the Head Office first and at district levels subsequently, he said.

m-Keralam, an unique multi-platform mobile application which will integrate citizen centric e-governance applications enabling citizens on the move to access Government services 24 x 7 will be launched with 75 transactional services and 35 informational services across 42 Government departments.

An ambitious plan to provide wired connectivity to all Government Offices using the distribution infrastructure of Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd.(KSEBL) will be launched during the current year at a total cost of Rs.2000 crore and completed in two years.

In the next three months, thousand Wi-Fi hotspots will be made available to the public, one Wi-Fi hotspot in each Panchayat with preference to bus stations/railway stations, A-Grade libraries and similar common waiting facilities, the Governor said.