Report of the Working Group
on
Information Technology Sector
Twelfth Five Year Plan
(2012 – 17)
Government of India Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Department of Information Technology Twelfth Five Year Plan
(2012 – 17)
Information Technology Sector
Government of India Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Department of Information Technology Foreword
Information Technology sector has been one of the key drivers for faster and inclusive growth in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. It has contributed immensely to the development of Indian economy. India has become a global power house in software and software services sector. Over the years various initiatives have been taken in the Information Technology sector to foster innovation, improve delivery of e-Services to citizens and bring about profound change in the way business is conducted and the way Government works.
Information Technology has tremendous potential for the future of India. In view of the overall priorities of the Government in the 12th Five Year Plan a focused and coordinated push in the IT sector during 12th Plan period will help India achieve faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. Accordingly the vision and mission for IT sector for the Twelfth Plan will be on e-Development of India through a multi pronged strategy of e-Infrastructure creation to facilitate and fast track e-governance, promotion of Electronics hardware manufacturing & Information Technology – Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-ITeS) Industry, providing support for creation of Innovation / Research & Development (R&D), building knowledge network and securing India’s cyber space.
In the context of preparation of the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), the Government has constituted a Working Group on Information Technology sector to make recommendations on the various policy matters to formulate the Twelfth Five Year Plan for Information Technology Sector.
This report is the result of efforts of the Members of the Working Group drawn from a cross section of the IT community and seven specialized, subject specific Sub-Groups.
I would like to thank all members of the Working Group and Sub-Groups for their valuable inputs and officers of Economic Planning Division of DIT for preparing this Report.
R. Chandrashekhar, Chairman – Twelfth Plan Working Group on Information Technology & Secretary, Department of Information Technology Preface
In the context of the formulation of Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) for Communication and Information Sector, the Planning Commission had constituted a Working Group on Information Technology under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Information Technology vide O. M. No. M- 13040/29/2011-CIT&I, WG (DIT), dated 21st June, 2011. The Working Group had 37 Members drawn from various Government Departments and Organizations, Industry Associations, Academia and Industry.
The Terms of Reference of the Working Group are given in the Appendices. For getting a wider participation from different Industry Sectors, Industry Associations and Academia, Experts and other Intellectuals, the following seven Sub-Groups were constituted:
1. e-Government Chairman – Shri Rajeeva Ratna Shah, Ex-Secretary, Government of India 2. e-Learning Chairman – Prof. N. Balakrishnan, Associate Director, IISc, Bangalore 3. e-Security Chairman – Shri N. Sitaram, Distinguished Scientist & Former CC (R&D), DRDO 4. e-Industry (Electronics Hardware Industry) Chairman – Shri Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman, HCL Infosystems Ltd. 5. e-Industry (IT-ITeS Industry) Chairman – Shri Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM 6. e-Innovation / R&D Chairman – Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT-Madras 7. e-Inclusion Chairman –Shri Kiran Karnik, Ex-President, NASSCOM
The Terms of Reference and Composition of various Sub-Groups are given in the Appendices of the Report. The reports of the Sub-Groups are included in this Report. CONTENTS
Page No.
1. Executive Summary 1
Sub – Group Reports
2. e-Government 8
3. e- Learning 56
4. e-Security 95
5. e-Industry (Electronics Hardware) 109
6. e-Industry (IT-ITeS) 163
7. e-Innovation / R&D 192
8. e-Inclusion 238
9. Appendices 258 Executive Summary
The global Information Technology sector has made a remarkable progress in the last decade. It has transformed the world, enabling innovation and productivity increases, connecting people and communities, and improving standards of living and opportunities across the globe. While changing the way individuals live, interact, and work, IT has also proven to be a key precondition for enhanced competitiveness and economic and societal modernization, as well as an important instrument for bridging economic and social divides and reducing poverty.
The pace of technological advance is accelerating and ICT is increasingly becoming a ubiquitous and intrinsic part of people’s behaviours and social networks as well as of business practices and government activities and service provision. These transformations will continue to move human progress forward by further leveraging IT’s positive social, political, and economic impact on government, enterprise, and civil society alike.
Global sourcing trends
Worldwide technology products and services related spend is estimated to reach USD 1.6 trillion in 2010 with emerging verticals and emerging geographies, in addition to US, driving the growth. IT services spend increased by 1.4 per cent in 2010, within which IT outsourcing grew by 2.4 per cent. Within IT outsourcing, global sourcing grew by 10.4 per cent in 2010, validating the industry’s integral position in service delivery chain.
Global Electronic Industry trends
Worldwide, the electronics industry is one of the most flourishing and extremely diversified sectors, growing at a rapid pace with the invention of innovative technologies and growing customer inclination towards electronic goods and services. The industry has been experiencing phenomenal and remarkable changes over the years, and is being distinguished with other industries by way of technological developments. The key segments of the electronic industry are electronic components industry, computer and office equipments, telecommunications, consumer electronics and industrial electronics.
Production and Exports
World electronics production is estimated to be US $ 1.5 trillion in 2009 and World Electronics Exports are estimated at US $ 1.3 trillion in 2009. Telecom and data processing equipments are the two largest segments accounting for 25%, and 21%, respectively, of the total world electronics production in the year 2009. Industrial and medical electronics accounted for 18% share, and audio-video equipments accounted for 15% share in world production of electronics. Automotive (8%), aerospace & defence (7%), and home appliances (6%) are other sub-sectors in electronics production. Until 2013, the total word electronics production is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.7%.
1 Indian IT-BPO performance
The Indian IT-BPO sector is estimated to aggregate revenues of USD 88.1 billion in 2010-2011, with the IT software and services sector (excluding hardware) accounting for USD 76.2 billion of revenues. During this period, direct employment is expected to reach nearly 2.5 million, an addition of 240,000 employees, while indirect job creation is estimated at 8.3 million. As a proportion of national GDP, the sector revenues have grown from 1.2 per cent in 1997-1998 to an estimated 6.4 per cent in 2010-2011. Its share of total Indian exports (merchandise plus services) has increased from less than 4 per cent in 1997-1998 to 26 per cent in 2010-2011.
The major findings of the seven Sub- Groups constituted for formulation of 12th Five Year Plan are as under:
e-Government
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) with a vision to make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets, and ensure efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such services at affordable costs is an initiative of the Government of India. NeGP is a program where the Department of Information Technology plays the role of a catalyst while the actual implementation of the projects is with the respective Ministries and Departments. Under the programme robust e-infrastructure is being created to facilitate deployment of ICT solutions by various Departments and state Governments. Besides, there are a number of Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) which have a high citizen interface. Significant progress has been made in the implementation of the core infrastructure and also in most of the Mission Mode Projects. 27 SWANs and 14 State Data Centres are already operational. The State Service Delivery Gateways (SSDGs) have been implemented in 2 States. For making public services available to citizens on anytime, anywhere basis, Department of Information Technology (DIT) have established around 96,000 Common Services Centres across the country as web enabled outlets to access e-Governance services. Under the Capacity Building Scheme, the State e-Mission Teams (SeMTs) have been setup in 30 States and over 700 Government officials have been trained in STeP trainings. Standards have been laid down in the areas of open standards, biometric standards, metadata & data standards, localization and Language Technology Standards etc. e-District project has been implemented in 20 districts. Significant progress has also been made in delivery of services identified under various Mission Mode Projects.
In the twelfth Five Year Plan, Department of Information Technology proposes to strengthen and extend the existing core infrastructure projects to provide more horizontal connectivity, build redundancy connectivity, undertaken energy audits of SDCs etc. The core infrastructure including fibre optic based connectivity will be leveraged and additional 150,000 CSCs will be setup to create the right Governance and service delivery ecosystem at the Panchayats. The high penetration of mobiles will be leveraged to deliver both informational as well as transactional Government services on mobile phones.
In order to deliver all Government services in electronic mode so as to make the Government process transparent, citizen centric, efficient and easily accessible, DIT proposes to introduce and implement the Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Act. In
2 order to accelerate adoption of e-Governance and to reduce the “cycle time” of e- Governance project implementation, DIT plans to undertake extensive business process re- engineering, to create an enterprise architecture framework, to create shared platforms and to create a National Application Store.
The wide spread use of ICT requires that Government takes adequate measures to promote ethical use of data and technology and create a safe and secure cyber world. DIT also plans to reduce the social and economic disparities existing due to information asymmetry, accessibility and ability to utilize the information through the use of ICT. DIT intends to assist all Central and State Government Departments in better targeting the delivery of social welfare schemes to the beneficiaries’ through adoption of ICT in Government functioning.
NeGP will also be expanded to include new MMPs in the areas of Health, Education, PDS, Posts, Skill up-gradation, integrated system of crime to adjudication to jail, Safety & Security against crime, RTI etc.
In order to promote innovation in e-Governance and mobile Governance and for large scale development of e-Governance applications, DIT proposes to institute an e- Governance innovation fund. DIT also intends to create an open data platform and institutional structure that would enable all public entities to share non-classified data for productive use by the citizens. DIT intends to increase the awareness about e-Governance, assess the impact of e-Governance on citizens and to create mechanisms for a proactive citizen engagement.
Lastly, DIT plans to augment internal ICT and Capacity Building efforts by creating appropriate institutional infrastructure, by extending the existing CB scheme to the Central Government entities and through structured e-Governance training, certification and online courses for Government employees at all levels.
e- Learning
In order to sustain India’s lead in IT-ITES sector and to capture new opportunities in the electronics hardware industry, there is a need to address the gaps in the availability of skilled and technically trained human resources for meeting present and future requirements of the sector.
e-Learning mode and the related tools provide a platform for enhanced learning, cost effective delivery, flexibility of learning at the convenience of the learner. Language Technology offer universal access to information and services to the masses in their own language. It is imperative that tools for information processing in local languages are developed and made available for wider proliferation of ICT. This would benefit the people at large and thus pave the way towards ‘Digital Unite and Knowledge for All’ and bridging the Digital Divide.
Creation of e-infrastructure for e-Learning is a very important aspect, essential to promote this mode of learning that can also supplement the traditional method of learning. In order to work out a road map to generate human resources for the electronics and ICT industry using ubiquitous learning models. A holistic eco system will be but is for the
3 generation of skilled population which can leverage the use of knowledge effectively for the economic and social development of the country.
There is a need to integrate formal and non-formal system of education by introducing the concept of Virtual University or Central University with multiple campuses and blended learning mode.
As a part of skill development initiatives, the capacities of DOEACC and C-DAC would be enhanced to generate 10 million skilled manpower by the year 2022 starting from the diploma level right up to doctoral level and in line with the emerging industry/market/society needs. The Central Government scheme for providing financial assistance for setting up of ICT Academy in each State/UT under PPP mode by respective State Governments/UTs along with industry/industry associations.
e-Security
Cyber security requirements are dynamic in nature and change with the threat environment. The cyber security threats emanate from a wide variety of sources and manifest themselves in disruptive activities that target individuals, business, national infrastructure and Governments alike. Their effects carry significant risk for public safety, security of nation and the stability of the globally linked economy as a whole. As such, cyber security threats pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges. The initiatives taken by the Government so far have significantly contributed to the creation of a platform that is capable of supporting and sustaining the efforts to security the cyber space. However, due to the dynamic nature of cyber threats, these actions need to be continued, refined and strengthened consistent with emerging threats and evolving technology scenario.
Cyber Security strategies proposed to be adopted during the Twelfth Five Year Plan include (a) enhancing the understanding with respect to factor such as dynamically changing threat landscape, technical complexity of cyber space and availability of skilled resources in the area of cyber security, (b) focus on proactive and collaborative actions in Public-Private Partnership, (c) enhancing awareness and upgrading the skills, capabilities and infrastructure, (d) improving interaction and engagement with various key stakeholders, (e) carrying out periodic cyber security mock drills to assess the preparedness of critical sector organizations to resist cyber attacks and improve the security posture and (f) supporting and facilitating basic research, technology demonstration, proof of concept and test bed projects in thrust areas of cyber security through sponsored projects at recognized R&D institutions. Six focus areas have been identified for implementation of the Cyber Security activities. These are: Enabling Legal Framework, Security Policy, compliance and Assurance, Security R&D, Security Incident – Early Warning and Response, Security awareness, skill development and training and Collaboration.
The target deliverables in respect of each of the focus areas have been identified. The major target deliverables include suitable amendments to existing legal framework, enhancement of security audit, assessment and certification infrastructure, enhancement of IT product technical security assurance mechanism, setting up of Centres of excellence in select areas.
4 DIT will act as a nodal agency to implement the cyber security activities planned for the XII Plan. Public private partnership (PPP) arrangement will be explored in the relevant areas.
e-Industry (Electronic Hardware)
Electronics is a flagship sector of strategic importance. With the demand for electronics hardware expected to rise rapidly, India has the potential to become an electronics hardware manufacturing hub and contribute significantly to the increase in our GDP, employment and exports. Electronics Hardware Manufacturing continues to be a thrust area for the Government. The vision is to establish India as a leading global destination for electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM). The objective during the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) is to achieve domestic production of about USD 122 Billion by 2017 by creating an industry friendly policy framework and ecosystem for the ESDM sector. This is expected to generate exports of about USD 20 Billion, direct employment of about 3.5 Million and indirect employment of 6.5 Million. The aim is to create a level playing field and an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally. This requires several initiatives including setting up of a semiconductor fab, providing support to manufacturing across the value chain, providing world class infrastructure through Electronics Manufacturing Clusters, supporting R&D and innovation by setting up of Electronics Development Fund. Besides, efforts to institute a mechanism for mandating compliance to standards for electronics goods, communications and brand development, marketing of India as an investment destination and human resource development are some of the other initiatives which need to be pursued. There is a need to set up a National Electronics Mission in the Twelfth Five Year Plan.
e-Industry (IT-ITeS)
Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services sector (IT/ITeS) has played a vital role in acquiring a Brand Equity for the nation and has contributed immensely to the increase in the GDP, employment and exports. The IT/ITeS exports have grown from a mere $ 4.0 billion in 1999-2000 to $ 31.2 billion in 2006-07 and to a staggering $59 billion in 2010-11. This sector accounts for over 5% of India’s GDP, and employs 2.5 million professionals directly and another 8.3 million people indirectly. A majority of the Fortune 500 and Global 2000 corporations are sourcing IT/ITeS from India. Further most of Capability Maturity Model (SEI-CMM) Level 5 firms are based in India. India continues to be a premier destination for the global off-shoring market of IT- ITeS, accounting for almost 55% in 2010 as compared to 49% in 2005. India has emerged a dominant player in global IT services outsourcing with increase in India’s share to 70% in 2010 from 52% in 2005. Although India’s share in BPO sourcing market has declined from 45% in 2005 to 34% in 2010 but continues to be the leader in this space. China, Philippines, Vietnam, Poland, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt are emerging as competitive locations. Another important factor to be considered is that due to its nature of being less capital intensive and flexibility in operations, IT/ITeS industry can be relocated in a very short time. This increases to almost 50 locations which present a huge challenge to India’s success story.
5 In the Twelfth Five Year Plan it is proposed to sustain IT-ITeS industry’s growth momentum by building an enabling policy environment, support small and medium enterprises and provide competitive edge through fiscal benefits, innovation fund and incubation, build world-class infrastructure in identified tier II & tier III cities to create new hubs for industry development as potential centres of excellence and to address the gap of employability through skill development initiatives.
e-Innovation / R&D
There is a high correlation between investment in innovation in and actual benefits flowing from it to the society. In India, in the post liberalization era, due to opening up of the economy, almost all new technology solutions came either through direct import or through assembly with large amount of imported components or modules. However, the country is largely dependent on innovations done elsewhere. Some institutions and industries are doing innovative works which are at nascent stage. These need to be carried forward and increased manifold. It is imperative that research and innovation initiatives in the area of Electronics & IT at various institutes are linked to societal and industry needs directly. Therefore, the overall objective during the 12th Plan should be to make India a hub of research, development and innovation in the area of IT and electronics leading to commercialization so as to contribute to the overall socio-economic growth of the country.
Overall achievement in the 11th Plan indicates that reasonable amount of R&D infrastructure, technology development and also some industry involvement have been achieved in various areas like Nanotechnology, Microelectronics, High Performance Computing/Grid Computing, Industrial Electronics, Free/Open Source Software, Broadband and Wireless Sensor Network, RF/Microwave Electronics, etc. All the Strategic Departments of the country have also benefited through the R&D work carried out in some of DIT’s R&D societies. However, during this course some major challenges also have been faced. These include inadequate R&D spending, inadequate skilled manpower for R&D, R&D fund management issues, lack of incentives for using indigenously developed technology etc. Some of these challenges need to be addressed vigorously during the next Plan.
Innovation promotion and nurturing entrepreneurs need to be the major area of thrust during the 12th Plan. Activities are proposed at all 4 stages of innovation, i.e., idea stage, innovation phase, incubation phase and business acceleration phase. Involvement of private sector in R&D/innovation activities is expected to play a major role during the 12th Plan to fulfill the objectives of the proposed Electronics Development Fund (EDF). Certain “quick-hit” initiatives, as short-term R&D need to be taken up to identify and develop products which may not be futuristic in nature but have immediate applications in next 2 years’ time. This is expected to kick-start a positive reinforcement cycle motivating industry, policy makers and the market.
Considering the achievements, the R&D activities undertaken during the 11th Plan needs to be accelerated in the 12th Plan for greater industry involvement and commercialization and also to include some new areas like initiatives on Next Generation Computing Systems/India Microprocessor Development Initiatives, Cloud Computing, a few demonstration projects (like Smart Grid, Solar Village, Indian Satellite Phone) and special initiatives focused for students in the area of VLSI Design. The report has also recommended establishment of a Centre of Excellence on Sensors, specific hardware 6 fabrication and design houses/services to help students and SMEs in their development endeavor. Thus the main strategy for the 12th Plan would include widening the R&D base, promoting R&D for manufacturing and creation/augmentation of R&D infrastructure.
e-Inclusion
Inclusiveness is a critical element in the strategy of the IT Sector in Twelfth Five year Plan. This is to be achieved by ensuring that growth is broad-based and is combined with programmes aimed at overcoming deficiencies in critical areas, which affect large numbers of the vulnerable sections of our population, particularly the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), women, and the minorities. The strategy is to deal with these deficiencies through programmes aimed at providing e-accessibility, e-competences, for better access to health, education, and other essential services and programmes of livelihood support.
In order to achieve the vision of e-Inclusion in Twelfth Five year Plan an enabling and empowering strategy along with intervention and a focus on specified target groups and areas is proposed. The target groups identified for e-Inclusion are SC, ST, minorities, Gender, differently abled, senior citizens and BPL households. The target areas are North East Region; SC and ST concentration areas, the backward districts of India, etc. It is proposed to initiate key programmes and projects in identified components of e-Inclusion as part of a major government programme modelled along the lines of NeGP. A study team will be constituted to examine and set the monitorable targets in consultation with all the stakeholders. It will also identify ICT indicators for e-Inclusion and propose policy and programme evaluation mechanism for the projects in the 12th Five Year Plan.
7 e-Government
1. Introduction
The country has been able to register an extremely impressive economic growth, however, the benefits of economic growth have not percolated down to each citizen. This requires structural changes in the way public services are delivered so that reliability, efficiency, accountability and transparency can be ensured. ICT and especially e-Governance offers a huge opportunity to bring in these changes without creating brick and mortar institution at village / Panchayat level e-Governance provides a sound strategy to strengthen overall governance. It can not only improve accountability, transparency and efficiency of government processes, but also facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth. e-Governance also provides a mechanism of direct delivery of public services to the marginal segments of the society in the remotest corners, without having to deal with intermediaries. Several successful models have already demonstrated the power of effective service delivery through e- Governance, both in India and other parts of the world. These need to be implemented in a vigorous Mission Mode in a time bound manner. National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was approved in 2006 and a lot of area has been covered under various MMPs, however, most of these MMPs were meant to improve efficiency in those sectors which were dealing with number e.g. land records, transport, passport, corporate affairs etc. Now the time has come when e-Governance should be effectively used to provide quality educational service, cost efficient health services, skill development, financial services, agriculture related services amongst other at all citizens.
2. Current Status of e-Governance in India (XIth Plan Achievements)
2.1 Overview of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)
Over the past decade or so, there have been several e-Governance initiatives in the country at the National, State, district and even block level. Some of them have been highly successful and are ready for replication across other States while some have not produced the desired results or withstood the test of time. Experiences from successes as well as the failures of the various initiatives played an important role in shaping the e-governance strategy of the country. A need was felt for taking a holistic view towards the entire e-Governance initiative across the country. Increasingly , it was perceived that if e Governance was to be speeded up across the various arms of government at the national , state and local government level, a programme approach would need to be adopted, which must be guided by a common vision, strategy and approach to objectives.
With this background, the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), comprising of 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and 8 components was formulated by the Government, for implementation across the country with following vision:
“Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.”
8 NeGP comprises of 8 core and support components and 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) encompassing nine central MMPs, eleven state MMPs and seven integrated MMPs. MMPs are owned and spearheaded by various line ministries. State Governments are responsible for implementing State MMPs, under the overall guidance of respective Line Ministries in cases where Central Assistance is also required.
The emphasis has been to ensure Integrated & enhanced access to government services Clearly defined service levels Services at the doorstep with substantial rural outreach Increased efficiency Enhanced transparency Improved reliability Affordable cost
Considering the complexity of the Programme and the need to look at issues such as overall technology architecture, framework, standards, security policy, funding strategy, service delivery mechanism, sharing of common infrastructure etc. at a program level, the technical appraisal of all NeGP projects is done by DIT, prior to a project being placed before the EFC/ CNE. For the implementation of NeGP, DIT has been given mandate to create the Common and Support Infrastructure (State Wide Area Networks, State Data Centres, and Common Services Centres & Nation/State Service Delivery Gateways). DIT also has to evolve/ lay down Standards and Policy Guidelines, provide Technical and Handholding Support, undertake Capacity Building, R&D, etc., as required, for successful implementation of various e-Governance Projects.
2.2 Current Status of e-Governance related initiatives
Significant progress has been made in the implementation of the core and support components under NeGP. Major achievements are highlighted below
2.2.1 State Wide Area Networks (SWANs)
The Government has approved the Scheme for establishing State Wide Area Networks (SWANs) across the country, at a total outlay of Rs.3334 crore to be expended by the Department under Grant-in-Aid of Rs. 2,005 crore, over a period of five years. Under this Scheme, technical and financial assistance are being provided to the States/UTs for establishing SWANs to connect all State/UT Headquarters up to the Block level via District/ sub-Divisional Headquarters, in a vertical hierarchical structure with a minimum bandwidth capacity of 2 Mbps per link. Each of the State / UT can enhance the bandwidth up to 34 Mbps between SHQ and DHQ and upto 8 Mbps between DHQ and BHQ depending upon the utilization. SWAN proposals from 34 States/UTs have been approved, with a sanctioned total outlay of Rs. 1972 crore from the Department. The Proposal for implementation of SWAN in the State of UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been approved by the Empowered committee recently. The State of Goa has implemented Networks outside SWAN Scheme.
As of 31st July, 2011, the SWANs in 27 States (Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
9 Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya) have been operational . The SWANs in Mizoram and Nagaland are in advanced stage of implementation. Rajasthan has identified the Network Operator and implementation is underway. J&K have initiated the bid process to identify the Network Operator for implementation. Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Andaman and Nicobar are in RFP/BOM finalization stage. It is expected that all State SWANs would be operational by March 2012.
To monitor the performance of SWANs, the Department has mandated positioning Third Party Auditor (TPA) agencies by the States/UTs. As of 31st July, 2011, 17 States i.e. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tripura, Orissa, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh , Chhattisgarh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and West Bengal have empanelled the TPA agencies for monitoring the performance of the SWAN in their respective State.
2.2.2 State Data Centres (SDCs)
The State Data Center (SDC) is being implemented across the country to provide common IT infrastructure to host Government applications. SDC is one of the three infrastructure pillars structured under NeGP to facilitate web- enabled Anytime, Anywhere access. SDC is conceptualized with the objective of providing a common enabling infrastructure to the States / UTs to consolidate services, applications and infrastructure to provide efficient electronic delivery of G2G, G2C and G2B services. For better and optimal utilization of the SDC infrastructure adequate Virtualization Infrastructure, Information Security Infrastructure and Disaster Recovery Solutions are being provisioned.
SDC scheme was approved by the Government on 24th January, 2008 with a total outlay of Rs. 1623.20 Crore (Grant in aid Rs. 581.37 Crore and ACA Rs. 1041.83 Crore). States were categorized into three categories Large, Medium and Small. Within the overall scheme framework, State Specific DPRs were prepared by the respective States/ UTs. These DPRs were approved by DIT and funds released to the Implementation Agencies of States / UTs.
Substantial progress has been made in the SDC project. As of 31st July, 2011, 13 State Data Centres have been declared operational and more than 3 State Data Centres are expected to be Operational within next one month. 28 RFPs have already been approved by DIT, 20 states have completed Bid Process Management and DCO identified with the remaining 7 States are in Bid Process Management. It is expected that all the SDCs shall be operational by August, 2012.
2.2.3 Common Service Centres (CSCs)
The CSC Scheme as approved by Government of India in September 2006 for setting up of 100,000+ (one lakh) internet enabled centres in rural areas under the National e-Governance plan (NeGP) is being implemented in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The Common Services Centres (CSC) are proposed to be the delivery points for Government, Private and Social Sector
10 services to rural citizens of India at their doorstep. The CSC Scheme is envisaged to be a bottom-up model for delivery of content, services, information and knowledge, that can allow like-minded public and private enterprises - through a collaborative framework - to integrate their goals of profit as well as social objectives, into a sustainable business model for achieving rapid socio- economic change in rural India.
As of 31st July, 2011, a total of 96,163 CSCs have been rolled out in thirty two States/UTs. 100% CSCs have been rolled out in 12 (Twelve) States (Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Sikkim & Tripura). More than 70% of the rollout has been completed in 13 (Thirteen) States (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal and West Bengal). In about 4 (Four) States (Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) implementation of CSCs have crossed half way mark (more than 50%). However, about 4500 CSCs are non operational due to termination of the Service Centre Agencies (SCAs) by the concerned State Governments. A total of about 14,236 CSCs have been affected due to termination/ re-bidding. Due to naxal affected and difficult areas, rollout of about 3598 CSCs have been delayed.
The State Governments like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have issued Government Orders / Notifications to the various departmental heads / District Level authorities/ Stakeholders for use of CSC to deliver various G2C Services. The various G2C Services offered are: Agricultural services, RTI Services, NREGA MIS Data Entry service, Postal Products, Land Records, Issuance of Birth and Death Certificates, Utility Services, Electoral Services, Transport Services, Grievances, e-District Services etc. Financial Inclusion has started in the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya.
As per the CSC Scheme policy, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) named as “CSC e-Governance Services India Limited” has been incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 on 16th of July 2009 with an objective of being the single point of contact for the delivery of citizen centric services.
Connectivity
Connectivity has been provided to 69,574 CSCs out of which 18,554 CSCs are connected through BSNL as on 30th June 2011. Out of the total connected CSCs, 24,297 are using VSAT Connectivity, 19,116 CSCs are using BSNL Connectivity, 10,163 CSCs are using Data Card and 15,998 CSCs are using Connectivity through other technology like WLL and GPRS of various service providers such as AirTel, Reliance and Tata Indicom. Only 185 CSCs are using Wimax Ph-1 connectivity. BSNL will connect all the CSCs by December 2011.
11 Online Monitoring Tool Status
As of 30th June 2011, Online Monitoring Tool (OMT) has been installed/ registered in 57,423 CSCs covering twenty seven States and user ID has been created/ commissioned for 78,529 CSCs.
Status on G2C services
The State Governments like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have issued Government Orders/ Notifications to the various Departmental heads/ District level authorities/ stakeholders for use of CSC to deliver G2C services. In some States the CSCs are being utilized to collect data for various government schemes for MIS , conduct of survey, digitization of records, collection of utility bills and other related activities .
Leveraging CSCs for capturing MIS and delivery of various services of Ministries of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Health and Education is under active consideration of the Government. An Inter-Ministerial Co-ordination Committee has been constituted to evolve mechanism and finalize modalities of expanding Bharat Nirman CSCs. The Committee has finalized the rates of services to be delivered through CSCs.
Leveraging CSCs to capture demographic and biometric details of citizens of India for National Population Register (NPR) is also under consideration of Ministry of Home Affairs.
Status on B2C Services
The B2C Services like e-Learning, Financial services, Telecom – Mobile Charging/ DTH Recharge, Utility services, Employment services, Railway - Ticketing, Matrimony Services, UTI-Pan Card Processing etc. are being offered/identified through the CSCs. State Bank of India , Punjab National Bank and other commercial banks have started using CSCs for delivery of financial products and services including banking and insurance
CSCs are providing the e learning services for all the sections of the community at the village level meeting their specific needs
2.2.4 Electronic Form Application through State Portal, State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG)
This project entails delivery of the services through Common Service Centres (CSCs) by leveraging the common infrastructure (SWAN, SDC etc.). The project also envisages the development of the applications and infrastructure required for deployment of State Portal and State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) for the State. This will enable citizens to download forms and submit their applications electronically with help of “electronic forms” hosted on the State Portal (SP) and routed through a common services gateway (SSDG/NSDG). Thus, NSDG/SSDG is a middleware routing mechanism based on standards which provides seamless interoperability and exchange of data
12 across heterogeneous applications. This important initiative facilitating Electronic Service Delivery will provide significant benefits to the citizens especially in the form of a single gateway to citizen for service delivery.
The processing at the backend at the department may initially continue in a manual mode. Gradually as the MMPs and other State applications get implemented and the backend gets computerized, the functionality of the services provided will get enhanced and eventually all services that can be provided online could be accessible via State Portal in integrated fashion.
Objective of the e-Form, State Portal & SSDG scheme is to ensure the following Providing easy, anywhere and anytime access to Government Services (both Informational & Transactional) Reducing number of visits of citizens to a Government office / department for availing the services Reducing administrative burden and service fulfilment time & costs for the Government, Citizens & Businesses Reducing direct interaction of citizen with the Government and encourage ‘e’-interaction and more efficient communication through portal Enhancing perception & image of the Government and its constituent Departments Promotion of uniform web interface across Government and build in synergies with the National Portal of India (NPI) using the National Service Delivery Gateway Delivery of services through Common Service Centres (CSCs) by leveraging the common infrastructure (SWAN, SDC etc.) and development of the applications and infrastructure required for deployment of State Portal and State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) for the State. Publishing the static data and all information of the State departments in line with guidelines for necessary integration with NPI
At present project proposals have been approved for 31 States/UTs and requisite funds have been released. Around 24 States/UTs have floated the RFP for the selection of the Implementing Agency for the project. Out of these 24 RFPs, 17 States/UTs have completed the bid process and are in the process of issuing/issued the Letter of Intent (LoI) to the selected Agency. 9 States/UTs have already started project implementation and the remaining would shortly start implementation. Two (2) States (Goa & Tamil Nadu) have gone-Live with few services to citizens.
2.2.5 Capacity Building
The Capacity Building Scheme under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was approved in Jan, 2008 for 3 years and has been extended for a further period of 2 years. The CB scheme aims to build adequate capacities in the Government at all levels right from the decision makers to Panchayat levels in order to successfully roll out the National e-Governance Plan .
Under the CB Scheme, State e-Mission Teams (SeMTs) have been setup in 30 States. Training and sensitization of the Government officials has been a
13 critical focus area and it forms one of the major components of the scheme. A wide range of training programmes like Leadership Meets, Specialized Training for e-Governance Programme (STeP), CIO’s Programme, Orientation workshops and other training modules have been rolled out to up skill Govt officials at all levels. At political level Leadership Meets have been conducted in 18 States so far and other States are in the pipeline. STeP Trainings have been rolled out Pan India to upskill officials on various aspects of e-Governance like e-Governance Project Life Cycle, Government Process Reengineering, Business Models and PPP for e-Governance project, Change Management, Regulatory Framework for e-Governance, Information Security Management, Enterprise Applications and open source for e-Governance, Project Management and Assertiveness, Communication & Presentation skills. Over 700 Govt. Officials have been trained under STeP Trainings. A CIO plan is also being rolled out to strengthen and create a cadre of in-house expert resources to lead and implement e-Governance in India at all levels of Government.
2.2.6 Standards
Standards in e-Governance are a high priority area, which will ensure sharing of information and seamless interoperability of data and e-Governance applications under NeGP. An Apex body has been constituted under the chairmanship of Secretary, DIT with senior representatives from the Government, NASSCOM, and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) etc. with a mandate to approve, notify and enforce Standards/Guidelines formulated by various Working Groups and to oversee that they are in accordance with international practices in this regard.
Policy on Open Standards: Government is promoting the usage of Open Standards to avoid any technology lock-ins. In this regard, a Policy on Open Standards has been formulated which would provide a framework for the selection of Open Standards to facilitate interoperability between systems while providing organizations the flexibility to select different hardware, systems software, and application software for implementing cost effective e-Governance solutions. Biometrics standards: Biometric Standards for Face image, Fingerprint image and Minutiae and Iris have been notified would enable the sharing of biometrics data by various e-Governance applications Metadata & Data Standards: These define standards for person and land identification like name, address, which will ensure sharing of information and seamless interoperability of data across applications Localisation and Language Technology Standards: Character Encoding Standard Unicode 5.1.0 and Font Standard ISO/IEC14496- 22 Open Font Format Network and Information Security: 9 guideline documents under e-Governance Security Assurance Framework (eSAFE) for implementation of ISO 27001 Digital Signature: Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) Interoperability guidelines will enable interoperability of DSC’s issued by various Certifying Authorities (CA). Guidelines for usage
14 of Digital Signatures in e-governance applications have also been published. Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance Framework to ensure quality in e-Governance. Two documents “Quality Assurance Framework” and “Conformity Assessment requirements” have been published. Website Design Guidelines compliant to Web Accessibility guidelines.
2.2.7 E-District
This project aims at providing support to the basic administrative unit i.e. “District Administration” by undertaking backend computerization to enable electronic delivery of high volume citizen centric government services which would optimally leverage and utilize the three infrastructure pillars of SWAN, SDC and CSCs to deliver services to the citizen at his doorstep. Initially certain high volume citizen centric services are taken up and thereafter new services can be added as the demand for more e-enabled services increase. Under this project, a set of 5 service categories are being implemented in all e-District Projects. These include (1) Issue of Certificates including birth, death, domicile, etc., (2) Social Welfare Schemes – including social welfare pensions (3) Services related to Revenue Court (4) Ration Card related services (5) RTI (Right to Information) services including redressal of grievances. In addition to these 5 service categories, State Governments based on the demand from citizens can choose to include additional 5 categories of citizen services which are not covered under any other MMP.
E-District Pilot Projects are being implemented in 41 districts of 16 States of the Country, and there have been many notable successes in service delivery to the citizens. To give an example, in the two pilot districts of Kerala, in just over six months since the scheme has been in implementation over 1 Lakh services have been delivered. The Government has also approved the Scheme for National Rollout of the e-District Pilot Project with an outlay of Rs. 1663.08 Crore. The guidelines regarding the National Rollout have been circulated to the various State Governments. The various states are in the process of submitting the DPRs for the national rollout of the e-District MMP in their states
2.2.8 Awareness and Communication
The success of NeGP hinges not only on accessibility and availability to the information and various services but also on awareness regarding the Programme, effective branding of NeGP and communication strategies that addresses the two. Concerted effort was made to create awareness about the National e-Governance Plan at national, state and grassroots level. NeGP Awareness and Communication (A&C) activities aim to Build NeGP as an umbrella/ corporate brand Create awareness about e-Governance services and service delivery points Expedite ownership/ stake of implementers into e-Governance/ NeGP
The following activities have been undertaken
15 Research a. Communications Needs Assessment exercise was carried out in June- July 2008 to gauge the practices, experiences, expectations and pain areas of citizens and government officials regarding Government/ Public services. 2000 respondents were contacted across 10 States covering 5 geographical zones: North (Haryana & Uttar Pradesh), East (Jharkhand & West Bengal), West (Gujarat & Maharashtra), South (Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh), and North-East (Assam & Tripura). b. Pre-testing of Content: Creative material for NeGP advertisements (TV, Radio, and Print) was pretested on 1200+ respondents across 5 States (Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu) in local languages.
Branding and media library a. NeGP logo and tagline were developed to facilitate brand building, recall, and connect back to e-Governance initiatives. b. NeGP-branded material & memorabilia e.g. Brochure, posters, mugs, bags etc. were developed c. Media library: e-Governance-related films on subjects such as NeGP/CSCs, e-Districts, MCA21, Telemedicine/CSCs, were produced
MASS MEDIA efforts during 2007-09 constituted a single burst of Print, TV, and Radio advertisements a. Print: i. NeGP Ads: Full-page ads in 13 languages were released on 11- Jan-09 and 14-Jan-09, and a half-page ad in 13 languages was released on 18-Jan-09, in 150+ newspapers each (national and regional dailies) across the Nation. b. TV: A total of 554 spots constituting 60 second and 40 second versions of NeGP TV commercials in 13 languages were telecast 5-15 Feb 09 (11 days) on 23 TV channels c. Radio: A total of 1727 spots, 60 seconds each, of NeGP radio commercials in 13 languages were broadcast 5-15 Feb 09 (11 days) on 38 radio stations
Rural outreach pilot Rural outreach enabled direct contact with residents in 2400 villages across 4 States (Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal) and 600 urban/ semi-urban slum clusters across 4 States (Gujarat, West Bengal, Haryana, Orissa), the total number of unique States being 5.
Advocacy workshops/ events Over 30 workshops across the country at national and State level in partnership with state government, Industry and CSOs
16 2.2.9 Citizen Engagement
As more and more projects are getting implemented under NeGP, an increasing need has been felt for wider and deeper participation of and engagement with all stakeholders especially public at large to ensure that citizen centricity is maintained in all projects. Also, as the government is considering enacting the Electronic Service Delivery Law, the possibility of e-Government projects becoming pervasive in all domains of public services is increasingly becoming a reality. It marks a paradigm shift in delivery of public and essential services – from human to technology based interfaces. The use of a technology interface for delivery of services throws up many challenges especially those related to management of change from human interface to technology interface, adoption of a particular technology, differential access to such services etc.
To enable and support this goal, a Citizen Engagement Framework for e- Governance Projects has been developed for ministries and departments to facilitate the voice and space for citizen participation in e-governance, especially for the weakest and the most marginalised sections of society for whom the e- Governance projects are created to serve the most.
2.2.10 Assessment
Assessment of e-Governance Projects
The DIT, as part of its overall e-Assessment strategy proposes to list, identify and assess e-Governance and ICT for Development (ICT4D) projects that provide any measure of e-Governance services, across India, to understand the impact, utility, sustainability, scalability and replicability of these projects. Two phases of Assessment studies have been carried out till date.These studies help in providing an overview of the areas in which positive or negative impact was felt by the users (citizens and businesses) after computerization. A benchmark has been established in key areas of impact indicating the extent of improvements realized in the cost of access of Government services, the quality of delivery of services and the governance dimension in the delivery of services through computerization. The assessments are done by third parties.
During Phase I of the Assessment, which was conducted between 2007- 08, Impact Assessment was carried out for three National projects (MCA 21, Income Tax and Passport Services) and three State level projects (Land Records, Property Registration and Transport) in 11 states. In the case of State level Projects, 11 market research agencies, each of which was assigned all the three projects in a given state, were engaged for the study. The survey for each project and in each state covered a sample of nearly 800 citizens for identified services across the state. In order to understand degree of change, Citizens’ experience of using the manual and computerized modes of delivery for each service was captured through surveys.
During Phase II of the Assessment, which was conducted between 2009- 10, projects covering four ULBs (JnNURM); collection of commercial taxes in five states and a base line survey for e-district program in five states were taken up in the 2nd phase.
17 IIM Ahmedabad was DIT’s knowledge partner for these studies
e-Readiness Assessment of States and Union Territories
The Department of Information Technology and the National Council for Applied Economic Research have collaborated in producing the India e- Readiness Reports since 2003. The focus of these reports has been to evaluate the ability of the state governments and union territories to pursue value creation opportunities and accompanying inclusive economic development, facilitated by ICT. Consequently, the DIT-NCAER reports/methodology, which is specific to India, emphasize on application of ICT based services to the served and underserved section of people and geographical areas. The e-Readiness assessment reports for 2006 and 2008 have been released.
2.2.11 Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Act
To speed up the process of enabling electronic delivery of public services to the citizens and for overcoming issues like resistance to change, systemic inertia, procedural hurdles, lack of transparency and legal impediments which hinder electronic delivery of services, it is proposed to enact the Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Act which would mandate provisioning of all public services compulsorily through electronic means from a specified date.
The Bill seeks to mandate within a period of five years from the date of the Bill coming into force, provisioning of all public services of the Central and State Government Ministries and the field formations and subordinate units of these Ministries compulsorily through electronic mode.
The Salient features of the draft Bill are
It shall be applicable to all Central and State Government Ministries, departments and field formations of Central and State Governments. Every Head of Department or field formations of Central or State Government including all the Secretaries to the Central or State Government, designated as competent authorities, will within a period of one hundred and eighty days of the EDS Act coming into force, publish all the public services of the department, agency or body which are to be delivered through electronic mode; Subsequently these competent authorities will review and re-publish on 1st January every year the following details related to the above list of public services to be delivered through electronic mode namely a. the date by which each such service shall be made available through electronic mode; b. the manner of delivery of such services and their service levels; c. the Grievance Redressal Mechanism available to any aggrieved person regarding non availability of Electronic services The competent authority while introducing services in electronic mode will also provide for assisted access to these electronic services An oversight mechanism has been provided for implementation and monitoring of this Act in the form of Central Electronic Service
18 Delivery Commission (CESDC) at the Central Government level and State Electronic Service Delivery Commission (SESDC) at the State Government level. The CESDC and SESDC can give directions to the departments of Central and State Governments regarding implementation of the EDS Act The CESDC or SESDC to be consulted by the Central or State Governments for any exemption related to non electronic delivery of any public service or extension of time period from 5 years to 8 years for electronic delivery of all public services. The various departments of Central and State Government will submit details regarding implementation of the EDS Act bill to the designated commissions Contravention of the provisions in this Act or the directions of the CESDC or SESDC shall attract penal provisions of the Act. Both the Central Government and State Government shall notify rules to carry out provisions of this Bill.
The first draft of the ESD Bill was uploaded on DIT’s website and circulated amongst stakeholders for views and suggestions on 7th February 2011. Comments received have been reviewed and a second draft was prepared after extensive discussions and consultations. This revised draft was thereafter circulated to various Central Government Departments and Ministries and the State Governments. Department of Information Technology also held a consultative meet on the EDS Bill on 18th July 2011, which was chaired by Shri Kapil Sibal, MoC&IT and was attended by Central Government Ministries, State Governments, Industry Associations, Industry, NGOs, Media and Civil Society Organisations. The draft EDS Bill has also been examined in detail by the Legislative Department and Department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Law and Justice of Government of India.
2.2.12 Mobile Governance
Considering the tremendous potential of mobile phones to expand the access to and reach of public services in India, DIT has taken an initiative to create a Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG) that will be integrated with the State Service Delivery Gateways (SSDGs) and the National Service Delivery Gateway (NSDG) and shall utilize the existing e-Governance infrastructure for delivery of services.
A Draft Consultation Paper on Mobile Governance Policy Framework was released for feedback and comments from all the stakeholders on 28.03.2011. DIT has conducted five rounds of public consultation with all the relevant stakeholders to elicit their views and comments on the proposed policy framework. CDAC has been assigned the responsibility of developing the MSDG that will enable delivery of public services through mobile devices. As part of MSDG, CDAC has launched the SMS Gateway services in Goa on 08.07.2011. Seven services on mobile platform have already been launched. Other components of MSDG, such as USSD, GPRS and IVRS shall be developed and launched by December 2011. A suite of around 25 applications for Government services will be developed by December 2011 and MSDG shall
19 be enabled for integration with all the MMPs for delivery of services through mobile devices by March 2012.
2.2.13 World Bank Funding
The Government of India and the World Bank on May 10, 2011 signed an agreement of US $ 150 million for ‘e-Delivery of Public Services Development Policy Loan’ under the National e-Governance Plan. The “e- Delivery of Public Services Development Policy Loan” will support NeGP’s countrywide plans of increasing online services for citizens in their locality, to improve the quality of basic governance in areas of concern to the common man. While this World Bank loan will not target specific services per se, it will support Government of India’s objective of increasing access to online services by citizens in their locality. It will do so through supporting policy and institutional actions, which place higher emphasis on coordination and increase outreach to citizens. The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 5-year grace period and a maturity of 18 years.
2.2.14 Mission Mode Projects
NeGP comprises of 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) encompassing nine (9) central MMPs, eleven (11) state MMPs and seven (7) integrated MMPs. MMPs are owned and spearheaded by various line ministries. State Governments are responsible for implementing State MMPs, under the overall guidance of respective Line Ministries in cases where Central Assistance is also required. DIT acts as the facilitator and catalyst for the implementation of NeGP and provides technical assistance to various Ministries / Departments and State Governments.
Of the 27 MMPs, except for 2 projects (Employment Exchange and e- Pri) all other MMPs have been approved. Of the 9 Central MMPs, 4 are in Post Implementation Stage (MCA21, Income Tax, Pensions, and Central Excise) and the remaining 5 are in implementation stage. Of the 7 Integrated MMPs, 1 MMP (India Portal) is in Post Implementation stage and the remaining 6 MMPs are in implementation stage. Of the 11 State MMPs, 9 MMPs are in implementation stage and the remaining 2 are in Design and Development stage.
DIT also acts as the Secretariat to the Apex Committee. As part of this responsibility DIT is required to present a dashboard view of the entire NeGP to the relevant authorities like Apex Committee, Planning Commission, and Prime Minister’s Office etc. In order to facilitate the above, DIT has been collecting information on the progress of the various MMPs from the different Line Ministries on a monthly basis which is then consolidated into a “Monthly Progress Report (MPR)” and submitted to the Cabinet Secretary. Progress on various Projects is regularly communicated in the form of a fortnightly report to the PMO. Considering the complexity of the Monitoring and Evaluation requirements, DIT conceptualized a Project Management Information System (PMIS). The PMIS ensures that the progress information is available systemically without being person dependent. Such a system can provide a real time status on the progress of any project and therefore for the programme on the whole.
20 In view of the complex requirements, it was decided to implement the PMIS in phases. It was also decided to implement the immediate requirements which could assist in simplifying the collection and monitoring of data as part of the Phase I of the project. Currently the phase I of the project has been rolled out since January, 2011.
3. Vision and Objectives of the Twelfth Five Year Plan
The Department of Information Technology has the following vision for the NeGP – 2006: “To make all Government services equally available and accessible to all citizens in a simplified, affordable and time bound manner and to reduce social and economic barriers by establishing a ubiquitous presence of ICT across all regions of the country” Whereas, some of the envisaged objectives has been achieved in the XIth Plan, but much more needs to be done to realize this vision. The main objectives of the Twelfth Five Year Plan are: To deliver all Government services in electronic mode so as to make the Government process transparent, citizen centric, efficient and easily accessible. To break information silos and create shareable resources for all Government entities To augment internal ICT and e-Governance capacities of Central and State Government Departments To leverage core infrastructure including optic fibre based connectivity to 250,000 Panchayats and the Common Service Centres to create the right Governance and service delivery ecosystem at the Panchayats To leverage the mobile ecosystem, to deliver both informational and transactional Government services over mobiles and promote innovation in mobile governance To build Shared Service Platforms to accelerate the adoption of e-Governance and reduce the “cycle time” of e-Governance project implementation To strengthen and improve sustainability of the existing projects through innovative business models and through continuous infusion of advanced technology To promote ethical use of technology and data and to create a safe and secure e- Governance cyber world To create an ecosystem that promotes innovation in ICT for Governance and for applications that can benefit the citizens To better target the delivery of welfare schemes of the Central and State Governments To reduce asymmetry in information availability, accessibility and ability to utilize the information To increase the all round awareness and create mechanisms that promotes and encourages citizen engagement. To make available as much data as possible in the public domain for productive use by the citizens
Major Recommendations for the Twelfth Five Year Plan
21 3.1 Institutional infrastructure
3.1.1 National Institute for e-Governance (NIG)
If adequate capacities are to be created at all levels of Government and in the society to leverage ICTs, an organizational framework at the Central, State and local levels is a must. Further, ad-hoc arrangements will not be adequate; planned structures will need to be put in place. Currently, there is no systematic way of imparting e- Governance training to Government employees, identifying relevant course content, developing and updating courses in tune with the changing technologies, ensuring availability of quality e-Governance trainers and ensuring that the vast knowledge acquired by individuals in e-Governance domain is disseminated. In order to enable large scale training efforts it is also necessary to put in place an organizational structure for training, content development and research and innovation in e-Governance.
Therefore, DIT proposes to setup a State of the Art National Institute for e- Governance (NIG) as an autonomous Institute in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. The primary focus of this institute will be to impart e-Governance related training to Government employees all year round. It will also act as the pioneering institute for e- Governance related research. NIG is envisaged to be created as a role model school of e-Governance which will deploy latest pedagogies to bring about radical change in employees attitude and acceptance of e-Governance and IT. NIG will be used for trainings and workshops planned under the capacity building scheme. NIG will also train at least 50 people from Central Government per year on Project Management Certification which is very crucial for the success of any e-Governance project.
The trainings would be offered at the Institute in house as well as through e- leaning courses. In order to give a thrust to e-Governance related training, incentivized certification programmes could be introduced. The Institute would also facilitate interaction with the faculty for expert and subject matter advice. NIG would not be limited to imparting e-Governance training only to Government employees. As an Institute par excellence in e-Governance, it would try to attract both national and international students and would impart short term courses in e-Governance. In order to promote e-Governance, NIG would establish partnerships with Post graduate institutions like the IIMs and offer electives in e-Governance to students. In order to keep abreast with the latest in e-Governance, NIG would identify successful and failed e-Governance initiatives on an ongoing basis, build a knowledge repository of cases and use them in the training and course content.
In addition to the training facility, NIG will house the following
Biometric Centre of Excellence
As the cyber world expands, more and more e-Governance applications will be faced with the challenge of uniquely identifying and authenticating the serviced individual and protecting every individual’s personal data. Advanced e- Governance applications, worldwide, use biometrics such as finger prints, IRIS etc. to uniquely identify and authenticate individuals. However, technological challenges related to accuracy, quality of image, speed and effectiveness persist. In order to ensure that biometric technologies become an enabler rather than a dampener, it is necessary to invest in biometric related research, identify feasibility of new and existing biometric technologies, create a human database
22 of biometric experts, set standards for biometrics, systemically counter ethical issues associated with biometrics through awareness, better equipments etc. A dedicated centre of excellence within NIG will give the required impetus to these initiatives and this centre will be responsible for research, promulgation, capture, storage & devices of biometrics for all sectors. It will also specify the best practices in order to ensure interoperability, vendor independence, conformance to standards and improved performance.
National Institute for Standards (NIS)
In order to promote Standards for interoperability it is required to create a National Institute for Standards (NIS) which would oversee the creation, promulgation and use of thousands of norms, standards and guidelines that directly impact governments in nearly every sector. This institute would also be mandated to facilitate the testing, assessment & conformance and training to the departments for the Standards and guidelines. This institute would have a dedicated pool of in house resources and would be responsible for the following
a. Development of Standards b. Consulting of Standards in various projects c. Certifying that a product, service or person conforms to the requirements of a standard. d. Publishing of standards in electronic and other diverse range of media e. Training f. Promoting Standardisation g. Using good regulatory principles and behave legally and ethically; h. Engaging with all stakeholders; i. Ensuring balance on committees and transparency of interests; j. Adhering to consensus and governance processes; k. Accrediting other Standards development organisations; and l. Continuous improvement.
Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) Cell
Business process Reengineering (BPR) is critical for success of e- Governance initiatives. However, BPR is highly complex. It is further compounded by the fact that most of the Government Departments lack the requisite will and skill set to carry out the BPR. Hence, it is proposed to create a dedicated cell within NIG only for BPR. This dedicated cell would work closely with the Line Departments as well as External Consultants right from Design phase of the project to handhold and ensure that adequate BPR is done. The BPR cell will assist the Line Departments to identify areas where processes could be re-engineered easily leading to “quick gains”. In other cases, where BPR is difficult due to varied reasons, the dedicated cell would assist the Line Departments to put in place a strategy to achieve the end state maturity. This cell would study national and international best practices and processes both in Government and private entities and identify means to introduce the same within the e-Governance projects.
23 Cyber Security Cell
In order to prevent cyber security breaches, ensure timely response and rapid recovery in the event of a cyber attack and to ensure users and administrators are given the appropriate training and education in cyber security related best practices, it is proposed to set up a dedicated cyber security cell within the NIG which will coordinate all such efforts to assure a secure, resilient and trustworthy ICT infrastructure for e-Governance.
Geographical Information System (GIS) Cell
In order to create the base GIS data, adequate GIS capacity needs to be augmented within the Government. However, creation of such capacity in each and every Department is neither practical nor feasible. Therefore, a GIS cell will be created within NIG.
This GIS cell will be responsible for the following Laying down the roadmap for the identification and adoption of GIS for each and every MMP being implemented under NeGP Identification of base GIS data, scale and applications needed for each MMP under NeGP Identification of the owners of base data and collection of the same. Laying down the guidelines and standards with respect to the metadata, quality and technical standards for data collection and maintenance Creation of a NeGP GIS platform Disseminating and adoption of NeGP GIS platform by the MMPs Capacity building and training of department personnel on GIS Co-ordination and Collaboration with the National GIS organization (as and when formed) for adoption of common standards, rules and procedures for seamless integration of NeGP GIS Platform with the National GIS Platform
3.1.2 State Level Institutions
A comprehensive program of institutional strengthening is needed to address the uneven progress in specific states as well as to re-orient officials to new ways of interacting with citizens. Hence, in addition to setting up of the NIG at the National Level, in the Twelfth Five Year Plan it is proposed to setup/ strengthen 25 State level Institutions on lines similar to NIG. The State level institutions will be the model institutes in e-Governance at the State level. Necessary infrastructure would be put in place in these institutes for training and local content development and research in e- Governance. The primary focus of the State institutes will be to impart e-Governance related training to State Government employees all year round. These institutes will employ the same pedagogies as the NIG and will be mentored by the NIG. These institutes would identify successful and failed e-Governance initiatives at the State level on an ongoing basis, build a knowledge repository of cases, use them in the training and course content and contribute to the NIG repository.
5 Regional GIS Centres on self sustainable model will be established in 5 State Level Institutions to adequately cover all the regions to implement and maintain the GIS/GPS and Remote Sensing application project for the spatial decision support system, service delivery and infrastructure/programme management in
24 the country. The centres would essentially address all aspects of end-to-end domain of GIS viz. GIS data and asset; GIS Apps; GIS Policies; GIS Training etc in the country. 5 Regional cyber security cells will be established within these institutions, to create greater awareness about cyber security issues, analyse regional cyber security needs and issues and create a secure e-Governance environment. Project Management Certification – Each Institute will train at least 10 people from State Government per year on Project Management Certification which is very crucial for the success of e-Governance projects.
3.1.3 Chief Information Officers (CIOs)
The Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) approved under NeGP, are generally headed by Joint Secretaries of the Departments with little help by way of specialized resources. DIT had issued guidelines for constituting dedicated project teams consisting of expert resources in the areas of Technology, Project Management, Change Management, Cyber Security and Legal Experts who would be available on full time basis at the individual Departments/ Line Ministries of the Government of India to assist the Mission Leaders of the MMP’s. However, this has not been made operational by the Ministries/Departments. Hence, in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, DIT plans to introduce CIOs in Ministries and Departments implementing large IT Projects and in the States/UTs methodically. The CIOs would be assisted by composite teams consisting of experienced professionals from the Government as well as from the market with expertise in various areas of Technology and management of large ICT/e-Governance projects. These CIOs would be created in a phased manner. Initially, CIOs will be setup in Ministries / Departments that are implementing MMPs under NeGP and Ministries/Departments that are making substantial investment in ICT in a phased manner. 3.1.4 International Collaboration
In order to showcase India’s experience as well as success stories in e- Governance and to learn from the experience of the other Countries, greater international collaboration is required. Compared to a few advanced countries, India has embarked on the e-Governance journey at a much later stage and hence could be greatly benefitted from the learning and experiences of these countries. Compared to a few other countries, India has made substantial progress in the e-Governance domain and can not only help these countries in their endeavour but also facilitate creation of business opportunities for the Indian ICT Industry in these countries. Hence, DIT proposes to give a greater focus to international collaboration both to learn from others and to share its own experiences with e-Governance with others.
In the Twelfth Five Year Plan, DIT proposes to increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation through platforms such as SAARC, Commonwealth, and Joint Working Groups and so on. DIT proposes to further enhance Bilateral development cooperation which is focused on over 25 priority countries in Middle East regions, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America, etc. Interaction with various multilateral forums like WTO, UN and its Bodies etc.
DIT proposes to organize and participate in Exchange Programmes, Joint Workshops and Trainings periodically. Diversified representation from Central and State Government agencies for these international programmes is envisaged.
25 3.2 Enterprise architecture
IT is an enabler to achieve a business or strategic goal. IT cannot be looked at in isolation. The role of IT in e-Governance is also that of an enabler, as the basic goal is to improve delivery of public services. Enterprise architecture (EA) is a conceptual framework that will align IT with the business. It basically combines four perspectives – business, application, data and technology thereby giving an enterprise wide view of the structure and operation. EA helps to break silos, leads to optimum utilization of resources, maps business and strategic intent of an organization with the various initiatives and makes the organization agile as it is always aware of its assets. E- Governance projects in India lack a uniform EA i.e. a uniform way of identifying the different perspectives and the components that make those perspectives. An EA framework for e-Governance would help in identification and replication of common processes and standards, facilitate BPR in common processes, identification of common technology elements and so on.
An integrated and unified e-Governance Service Delivery Framework (eSDF) for the Government will support the information flow between the disparate Systems maintained by individual ministries and departments.
eSDF would provide a comprehensive approach for designing, planning, implementation, and governance of an enterprise information architecture. It will also provide a holistic approach to design, which would be modelled at four levels: Business, Application, Data, and Technology. It will give a well-tested overall starting model to information architects, which can then be built upon by each project. It will rely heavily on modularization, standardization and usage of already existing, proven technologies and products. The four pillars of Enterprise Architecture are described below
Business architecture or business process architecture will define the business strategy, governance, organization, and key business processes of the organization Applications architecture will provide a blueprint for the individual application systems to be deployed, the interactions between the application systems, and their relationships to the core business processes of the organization with the frameworks for services to be exposed as business functions for integration. Data architecture will describe the structure of an organization's logical and physical data assets and the associated data management resources which would available to everyone for use. Technical architecture or technology architecture will describe the hardware, software and network infrastructure needed to support the deployment of core, mission-critical applications
In the twelfth five year plan, the following is proposed to be created under the eSDF
Overall Framework including that of Data Architecture Platform and tools to optimize the functions of the Departments Dashboard to promote and track sharing and usage of data, process & infrastructure
26 3.3 Open data platform
Data and information are recognized at all levels as valuable resources. Availability and accessibility of data and information in the public domain, leads to analysis and interpretation of data and information in a wide ranging manner not comprehended by the collectors of such data and information. Government organizations have large reservoirs of data and information generated through public funds. Most of this data is non-sensitive in nature and can be used by public for scientific, economic and developmental purposes.
Section 4(1) of the ‘Right to Information’ Act, 2005 obligates public authorities in India (except Jammu & Kashmir) to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated. Although the RTI Act, 2005 makes it implicit that all appropriate records should be computerized and made accessible through a network all over the country on different systems within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, it does not explicitly or implicitly state that such records should be accessible in a machine readable form. Hence, the stipulation under the RTI Act, 2005 is inadequate to facilitate analysis of data unless the data is made available in machine readable form.
With the web 2.0 becoming a latest mode of participative mechanism of information sharing it is essential that the e-Governance infrastructure should also use the best practices of web 2.0 to make its services delivery more citizen centric and participative.
Also, evidence-based Planning of socio-economic development processes rely on quality data. There is a general need to facilitate sharing and utilization of the large amount of data generated and residing among the entities of the Government of India. This would call for a policy to leverage these data assets which are disparate. However, the current regime of data management does not enable open sharing of Government owned data with other arms of the government nor does it expect proactive disclosure of sharable data available with data owners. Such regimes could lead to duplication of efforts and loss of efficiency of planning of activities focused on national development. Efficient sharing of data among data owners and inter and intra governmental agencies and with public calls for data standards and interoperable systems. DST, along with DIT, has been drafting the National Data Sharing and Access Policy (NDSAP) which aims to provide an enabling provision and platform for providing proactive and open access to the data generated through public funds available with various departments / organizations of Government of India.
The objective of NDSAP is to facilitate the access to Government of India owned shareable data and information in both human readable and machine readable forms through a network all over the country in a proactive and periodically updatable manner, within the framework of various related policies, Acts and rules of Government of India, thereby permitting a wider accessibility and use of public data and information.
In the Twelfth Five Year Plan, DIT proposes to create the requisite platform that would enable data generated using public funds to be placed in the open domain. Additionally, managing an open data policy entails many activities beyond simply
27 creation of a data hosting platform. There will be issues relating to data standards, pricing, privacy, security, national and international concerns etc. This will require a well defined institutional framework at the Central level and also in all the data contributing departments. DIT will need to take up additional responsibilities as it is already responsible for e-Governance Standards and it is also coordinating with the central and State Government Departments for the implementation of the NeGP.
An Open Data platform benefits all the government departments in the cost effective delivery of the core services that support their programs and missions. This platform will allow departments to participate in the first place, but as importantly it also provides the necessary infrastructure for the efficient, faster delivery of their data to other agencies, citizens and other developers. Open Data as a platform is a win/win: by equipping departments with an Open Data platform they become empowered and enabled to share data, more cost effective delivery of services to their core constituents in support of their own department programs and missions.
Once the data is available in open platform tools can be created for data mining and business and social data analytics. It is also expected that this facility will allow innovators, developers and entrepreneurs to create mash-able applications on top of the data made available and provide applications on mobile phones that will offer various public and business services to citizens.
3.4 Innovation and R&D fund
In the present knowledge era, innovation is a key to a successful economic growth. With the creation of the necessary infrastructure for delivery of Government services to the last mile it is important that maximum benefits are realized out of this infrastructure. Projects relating to inter alia innovative use of ICTs, delivery of unique ICT enabled services or innovative use of existing ICT infrastructure to deliver specific G2C and G2B services which otherwise may be difficult to deliver. DIT will be encouraging Central and State Ministries, Line Departments and Agencies, Local Government Administrative bodies, Educational and Research Institutions, Incubating and Start up companies etc. to submit innovative projects in this regard. Under the Twelfth Five Year Plan, in order to give a boost to such innovation and entrepreneurship in the ICT domain, DIT proposes to create two funds specifically for the promotion of e-Governance and mobile Governance.
E-Governance Innovation Fund
It has been observed that India lags behind many of the other countries in terms of the number of entrepreneurs in the ICT domain. There is a need to support entrepreneurs in the development of creative and innovative solutions which could be used by the Government of India to deliver better citizen services across sectors through the use of ICT. Hence, an e-Governance Innovation Fund is proposed to be created through initial support by DIT in the form of “Grants-In-Aid”. Gradually, the fund is expected to attract funds through private participation as well as from the returns of earlier investments. This fund will be used to provide entrepreneurs with incubation infrastructure, Seed Money or early stage/ angel funding, venture funding and other necessary support.
28 A specific percentage of this Fund will be set aside to provide assistance to incubation and entrepreneurship centres in the Universities / Colleges to promote and advance innovation in the e-Governance domain. DIT would identify and partner with leading graduate and post graduate Public Institutions / Universities and provide them with project based funding.
An independent jury comprising of experts in e-Governance domain both from the Government and the private sector will recommend concepts / solutions for funding and for rewarding the successful entrepreneurs.
Mobile Governance Innovation Fund
Providing adequate financial and institutional support to various agencies to foster creativity and innovation in developing appropriate applications for mobile based delivery of public services is very important. It is proposed that DIT shall take the initiative in creating a Mobile Governance Innovation Fund to support the development of suitable applications by Government departments and agencies and also by third party developers. The Fund shall be created and managed by DIT for a minimum period of three years. The objective of this fund will be to accelerate the development and the mainstreaming of mobile applications across the entire spectrum of public services. To achieve this objective, the scheme will recognise and reward innovations in mobile applications and support the development and rapid deployment of applications that address specific challenges in the delivery of public services and effective management of Government programs through mobile devices.
Various Government departments and agencies shall communicate their priorities based upon which proposals shall be invited for innovative applications to address specific needs and priorities of those departments and agencies. The financial support under this Fund shall be provided by DIT through a transparent evaluation of the proposals received in this regard. The appropriate institutional mechanisms for implementing this scheme shall be formulated by DIT.
3.5 Business Process Re-Engineering
Business process re-engineering (BPR) has provided a powerful impetus for innovation in the public sector and has served as a tool for radically improving the quality of public services provision in a number of countries. BPR can be instrumental in attaining the objectives of administrative reform, with its focus on results-oriented governance, streamlining the range of government services, increasing inter-agency interaction and raising the government’s accountability. Carefully implemented BPR has been an integral part of e-government programs on the national and local levels, especially of those involving the transition to single-window electronic services’ delivery based on integration of information systems operated by multiple agencies. It has been a best practice internationally to undertake a careful analysis and redesign of business processes before committing any major investments into ICT in a government agency or department. BPR involves redefining / simplifying the existing processing by weeding out the redundant steps or by adding new steps or through innovative changes. Technology could be a major enabler in BPR. In e-Governance Projects, significant opportunity for BPR exists in the ways in which citizens approach the Government for services,
29 backend processing is done and the services are ultimately delivered. New and innovative ways in which services (application forms) are made accessible and finally delivered to the citizens can be a small but powerful change in the process. Similarly, opportunity for BPR exists in redefining the application forms to collect only incremental information from citizens at least for repeat services with the Departments themselves accessing the earlier collected information from their database rather than requiring the citizen to produce that information again and again. Internal process can be optimized and made efficient through BPR. GPS devices etc. can be used for collection of data at the last mile. All this can significantly improve data infrastructure to get early and accurate data for real time decision making. However, most of the departments find it difficult to undertake BPR because of non availability of common technology platforms. Hence, in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, DIT proposes to identify common processes, conduct BPR studies and create common platforms for sharing of the processes. Opportunity for BPR in domains such as skill matching by creating an inventory of skill sets and jobs available etc. will be explored. DIT also proposes to create institutional structure in the form a BPR cell under the National Institute for e-Governance (as already mentioned in Section 3.1.) for supporting Central and State Departments in BPR and help them implementing the re- engineered Processes.
3.6 Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Act
One reason for the slow adoption of electronic services has been that currently, there is no legislation that makes electronic delivery mandatory for priority public services or any mandatory timeline for transforming public services. Key institutional aspects of the introduction of e-service delivery have not been set out in formal legislation such as the role, functions and responsibilities of different government organizations, the mechanism for coordination across government, the definition of an oversight mechanism, and the relevant financial arrangements. There are also a range of policy issues that could be appropriately laid out in legislation such as strategic control for statutory and sovereign functions of government, digital security, and data protection. The IT Act of 2000 has already established the use of electronic records, signatures, and communications, and the Indian Penal Code and the Evidence Act have been amended to make these enforceable. The Right to Information Act, 2005 has made government departments responsible to create, store and retrieve government documents in electronic form. But there needs to be a stronger legislative foundation for the major transformation of service delivery anticipated through NeGP to commit government agencies to the necessary reforms and to establish a common framework for the entire initiative. Since e-governance goes far beyond technology, cooperation from other ministries and State governments will be necessary for implementing the provisions of any act. Accordingly, as has already been indicated under Section 2.2.11, that to speed up the process of enabling electronic delivery of public services to the citizens and for overcoming issues like resistance to change, systemic inertia, procedural hurdles, lack of transparency and legal impediments which hinder electronic delivery of services, it is proposed to enact the Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Act. The Bill seeks to mandate within a period of five years from the date of the Bill coming into force, provisioning of all public services of the Central and State Government Ministries and the field formations and subordinate units of these Ministries compulsorily through electronic mode. This Bill will get implemented in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. Success in implementation of this Bill lies in creating an adequate oversight mechanism and
30 providing hand holding and application development support to both Central and State Line Ministries in automating their service delivery. Hence, for the effective implementation of this Bill in the Twelfth Five Year Plan funding is required as An appellate authority in the form of the Central Electronic Service Delivery Commission (CESDC) at the Central Government level and State Electronic Service Delivery Commission (SESDC) at the State Government level to monitor implementation, prescribe penalties for non-compliance, and adjudicate disputes and resolve complaints needs to be setup. The Electronic Delivery of Public Services Act will lay the basis for a gradual, nationwide improvement in computerization and online delivery of government services in all States and UTs. The common timetable set by the act will encourage less advanced agencies to implement their MMPs. It will make public officials accountable for achieving benchmarks of e-service availability and quality. It will empower citizens to demand and receive quality services and to hold officials accountable for not doing so. In order to achieve these objectives it is envisaged that DIT will support State Governments and Ministries/departments for implementation of e-Governance projects. Assistance will be given to every Central Government Department in delivering at least one Service in electronic mode and every State Government in delivering at least three Services in electronic mode apart from the services which are already identified in the MMPs under NeGP.
3.7 Shared Services Platform
It is important to integrate Government services with inter-operable standards with convergence across departments breaking the silos and duplication of meta-data and processes and divisions between the technical /operational side and between field and secretariat. The concept of networking of organizations and information systems, with public administration functioning on a networked horizontal structural base, marking a departure from hierarchical command structures is the future administrative roadmap. Advanced and virgin technologies like cloud computing etc. which has tremendous potential of integrating services for single window delivery needs to be explored.
Technologies like Cloud Computing etc. offer a new paradigm of shared services infrastructure that has potential to create new generation data centres through consolidation of compute, network and storage power. Shared services result in saving of computer resources and their procurement time and lead to faster delivery of e- governance services to citizens. Under the Twelfth Five Year Plan, shared services infrastructure would be created at national and state levels. National Implementation Utilities (NIUs) will be setup to provide services on demand.
National Shared Services Platform
National Shared services infrastructure will be used for Hosting m-governance infrastructure and gateway which will route the mobile requests to the departments providing back end services. Hosting e-payment gateway as a common service which can be used by the various government departments for collection of service and transaction charges in their e-Governance applications. Creating a common Call centres for e-Governance; a single number can be given to citizens to get information of public services. Depending
31 upon the state from where the service is available, the call can be routed there. Thus for a citizen a single interface can be provided. Software development environments, as a shared service, can be offered to different government departments allowing them to develop and test their applications on them, thereby, resulting in time and cost savings.
National Grid of States
SDCs are being setup in all the States. The resources at the SDCs could be combined for usage of various Departments of the States. It is also very likely that the computing and storage resources of some of the SDCs are heavily utilized whereas in case of some others they are sparsely utilized. The compute and storage resources of all the SDCs can be combined to create a National Grid of compute and storage resources. Depending upon the actual utilization, the application of one State can be deployed in SDC of other State. Such a National grid of shared resources will enable one SDC to host applications of several other states, thereby laying the foundation of multi tenancy architecture. It will result in better utilization of compute resources at a national level. Testing tools of different types which are used for testing e-governance applications can be hosted on National grid for testing of State level applications.
Disaster Recovery
Creating multiple and passive disaster recovery does not make sense in the new technology area. The compute resources at the Disaster recovery sites lie largely idle except when there is a disaster. A massive shared infrastructure for disaster would lie mostly idle as disaster is very unlikely to strike all primary sites at the same time. Hence, possibility of using the compute infrastructure at these disaster recovery sites needs to be explored. Innovative applications and monitoring devices need to be developed that can assist in optimally using resources of the disaster site through probabilistic models.
Since shared services technologies are still largely new and unexplored, there are concerns related to Security and Identity Management, Privacy and Trust, Interoperability and Portability, Data Management, Governance and Standards. However, giving a push to such new technologies is likely to open new areas of opportunities for next generation of IT professionals and India to become a global leader.
National GIS Platform for e-Governance
In the current times, decision makers need large volumes of data to be readily available, tools to analyse the data quickly and accurately and the ability to overlay data on a set of co-related parameters. Traditional means of collecting and storing data makes them highly inaccessible, takes a lot of time for retrieval, leads to limited and inaccurate analysis and most importantly makes it impossible to overlay related factors thereby severely affecting the quality of the decisions and actions. GIS is the foolproof tool available for extracting, managing, and analysing spatial data in juxtaposition with attributes for solving complex managerial problems, thereby enabling better decisions on the critical
32 issues. GIS can accommodate data from various sources such as GPS, Remote Sensing, Total Station based survey data, etc.
Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) essentially integrates map and tabular data in GIS environment. Alpha-Numeric Decision Support System has slowly shifted to Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) since the availability of Remote Sensing data, which has the capability of providing up-to-date data on the area of study. Spatial Decision Support has matured to another dimension to capture spatial data through GPS Survey.
A number of countries have realized the potential of GIS as a decision support system. These countries have realized that the collection of similar GIS data independently by multiple agencies has huge cost and time implications. Also, GIS data is not a static data. It is highly dynamic and maintenance of similar copies of data by multiple agencies adds up to the overall cost. In addition to this, there are operational issues in updating the data on a periodic basis. Even when these organizations are able to setup mechanisms to update data and define periodicity of updating the data, the trust on these systems is low because of multiple agencies having similar data, which is time-different.
Despite the above mentioned roadblocks, GIS has a very important role to play in improving delivery of Public Services. It will not be long before decision makers will need the potential of GIS to help them in delivering public services. Hence, under the Twelfth Five Year Plan, DIT is planning to create Enterprise GIS Framework and a GIS platform for MMPs under NeGP.
3.8 National APPS Store
The iPhone Apps Store is a wonderful example of how a platform could promote the development of thousands of applications by individuals / third parties. Many a time, developers lack a platform to reach the consumers and the consumers are unable to find the applications which are useful to them. In order to facilitate both the developers of e-Governance products and its consumers including Government, business and citizens to discover each other, it is proposed to create a National Apps store in the form of a portal. The purpose of this National Apps Store will be two fold To be a download repository of software tools. Commonly used proprietary and open source applications will be available for download from this Store by Government employees. In the case of licensed applications, adequate security mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that license agreements are not violated. To provide a platform that encourages individual developers to develop their own products – proprietary or open source for community good and needs. Such products could be priced or provided free of cost from this platform depending upon the purpose and the business model of the developer. This portal will a. Assist developers to market their applications to Government, business and citizens b. Assist Government Departments to search applications that meet their specific requirements, to test the applications for a limited period to evaluate its suitability to their business objectives, evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO) for an application or multiple applications available within the store for a specific requirement etc.
33 c. Reduce the time taken by the Government Departments to deliver a service electronically to the citizens as third party developers could assess the business opportunity and create futuristic applications. The Store will be one of biggest boosters in the implementation of the EDS Act. d. Enable developers to assess the demand for a particular application – mostly value added applications and create such applications. e. Open up an entire market of downstream applications in e-Governance. Government only needs to create upstream applications
This National Apps Store will host both web based and mobile based applications.
E-Governance Apps Store
The e-Governance Apps Store will host web based e-Governance applications. Such applications can be downloaded by Government, business and citizens and installed on the servers / client machines or executed through their browsers. In order to populate the Store initially the Government would provide funding support for the development of a few applications. One example of such application could be development of software to track administration of polio drops. Once developed, this application will be made available on the apps store. The CSCs can then download the application from the apps store and install it on their local machines. The Health workers responsible for administering the Polio drops could also download and install the application if they have the requisite infrastructure. The actual information of the infants who have been administered the polio drops in a particular polio drive could be recorded either by the Health workers themselves or through the CSCs. Next time onwards the list of earlier administered infants could be generated and made sure that none of the earlier ones are missed out. The availability of an initial database would then create the enabling environment for the development of value added applications such as those for providing the overall status of the infants vaccinated, for gauging the success and improving the effectiveness of such drives, for identification of locations which need extra efforts, and for planning the future drives.
Mobile Apps Store
It is proposed that a mobile applications (m-apps) store be created to facilitate the process of development of suitable applications for delivery of public services through mobile devices. The m-apps store shall be integrated with the MSDG and shall use the MSDG infrastructure for deployment of such applications. It is proposed that the store will be developed based upon service oriented architecture and cloud based technologies using open standards as far as practicable. The applications themselves can be developed and deployed by Government departments and agencies or by third party developers through an appropriate PPP model. The m-apps store shall be created, owned, and managed by DIT or an agency nominated by it.
3.9 Mobile Governance
34 Mobile governance holds tremendous potential for improving the access to and delivery of public services in India. The huge potential of m-Governance in the country arises from a number of factors: The rapidly expanding subscriber base of mobile phone users in India can help in accelerating the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) for improving governance and ushering in inclusive development. As on 31st May 2011, the number of mobile phone subscribers in India stood at 840.28 million and the mobile teledensity was 70.23%. Out of the total subscribers, the share of rural subscribers was 33.98%. The total subscriber base of mobile phone users is projected to grow to one billion by 2012. The relevance of mobile devices as a medium for delivery of public services is also evident when we compare the subscriber base of mobile phones to that of the internet. The total number of broadband subscribers (with minimum connection speeds of 256 Kbps) was only 12.12 million as on 31 May 2011. Wide access to mobile phones in the country has made it an ideal platform for Government to citizen interface, especially in the rural areas. Though most of the handsets currently available in the country are low-end with only text and SMS capability, handset vendors in India are increasingly producing low-cost handsets with GPRS and other similar technologies and, in some cases, even 3G featured in them. This has helped in expanding the reach of modern mobile technologies such as GPRS and 3G to a large number of people opting for these handsets. This has also made it possible to deliver public services using these technologies in addition to the SMS-based services.
In the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the mission that is envisaged to be achieved through m-Governance is to make public services available to all the residents of India through a mobile platform that is available 24x7 on anytime anywhere basis. In order to leverage the potential of mobile devices as the main service delivery platform, following policy initiatives are proposed:
Making all Government Web Sites Mobile Compliant
The Government of India will support a “One Web” approach to Government web sites. “One Web” means making, as far as possible, the same information and services available to users, irrespective of the device or the browser they are using. This means that the mobile device compatibility of all the Government web sites should be ensured. It is proposed that standards for mobile-based accessibility of central and state Government web sites be established and best practice guidelines for enabling mobile access to these sites be followed. Some of the guidelines that may be adopted in this regard are provided below:
a) Central and State Government websites should consistently enable mobile site access as new sites are designed and implemented. Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-mobile-bp-20080729 may be referred to while formulating standards for enabling mobile web access. b) All Government agencies should use mobile optimized content as a primary method for device support, with device specific style sheets as appropriate. It may be noted that in some smartphones not much effort may be required to render a usable web site on the device.
35 c) Mobile web site access should be supported by CSS specific files for major smartphone devices using any of several device detection methods such as the Wireless Universal Resource File (WURFL) at http://wurfl.sourceforge.net to redirect to specific mobile implementations. Other types of web enabled mobile devices, when detected, should degrade gracefully to text based CSS implementations for less capable devices. d) Specialized website addresses for mobile sites should be avoided in preference to using standard web addresses. As an example, a single URL address “www.india.gov.in” should render the website on a computer browser or a mobile device through a dedicated script that is capable of detecting the device used and redirect to the corresponding content structure. e) The Government websites should take into consideration constrained resources for bandwidth, screen size, colour, and resolution peculiar to mobile devices. f) The Government websites, before being made live for public use, should be tested for mobile website implementations in as many targeted devices and simulators as is practicable.
Creation of Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG)
The mobile applications for Government services envisaged under the proposed policy framework will offer an opportunity for “anytime, anywhere” service delivery to support the range of programs implemented by various Government departments, e.g. in health, education, agriculture, rural development, etc. It is therefore recommended that a Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG) be developed and maintained by a suitable agency under DIT.
The Proposed MSDG will act as a managed technical infrastructure to accelerate rapid and low-cost development, testing, deployment, provisioning, and maintenance of various m-Governance applications. The objective of creating MSDG is to create a Government-wide shared infrastructure and services to enable the rapid and inexpensive development, mainstreaming and deployment of m-Gov services. It will enhance the interoperability among various government services as well as reduce the total cost of operation of m- Gov services by providing a common pool of resources, aggregating demand for communication and e-Gov services, and act as a platform for various Government departments and agencies to test, rapidly deploy, and easily maintain m-Gov applications and provide mobile based services across the country. Provided below is a list of key, but not exhaustive, functionalities of the proposed MSDG:
a) MSDG will serve as the managed technical infrastructure to support m-Gov applications across the Government departments and agencies in India. It would include facilities such as hardware and software needed to test and deploy m-Gov applications, the connectivity options for the residents to apply for and receive Government services through the mobile devices irrespective of the mobile operator they are subscribed to. b) MSDG will also have an integrated channel for delivering IVR based services to the residents who wish to access e-Government services through voice mode. c) The facility to use MSDG will be available for use to any Government ministry, department or agency that wishes to provide mobile based e-Gov
36 services to its users, thus eliminating the need for individual Government agencies to develop their own mobile governance infrastructure. d) MSDG infrastructure will support the delivery of both voice and data services and content in a network and device independent manner, reaching the largest number of potential users. In addition, MSDG will offer shared tools (data collection, helpdesk services, APIs, SDKs) to the Government departments and agencies that wish to deploy mobile applications for public services. e) The MSDG architecture will be modular and will have capabilities for secure service provision, controlled access and scalability. Special modules and development tools will be made available so that various Government agencies can add or remove their services, test new applications through a separate interface thus ensuring that the overall functionality of MSDG is not affected. f) The MSDG will have a provision for metered access so that the various agencies and partners of MSDG can account for the ‘for fee’ services based upon the actual delivery of services. g) The MSDG will be developed in such a manner that it readily connects to and integrates with the National Service Directory, NSDG, SSDGs and other existing IT systems and infrastructures deployed under NeGP, and have APIs to permit connection with the users’ IT systems in the future. h) MSDG will be integrated with the existing mobile payment systems currently prevailing in the country. Additionally, the feasibility of having a dedicated payment gateway to receive payments through mobile devices for Government services shall be examined for integration in the subsequent phase. i) The MSDG will be primarily owned by DIT, its agencies or any other organization as may be decided by DIT.
Development and Notification of Standards for Mobile Applications
The standards for mobile applications will be developed and notified by DIT. The standards shall aim at ensuring the interoperability of applications across various operating systems and devices to the extent possible. The application providers will be encouraged to adopt these standards.
Notification of Long Codes, Short codes and m-Gov Number for Mobile Governance
It is proposed to have pre-designated numbers, long and short codes that will be uniform across the telecom operators and states. All the telecom operators will be required to allow the delivery of government services through these pre-designated numbers, long codes and short codes. Interactive IVR and SMS based interfaces will be made available through the MSDG for serving the diversified needs of residents irrespective of the language they use or their literacy levels.
Development of Knowledge Portal and Knowledge Management Framework for Mobile Governance
Mobile Government is in a nascent stage in India. In order to enhance the absorptive as well as the service provision capacities of various stakeholders in
37 mobile governance, it is proposed that a state of the art knowledge portal and knowledge management framework shall be developed and deployed that acts as a platform for awareness generation and dissemination.
3.10 Social Inclusion
India is already amongst the world’s fastest growing democracy with the Indian economy growing at an unprecedented rate of 8.5% in these past seven years1. However, the question still remains whether the growth has been and will be socially inclusive2 whereby it benefits the have-nots and reduces disparities.
A recent OECD report3 suggesting that income inequality is increasing in most industrialized countries as a result of globalization and technological progress that requires greater skills from workers may have a lesson in point.
Though the said report deals with statistics and challenges faced in far more developed economics, many underlying issues are common with India. Since India is relatively new to the knowledge economy, but has the advantage of the possible leapfrogging some of the challenges, we may seek to learn from the OECD experience and initiate action to ensure social inclusion. The solution to the growing inequality has been suggested as training and education for the low-skilled. “Policies that invest in human capital of the work force are needed”, the report concludes.
In fact, the endogenous growth economists believe that improvements in productivity can be linked directly to a faster pace of innovation and extra investment in human capital. Human capital is the formal education, training and on-the-job learning embodied in the workforce. The concept of human capital4 differs from that of the material capital in the sense that it cannot be bought or procured the same way material capital can be. It can be developed only by way of research, education, the technical workforce, scientific discovery and innovation.
Thus in the Twelfth Five Year Plan improving education and training at the lowest levels of economy, which would include imparting improved vocational training, would be an important component of the initiatives towards social inclusion. It is also necessary to improve targeting and implementation of social welfare schemes such as MGNREGA, PDS and Pensions. While the former would require facing challenges of visibility and awareness, the latter have issues linked with leakages.
Modern technological tools including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) could be used to great advantage for addressing both these aspects.
To enable social inclusion, in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the following initiatives will be undertaken
1 PM’s remarks at the Second Anniversary of UPA-II Government on May 22, 2011, available at http://pmindia.nic.in/speech/content4print.asp?id=1057 2 “Social inclusion” broadly refers to the policies aimed at strengthening the capacities of individuals and entire communities of people by improving their access to rights, opportunities and resources (e.g. education, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation and due process) that are easily available to more privileged members of society and which are key to social integration. 3 OECD (2008), Growing Unequal? : Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries; As per the report, inequalities of income (in terms of Gini coefficient) in OECD countries were higher in mid-2000s than in mid-1980s. 4 Ministry of Labour, Finland [http://www.mol.fi/english/information-society1.html]
38 E-Learning opportunities and skill development
a. Most e-Learning courses being incubated by Universities and institutions like C-DAC are not tailored to the needs of rural community, who faces challenges due to language, awareness as well as absence of such learning opportunities tailored to their needs. AICTE and Ministry of Human Resources Development should actively focus on content creation and structuring courses to address the aspirations of rural youth. As a channel of outreach to such communities, CSC network could be used. However, the capacity of CSCs will need adequate enhancement – by way of both sufficient connectivity/bandwidth availability at the Panchayat level and training/availability of trainers – to undertake such course/content dissemination.
b. It is also important to enhance and strengthen the infrastructure and capacity of existing institutions (e.g. schools) to undertake e-learning activities. Efforts would be made to ensure that every school going child has access to Internet. A Portal may also be developed along with awareness and communication campaign in respect of such content and delivery channels.
c. Besides content and course creation, it is also important to encourage development and distribution of innovative and appropriate low cost devices (e.g. low cost ipads) which would enable improvement in e-Literacy and empowerment of citizens/students across the country including rural areas. Government may provide funding support for such innovation.
d. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is to skill/upskill 150 million people in India including persons from rural areas by the year 2022, mainly by fostering private sector initiatives in skill development programmes and providing viability gap funding. NSDC would cover skills from the organized as well as from the un-organized sector. However, it is important to identify and develop databank of the skill gaps taking into account the trends in demand, both in the organized and un-organised sectors, through standardized survey formats wherein ICT and CSCs could be very effective; and modular employable skills are identified for the purposes of content creation and for delivery through e-learning mode.
e. Basic IT training may be targeted to at least one person per family across the country. At least 50% of the families may be targeted for such training in the XII Plan period. In particular, DOEACC as a training agency may launch IT based skill development initiatives aimed at hilly States and difficult terrains of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and north eastern states.
Financial inclusion
a. The RBI roadmap for financial inclusion aims to reach about 72,800 villages of above 2000 population by March 2012. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the apex body to regulate and develop the pension sector, has introduced NPS-Lite which specifically targets the economically disadvantaged sections of society and promotes small savings during their productive life.
39 b. The Government and the Regulatory Agencies should consider incorporation of the Common Services Centres (CSC) network established in the rural areas across India, under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) into their planning for financial inclusion. It may inter alia be mandated that all the CSCs shall act as Banking Correspondents (BCs).
c. ICT solutions may also incorporate interoperability across banking and other financial channels as an integral component.
d. All Government fund transfers under the social sector schemes such as MGNREGA5 may be carried out to the intended ultimate beneficiaries through use of IT and mobile technology.
Health
a. The high cost of tele-medicine equipment has been a hindrance in scaling up tele-medicine initiatives at grassroots level. The Government may enable suitable business models, including viability gap funding, which improve viability of tele-medicine solutions and enable leveraging ICT for improving diagnostic and remote health access to village level. This holds enormous opportunities for rural and remote areas including hill states where the geographical terrain poses challenges in expanding health care access . Localized content
a. In our country, English Language is the primary medium used for information technology and telecommunication including internet, mobiles, etc. Majority of our population remain excluded thereby. It is important that the local language is given due importance and the entire IT eco-system made citizen-friendly. Voice based research/facilities may also be encouraged in a significant way. A repository of knowledge and services by local people may be created through CSCs along the lines of the Ente Gramam model6 of Kerala.
e-Infrastructure
a. The entire ICT infrastructure should seek to synergize and leverage on the common e-infrastructure created under NeGP for social inclusion through both online and offline means.
3.11 Citizen Engagement
As the government is incorporating ICTs into the delivery of G2C services, there are limited embedded mechanisms to facilitate the voice and space for participation in e-governance. This is especially true for the weakest and the most marginalised sections of society for whom the e-Governance projects are created to serve the most.
5 Ref. to the Interim Report of the task Force on Direct Transfer of Subsidies on LPG, Petroleum and Kerosene Submitted to Finance Minister which recommends an Implementable Solution in a phased manner as well as a Core Subsidy management platform (CSMS), available at http://finmin.nic.in/reports/Interim_report_Task_Force_DTS.pdf 6 For details ref http://www.facebook.com/entegramam or http://entegramam.blogspot.com/
40 The problem is compounded by High Rural Population – making outreach and determination of service access point difficult Low Literacy Rates – necessitating Assisted Access model of service delivery Low Rural Tele-density – lowering the outreach of services in rural areas Multi-Lingual Population – necessitating delivery of services in local languages, however, there is limited support available for Indian languages in ICT domain
However, a variety of mechanism may be adopted to incorporate and promote stakeholder engagement in e-Governance Projects. Information sharing: In order to generate awareness and to prepare the citizens, elected representatives and other stakeholders, wide range of information should disseminated. It includes display of citizen’s Charter with Listing services and service levels, roles and responsibilities of officials and escalation mechanism, roles & responsibilities of citizens etc. In addition, regular meetings and interfaces may also used to share information. For many departments and services, mobile based voice or text services and web based presence also serves as an additional channel for information sharing. Consultation: Consultative meetings with the stakeholders are to be undertaken at different stages of project cycle at regular intervals. Each intervention should be discussed with the citizens, elected representatives, local civil society groups and other stakeholders to get their perspectives included in the designing of the interventions, and thereby increasing the chances of ownership among various stakeholders. Such consultations may be undertaken both online as well as face to face. Joint assessment: Participatory assessment and monitoring with the stakeholders, particularly the identified service seekers, are used as tools for enhancing citizen engagement. These include use of a variety of techniques such as joint citizen monitoring, meetings with the elected representatives etc. Shared decision-making and collaboration: A range of participatory planning techniques including participatory urban planning at the ward level, comprehensive zonal planning as well sectoral plans like Solid Waste Management (SWM) at the city level may be used for collaborative or shared decision making. It involves engagement of various stakeholders at every stage of the planning process. The most often quoted example of this technique is from Porto Allegre, Brazil.
It is increasingly felt that creating institutional mechanisms for stakeholder engagement is necessary. While the government has already taken many steps such as RTI, proposed ESD Bill to ensure greater transparency and more efficient delivery of public services, it is essential to create an environment which will lead to greater ownership of these projects, create demand driven atmosphere for continuous improvement of public service delivery, build internal and external readiness for absorption and usage of ICTs and encourage independent as well as joint assessments of projects. Therefore, a three-pronged strategy of Awareness Creation, e-Readiness Development and Assessment is being proposed in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. While these may seem like disparate elements, they are closely inter-twined and form a veritable virtuous circle. The policy interventions for each Component of the strategy, Expected Outcome and the proposed funding required to achieve the said outcome are placed in the table below:
41 S Strategy Policy Action Required Expected Outcome No Component Intervention 1 Awareness Mandatory Framework for Citizen Institutionalisation of CE Creation & Citizen Engagement in project formulation, Demand Engagement Framework and Guidelines implementation leading to Generation for Social Media Use greater ownership and Mandatory Baseline Surveys higher sustainability of e- of all proposed e-Services Gov projects Specific allocation for Proactive and digitalisation of legacy time-bound documents and Wider and faster conformance to establishment of Electronic dissemination of Sec 4 of RTI Act Gazette information Specific allocation of funds for building capacities to use ICT enabled RTI processes Specific allocation of funds for creation of IT infrastructure for RTI processes Allocation of funds for creation of applications for RTI Processes Ease of filing RTI Multi-channel filing of RTI applications Application - Use of CSCs to collect applications (to act as APIO, as per Section 5(2)) and facilitate citizens in filing RTI applications; Use of RTI Call Centres for taking RTI application & Large Scale Use of RTI Portal for Awareness about request for information with Electronic links to all Delivery of Public Ministry/Department Increased Uptake of Services websites of the appropriate existing e-Services Government Demand Generation for Multi-channel payment of new services RTI fee including telephone bill, online payment, bank draft, postal order etc. Intensive Mass-Media Campaign for NeGP, ESD Bill as well for individual projects Integration and intensification of grassroots levels awareness programmes including demos, hands on usage etc. Extensive usage of New Media – Web and Mobile based interactions including social networking etc. 2 e-Readiness e-Readiness Intensive Capacity Building Skilled Government Development Development of wrt basic ICT skills, specific workforce Government ICT and management skills Faster& more effective Employees Focussed Change implementation management programme Enhanced project sustainability e-Readiness Large scale e-Learning Development of programme in PPP mode Better uptake of e-Services Citizens with More effective
42 special focus on participation in Knowledge people residing in society rural areas, women, SC/ST/OBC, elderly and youth
3 Assessment & National e- Assessment of e-Readiness Informed allocation of Feedback Readiness Index of all States & UTS and Funds Central Line Ministries & Improved ranking in Departments International e-Readiness Mandatory 3rd Use of e-Readiness ranking Indices Party Impact for allocation of funds Institutionalise service user Assessment of all feedback into the system e-Governance Use of Assessment Improved project Projects Framework by all Govt implementation states/ministries/departments More ownership, better Social Audit monitoring and greater Incorporate Social Audit in transparency e-Gov projects
3.12 Cyber Security
Cyber Space works through an interdependent network of critical information infrastructure, which makes it prone to various vulnerabilities, failures, intrusions and disruptions. It has revolutionised the way in which Government can deliver its services to the citizens, and has made the critical information infrastructure requirement of the current e-Governance applications. With the interconnected infrastructure, the common link may lead to new vulnerabilities, other systems may propagate failure, unexpected threats may be possible from intrusion and disruption in other infrastructure. It has signification impact on the public if these applications fail to meet the expected service levels. These applications are interconnected, with the information and communication technologies playing a pivotal role. To realize the full benefits of the digital revolution, users need to have confidence that sensitive information is secure, not compromised, and the infrastructure is not infiltrated. Government also need confidence that the networks are safe and resilient. Achieving a trusted communications and information infrastructure will ensure that the e-Governance achieves the full potential of the information technology revolution. With the increase in online transactions, especially in the case of online money transfer and other financial transactions, it has become necessary to provide secured cyber space to keep confidence of the service provider, i.e. government and service user. For e-Governance applications, protection of ICT infrastructure is critical and it requires continuous efforts to secure communication and information infrastructure, and ensure trustworthiness of the e-Governance services. To provide trusted e-Governance services, secured communications and information technology infrastructure is critical and it requires continuous efforts to: Secure e-Governance information systems for critical infrastructure, including emergency preparedness communications, and the physical assets that support such systems to prevent, deter, neutralize, or mitigate the effects of deliberate efforts to destroy, incapacitate, or illegal access of information. Strengthen national preparedness, timely response, and rapid recovery in the event of an attack, natural disaster, or other emergency
43 Ensure trustworthy e-Governance services wherein the citizen has complete faith in every electronic transaction with the Government Cyber Security is dependent on both technological and human factors. The Technological solutions are relatively easier to design and implement. The Human factors, on the other hand, are much more complex. This requires adopting a ‘holistic approach’, with equal emphasis on both the above aspects of cyber security. To ensure cyber security, following recommendations may be considered for implementation: Technological Measures
a. Cyber Security standards for e-Governance applications need to be formulated in collaboration with Industry experts and Academia. The standards need to keep in with international standards, with appropriate vetting from the cyber security experts from the industry and academia. These standards could be Generic, as well as, Sector Specific and need to be evolving and dynamic in nature. b. A common set of e-Governance specific minimum hardware and software requirements related standards needs to be formulated and mandated. c. Auditing and Certification Mechanisms need to be formalised and mandated for e-Governance infrastructure. Periodic audits of cyber security infrastructure need to be conducted by a competent authority to ensure that the security set-up is up-to-date and all the known threats are neutralized. d. These standards are required to be reviewed periodically to incorporate latest leanings and R&D. e. Identity Management and e-Authentication processes need to be institutionalised for various groups of users. Identity thefts need to be prevented by employing the appropriate combination of authentication factors based on Knowledge (password, PIN etc.), Possession (hard token, digital certificate, etc.) and Biometrics (fingerprint, iris scan, etc.). In this regard, DIT has prepared and released a comprehensive Draft National e- Authentication Framework (NeAF) for comments and suggestions from all Government departments and all the other interested stakeholders. The draft NeAF covers both web-based and mobile-based authentication approaches for e-authentication and identity management of all users of Government services. f. Trustworthiness of the e-Governance transactions needs to be ensured through implementing adequate security measures. A mechanism to certify the authenticity of Government websites needs to be devised and implemented. g. Much higher level of trust needs to be provided in case of Mobile Governance initiatives by employing adequate security measures. The existing Security policies at National and State levels need to be reviewed in order to ensure that they encompass the use of mobile based devices now connecting very large number of citizens. Everyone on the network must be uniquely identified and monitored, ensuring the privacy of individual. h. Security and administration of the various Government domains need to be strengthened to prevent cyber attacks and data theft. It has been widely observed that Government domains (e.g. nic) are frequently and successfully breached due to lack of proper cyber safeguards and security administration. i. Crisis Management, Disaster recovery processes and Business Continuity Planning need to be formalised, implemented and mandated for critical and sensitive e-Governance infrastructure. All data centres and critical facilities
44 should have a workable Business Continuity/ Disaster Recovery Plan to ensure uninterrupted services in the event of any calamity, natural or man- made. j. To assist research and development of Cyber Security solutions, the relevant data on cyber attacks need to be shared with designated agencies. This will allow the R&D teams to work on real-time data thus improving the chances of coming up with solutions for real-life threats and problems. k. Government should work with groups in academic institutions and the industry to proactively identify the issues and problems related to cyber security and possible mitigation measures. l. Proper, real-time monitoring mechanism should be established to detect incidences of cyber attack, as it is noted that in many cases, agencies are not even aware that they are under cyber attack. m. To evaluate the performance of Security measures, e-Governance specific security metrics are required to be defined. n. To fulfil the requirement of the continued growth of the internet and development of new applications leveraging mobile internet connectivity, transition to IPv6 is a long-term solution. This transition should be done methodically with full consideration of the required security measures to detect and block malicious attacks. o. Framework for Effective information Sharing and Incident Response is needed to facilitate coordinated responses by government and other stakeholders to a significant cyber attack. This will help in not only responding to cyber incidences, but also in pre-empting, predicting and preventing such incidences in future. Government may work with industry to provide such a framework to improve the planning and placing required resources to effectively handle a significant cyber security incident.
Human Factors
a. A national education campaign may be initiated targeting different segments of stakeholders to create awareness regarding cyber threats and security measures. As part of this campaign, the best practices should be highlighted in preventing cyber threats and, for those cases where the security has been already breached, the process of reporting such incidents should be formalised and made mandatory. b. In addition to the external threats, focus needs to be laid on how to prevent internal data thefts. Adequate checks and balances need to be incorporated at critical installations so that data thefts may be prevented. Agencies entrusted with ensuring the security of such installations need to be sensitized about the importance of Cyber Security and various avenues of data theft and corresponding prevention mechanisms. Security personnel and network administrators need to be trained adequately to prevent internal data thefts. c. A capacity building program should be launched for incorporating Cyber Security related thinking and design. The academia and the industry should be engaged to proactively come up with solutions to mitigate cyber security risks through appropriate practices. d. A Cyber Command may be created within the country’s Defence Services to start preparing for Cyber Warfare in future.
45 Regulatory Measures
a. Data regulation is critical in ensuring cyber security. A competent Data Regulator should be established to ensure that all data originating inside the country remains within its limits. b. A Cyber Monitoring Agency should be established under CERT-In to monitor all traffic on internet to ensure that undesirable activities are controlled. c. International cooperation in the field of cyber security is critical since in many cases the data servers are physically located outside the country and thus, getting access to the relevant information becomes extremely difficult. This risk may be mitigated by formalizing treaties/ pacts with other nations on jointly tackling cyber threats. d. Steps should be taken to create a specific privacy related regulation in India for handling sensitive personal data or information in electronic form. Rules and guidelines should be formulated to deal with sensitive information and give directions to all the concerned agencies to incorporate appropriate security practices and procedures. An outlay of Rs. 825 Cr. has been sought for this purpose.
3.13 UID Based e-Governance
The Unique Identification project (Aadhaar) has been conceived as an initiative that would provide identification for each resident across the country and would be used primarily as the basis for effective delivery of welfare services to the residents. It would also act as a tool for effective monitoring of various programs and schemes of the Government. The concept of unique identification was worked upon in 2006 when administrative approval for the project – “Unique ID for BPL families” was given on March 3rd, 2006 by the Department of Information Technology. Project was to be implemented by NIC over a period of 12 months. On the recommendation of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) for collation of the two schemes – the National Population Register (NPR)/MNIC under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Unique Identification Number (UID) of the Department of Information Technology, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was constituted and notified by the Planning Commission on 28th January, 2009 as an attached office under the aegis of Planning Commission. The UIDAI was given the responsibility of laying down the plan and policies to implement the UID scheme, to own and operate the UID database and be responsible for its update and maintenance on an ongoing basis. Unique Identification Number, now called Aadhaar, would help in better targeting of beneficiaries oriented schemes like NREGA, Sarvashiksha Abhiyan, India Awaas Yojana and various state specific beneficiaries oriented schemes by uniquely identifying the residents/beneficiaries. It would significantly reduce identity frauds and thereby help in efficient utilization of funds allocated to these schemes. Over a period of time, this may help in reducing the outlay under these schemes by preventing duplicates both under the same scheme and across various schemes. The project was launched on 29th September, 2010 and over 24 million Aadhaar number has been issued till August 2011. Project implementation would be completed
46 in mid of 12th plan by providing Aadhaar number (UID) to all eligible residents and will be in position to offer basic authentication service envisaged under the project. Aadhaar number should be used to link various records, databases related to residents to enable offering of various services in an integrated manner. Citizen Data Repositories at the Central and State levels should be used to augment the Aadhaar- based authentication mechanisms and significantly enhance citizen service experience - especially by not repeatedly asking for the information already available with the government. While consolidation of such repositories is desirable, steps would be taken at least to constantly reconcile and redistribute available citizen data in such a manner as to keep such repositories complete and up to date. Interlinking of databases should enable a single sign-on platform to create a resident account with government using which residents can access all government services through single window (account). This account should enable resident to update information at one place only which may be replicated to all interlinked databases. In order to facilitate the above, Guidelines and Framework for this purpose will be framed and issued by DIT At present lack of identity is one of the main obstacles in financial inclusion of rural and semi-urban residents. High penetration of mobile phones in India along with Aadhaar should be leveraged for financial inclusion of the residents even in remotest area of the country to provide financial services (such as saving account, loan, insurance, investments and cash transactions etc.). Aadhaar based online authentication could be done even through a mobile phone and banks could have business correspondents (BCs) in villages, equipped with a mobile phone, a finger print reader and an ATM kind of software, to enable financial transactions in the village itself. DIT proposes to carry out pilot projects in the field of financial inclusion leveraging Aadhaar based online authentication and mobile technology.
3.14 Existing e-Governance Schemes
3.14.1 State Wide Area Networks (SWANs)
The existing scheme envisages establishing SWAN across the country. Although considerable progress has been made in the implementation of the Scheme, the rollout to all the States is expected to extend into the Twelfth Five Year Plan. The Operation of the SWAN in the States / UTs suggests that bandwidth earlier provisioned for the States (up to 4 Mbps) is not adequate in view of increase in number of applications and its usage. Resultantly there is a functional requirement to enhance it in a phased manner keeping in line with the actual requirement. In the ongoing scheme Infrastructural Requirement for horizontal connectivity was not provisioned under the Central funding and the States were expected to Plan and cater for CAPEX and OPEX. Accordingly, in the Twelfth Five Year Plan it is proposed to strengthen and Upgrade the networks necessitated by technology enhancements and higher requirement of utilization for the following tasks/activities : a. Improving network performance optimization b. Provide more horizontal connectivity c. Interconnect schools, PHCs etc. d. Build redundant connectivity up to Block level
47 3.14.2 State Data Centres (SDCs)
The existing scheme envisages establishing SDCs across the country. Although considerable progress has been made in the implementation of the Scheme, the rollout to all the States is expected to extend into the Twelfth Five Year Plan. It is felt that undertaking energy audits of SDCs would be beneficial and may serve as guidance for ideal roadmap for yet to be setup SDCs to ensure and promote optimum benefits.
3.14.3 Central Review and Monitoring Mechanism for Core Infrastructure Projects
Presently there is no monitoring mechanism to assess the utilization of the SWANs at the Central level and the one available at the States’ level is elementary. Effective, efficient monitoring tool mechanism needs to be placed to assess usage of existing infrastructure, plan for futuristic infrastructure & bandwidth requirement in view of demands from the States as a result of expansion in type and number of applications with time. A Central Monitoring mechanism tool needs to be in place to assess the pattern & extent of utilization of SDCs in the State. This information / data would aid in Planning and utilization of resources available and their reallocation for optimum utilization.
3.14.4 Common Service Centres (CSCs)
The existing scheme envisages establishing 100000+ CSCs across the country. More than 96,000 CSCs have been rolled out till date. In order to increase outreach to citizens and to enable access to more citizens in the rural areas it is planned to ensure that all CSCs of the first phase are made operational and they stabilize in their operations. In pursuance of the address of Hon’ble President to the Joint Session of the Parliament on 4th June 2009 – “The scheme for Common Services Centres or eKiosks will be suitably repositioned to be a network of Panchayat-level Bharat Nirman Common Service Centres to provide government services to citizens in rural areas”, it is proposed, to reposition the existing scheme of Common Services Centres as a network of Panchayat level Bharat Nirman Common Services Centres and setup additional 150000 CSCs to cover every Panchayat. These Bharat Nirman Common Services Centres will function in close coordination with the Panchayats and will complement the Panchayats in delivering those services of Panchayats which can be out sourced. It is possible for Panchayats, to use outsourced systems in the village for services that can be outsourced to private sector players (a village entrepreneur) without any distortion to the full public service requirements of such delivery of services. Since, in the case of delivery of most services, it is only some parts of the service that can be digitised and rendered amenable to private sector based delivery, Panchayats can deal with the non-outsource- able parts of services directly, in conjunction with private delivery. The core
48 sovereign functions of the Panchayats and those that cannot be outsourced will continue to be dealt by the Panchayats themselves. On the other hand, application filing, tracking status, making payment and perhaps also receiving them are examples of parts of services that can be outsourced, but with close public interest supervision. Such supervision should be done by Panchayats as the institutions closest to people as well to points of private delivery of services. The point of decision will remain with the Panchayats while the point of delivery can be outsourced to Panchayats. The strategy and approach for the same have been finalized after intense consultations with all stakeholders. The new policy proposes to provide financial support for broadband connection for CSCs where cheap broadband is not yet available; and CSCs that do not have a reliable source of electricity will be provided with a monthly subsidy to recover an investment in solar energy to ensure that CSCs remains operational even when power connection is down. In order to ensure reach of Banking and Financial Services to all CSCs, it is planned to enable all CSCs as Business Correspondents in the Twelfth Five Year Plan Period.
3.14.5 E-District
The e-District Mission Mode Project will be implemented across all the districts of the country which will enable electronic delivery of high volume citizen centric services at the district level by undertaking back end computerization of all district, sub district and tehsil offices.
3.14.6 SSDG/NSDG
The tasks relating to NSDG has almost been completed. But with the advancement of technologies there will be a need to revisit the architecture.
The SSDG project had been initiated only about 2 years back and it has been implemented in only 2 States so far. It is in an advanced stage of implementation in 3 other States. The rollout of SSDG to all the States is expected to extend into the Twelfth Five Year Plan.
3.14.7 India Portal
It is proposed to undertake the Phase – II of India Portal in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. The following major activities are proposed to be carried out in the Phase II of the project Government guideline compliant web design templates Reusable Web components Research & Development on Mobile Web, Participative Web, Semantic Web and Development of Proof of Concepts Maintenance of National Portal of India a. Widget based UI b. Open Data Sets c. Development of service directory of all e-Government services available across India. d. Promotion of National Portal
49 Consultation, reviews, advisory support and capacity building
3.14.8 Standards
Standards in e-Governance will continue to be accorded high priority in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, to ensure sharing of information and seamless interoperability of data and e-Governance applications under NeGP. Under standards, the following activities are proposed to be undertaken in the Twelfth Five Year Plan Formulation of Standards and Taxonomy for various components and in new areas like digital preservation, cloud, GIS, Mobile standards, open source, cyber security etc. Formulation of new standards for seamless interoperability of services across service providers, departments/ agencies DIT seeks to make available standardized RFP templates, covering the various types of procurements for e-Governance projects including NeGP, along with toolkit and guidance notes, to act as both reference and guidance documents to the Line Departments and State Governments in procurements relating to e-Governance Projects and to bring about uniformity in approach in respect of common issues and minimize contractual disputes. DIT will setup an appropriate institutional mechanism to review and vet the e- Governance RFPs as well as to create quality trained personnel on e- Governance procurement on a continuous basis.
3.14.9 Capacity Building (CB)
There is an increased awareness today that e-Government is not about technology but is concerned with the transformation of people and processes, adoption of the best management principles and establishing appropriate partnerships to ensure sustainability and cost effectiveness. Department of IT (DIT), Government of India has taken up the onerous responsibility of introducing e-Governance across departments and across the country, in a phased manner as part of the National e-Governance Plan. Given the diversity of the country with respect to its e-readiness and experience in implementing projects of such nature in the country, there are significant differences in capacities of the States/UTs to undertake such initiatives. It is in this background that DIT felt that it is necessary to adopt appropriate strategies that involve Capacity Building, to achieve the goals of NeGP. The Electronic Delivery of Services Act necessitates significant capacities to be built/upgraded Capacity Building efforts need to encompass all levels viz. Individual, organisational and society. Developing the vision and strategy and an overall conceptual framework, establishing the organizational structure, acquiring skills and resources, training for enhancing knowledge and skills and changing habits and attitudes are critical components of a CB effort of such a magnitude and complexity. The Capacity Building Scheme approved by the Cabinet in Jan. 2008 aims to provide technical support and specialized skills for e-governance to State level policy & decision-making bodies. It envisages establishment of an institutional framework for State Level Strategic decision making and setting-up of State e-Governance Mission Teams (SeMTs) to provide professional support to the States in the areas of Technology, programme management, finance and capacity building. These professional resources are
50 to be taken both from Government and from the open market. The Scheme also envisages sensitizing the leadership and senior decision makers, imparting specialized training, Orientation programs for SeMTs and Project e-Governance Mission Teams, knowledge sharing and bringing in international best practices. While the present scheme of Capacity Building is laudable in that it is a path breaking scheme, it was planned only for a period of 3 years after which it was envisaged that the States/UTs would carry the scheme forward. Further, the Central Line Ministries are not a part of the Scheme. Capacity building efforts need to be made more comprehensive and encompass the entire eco system. Knowledge is a strategic resource. Today, knowledge on e-Governance, in the form of successful e-Governance projects, novel initiatives, reengineered processes, legal changes, PPP models, Project reports, bid documents, etc are scattered all over the country. If this knowledge can be gathered, classified and made available, it can be leveraged by others. This would result into enormous savings in time, money and effort by avoiding duplication of efforts and reinventing the wheel. Accordingly, the following are proposed in the Twelfth Five Year Plan a. Extend the existing Capacity Building (CB) Scheme for entire Twelfth Plan Period. Extend the Capacity Building Scheme to the Central Government Departments through assistance in the creation of the Dedicated Project Teams with a tenure of 5 years. b. The existing National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under DIT will be further strengthened in order to meet the challenges of a bigger NeGP and new initiatives planned to be undertaken in the Twelfth Five Year Plan c. Sensitization and training for all levels of Government employees i. Basic IT Skills – Basic Skill Development would aim at mandating Basic IT literacy/ imparting e-Governance knowledge (including inculcating the right attitude) for all Govt. Employees. Basic Skill Development will be methodically imparted to all currently in-service Government employees. This training will also be systematically introduced for all new entrants into Government service. ii. Advanced Skills - Advanced skills would aim at developing functionaries with skills in basic hardware networking, database, trouble shooting, contract and SLA management etc. iii. Specialized Skills - Specialized skills for creating CIOs / e- champions, experts in technology, change management, process reengineering etc. d. Incentivized Certification programmes would be planned and rolled out for Government Employees at all levels e. An information and knowledge repository will be created and managed to address needs of all stakeholders in the e-Governance space. This repository would include the following: i. An enterprise-wide Collaboration framework with social networking ii. A forum for e-Governance practitioners – cutting across States & Departments
51 iii. A centralized Document Repository for sharing of DPRs, RFPs iv. Case Study Repository v. Network of experts to guide implementers vi. Training content vii. Rich multi-media content for IT literacy for citizens, skill development, etc
3.14.10 Project Appraisal and Programme Management
NeGP presently comprises of 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs). There are still a large number of sectors which deliver high volume citizen services where ICT has not been systematically introduced. In the Twelfth Five Year Plan, focus would be on critical projects like e-office to digitize Government information, e- Courts to reduce pendency in the judicial system and new MMPs will be identified and included under NeGP in sectors such as Education, Health, PDS, Posts, Skill up-gradation, integrated system of crime to adjudication to jail, Safety & Security against crime etc. A mission mode project for IT enabling RTI can be taken up by which would require developing backend processes, including a common RTI portal, for proper information collation and presentation. The Common Services Centres can evolve as RTI points of presence, by having close linkages with community based organisations.
Considering the complexity of the Monitoring and Evaluation requirements, DIT has conceptualized a Project Management Information System (PMIS). The Phase I of the PMIS with basic functionalities has been rolled out in the Eleventh Five Year Plan period. In the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the Phase II of the PMIS project is proposed to be implemented which will provide a. Collection and Monitoring up to the last level of implementation i.e. District, Panchayat, Municipality etc as the case may be. b. Integration with the various assessment indices c. An objective view of the health of the project based on specific indices such as demand take off, quality of service, accessibility of service and so on d. An objective view of the health of NeGP as a whole.
3.14.11 Citizen Call Centres (CCCs)
In concurrence with the NeGP vision of delivering services to the citizens in a fast, efficient and timely manner, in the Twelfth Five Year Plan DIT proposes to set up Citizen Contact Centres to help provide informational and transactional, non-emergency Government to Citizen (G2C) services for various departments as identified under the MMPs. It is envisaged that due to the higher penetration of telecom services in the rural parts of India and the ease of usage of such technology especially for the old, handicapped and women, service delivery through state level contact centres can be very effective.
4. Summary recommendations
The brick and mortar models of development have limitations with respect to reaching the last mile of our population. Information Communication Technology offers an
52 efficient and speedier solution to deliver public services in a transparent and reliable manner to every citizen through ICT needs to be leveraged in every aspect of governance. DIT has been able to build the core E-Governance infrastructure (Data Centers, State Wide Area Networks, Common Services Centres (CSCs), Mobile Service Delivery Platform) across the country during the 11th Plan which will continue in the XII Plan so as to bring it to its logical conclusion. Also, the focus of the XII Plan will be on leveraging to catapult India in the top quartile of HDI ranking through quantum improvements in the delivery of Public Services. This will also bring in process efficiency, accountability and transparency. The following actions may be taken up on priority in this regard:
Quality of Education – Primary, Secondary and Higher: Every child has a right to get best quality education in his/her local language which is easily achievable with ICT. Cost efficient and good quality Health Services: Telemedicine, Electronic Human Resource, Surveillance etc. Skill upgradation through simulated ICT based self-learning modules for better Livelihoods / Employment Targetting of social welfare schemes – PDS, NREGA, IAY etc. Safety and security against crime and natural disaster Financial Inclusion.
5. Summary Targets
The following are the targets of the Twelfth Five Year Plan A National Institute for e-Governance (NIG) would be setup as an autonomous State of the Art National Institute. NIG will also train at least 50 employees from Central Government per year on Project Management Certification. This institute will house – A Biometric Centre of Excellence – A National Institute of Standards – A Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) cell – A Cyber Security Cell 25 State Level Institutions will be setup/strengthened on lines similar to NIG. In 5 of these Institutes, Regional GIS Centres on self sustainable model will be established. In another 5 Institutes, cyber security cells will be established. Each Institute will train 10 employees from State Government per year on Project Management Certification. CIOs will be setup in Ministries / Departments that are implementing MMPs under NeGP and Ministries/Departments that are making substantial investment in ICT in a phased manner. An Enterprise Architecture (EA) Framework including Data Architecture to provide a holistic approach in e-Governance project designs would be laid down. DIT would create the requisite platform that would enable data generated using public funds to be placed in the open domain. An e-Governance Innovation and R&D Fund will be created to give adequate impetus to innovation in e-Governance and m-Governance DIT proposes to identify common processes, conduct BPR studies and create common platforms for sharing of the processes.
53 Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Bill will be implemented. Assistance will be given to every Central Government Department in delivering at least one Service in electronic mode and every State Government in delivering at least three Services in electronic mode apart from the services which are already identified in the MMPs under NeGP. Shared Services Platforms for e-Payment, GIS, call centre, etc. will be created. National Implementation Utilities (NIUs) will be setup to provide services on demand. An apps store will be created to promote development of large scale e- Governance and m-Governance applications M-Governance platforms and frameworks will be created to enable delivery of public services through mobile devices At least one person per family in 50% of the families will be targeted to provide basic IT training in the XII Plan period. Existing institutions, CSCs, last mile connectivity etc. will be strengthened and augmented to provide e-education and e-health services. Development and distribution of innovative low cost devices will be promoted. Repository of Localized content will be created through CSCs and voice based research/facilities will be encouraged in a major way Cyber Security will a major focus area during the Twelfth Five Year Plan Period Existing SWAN, SDC, NSDG/SSDG, India Portal, CSC Schemes will be rolled out and maintained in all States/UTs. These schemes would be further augmented and technologically upgraded. The existing CSC Scheme will be repositioned as a network of Panchayat level Bharat Nirman Common Services Centres and additional 150000 CSCs will be setup to cover every Panchayat. The e-District MMP will be implemented in all districts. Training on Basic IT Skills will be introduced systematically for the existing and all new entrants into Government service. Advanced skills for developing functionaries in basic hardware networking, database etc. and specialized skills for creating CIOs / e-Champions etc. will be started. Incentivized certification programmes should be planned and rolled out for all Government employees. The existing Capacity Building (CB) Scheme will be extended for entire Twelfth Plan Period. The Capacity Building Scheme will be extended to the Central Government Departments.
6. Funds Required in the Twelfth Five Year Plan
S. No. Recommendation Amount (in Rs. Crore)
1 Institutional Infrastructure 432.50 2 Enterprise Architecture 30.00 3 Open Data Platform 25.00 4 Innovation & R&D Fund 550.00 5 Business Process Re-engineering 250.00 6 EDS Act 1150.00 7 Shared Services Platform 500.00
54 8 National Apps Store 200.00 9 Mobile Service Delivery Gateway 200.00 10 Social Inclusion 10200.00 11 Citizen Engagement 652.40 12 Cyber Security 975.00 13 UID based e-Governance 125.00 14 Existing e-Governance Schemes 14575.20 Total (in Rs. Crore) 29965.00
55 e-Learning
1. Introduction
Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology (IECT) is one of the largest and fastest growing industries. An impressive economic growth coupled with a large young workforce with increasing purchasing power has resulted in stimulating a demand for electronic-gadgets and electronic-hardware. The domestic demand for hardware is estimated at US$ 400 billion by 2020(source: Department of Information Technology Task Force Report on ESDM). This provides the right opportunity for India to become an electronics hardware manufacturing hub to meet its domestic demands as well as to cater to the demands of the global market. In the past the nation demonstrated its ability to cater to the global demand for services in the IT-ITES domain. To sustain its lead in IT-ITES sector and to further capture new opportunities, especially with reference to the electronics hardware industry, there is a need to address the gaps in the availability of skilled and technically trained human resources meeting present and future requirement, both domestic and global.
Market requirements and characteristics are continuously modified based on both emerging technologies and changes in customer needs. Thus the existing IT manpower has to periodically upgrade their skills in order to keep pace with the industry’s needs. Advancements in IECT have made possible the availability of quality education, 24x7, to millions of people in a cost effective manner. The use of IECT in education has opened the doors for “anytime anywhere” learning. Supplementing the formal way of education with E-Learning tools/content and use of IECT in formal education is important to facilitate enhanced learning environment; especially when there is large gap in demand and supply of quality content and educators.
E-learning mode and the related tools provide a platform for enhanced learning, cost effective delivery, flexibility of learning at the convenience of the learner, uniform quality content delivery, reach ability only limited by the penetration of IECT, promotion of collaborative learning among distributed learners, re-usability of the content etc.
Advances in Human Language Technology will offer universal access to information and services to the masses in their own language. India is a multilingual country with 22 official languages and 10 scripts. It is imperative that tools for information processing in local languages are developed and made available for wider proliferation of ICT. This would benefit the people at large and thus pave the way towards ‘Digital Unite and Knowledge for All’ and bridging the Digital Divide. This would have a spin off effect on the deployment of e-governance applications and boost to the domestic ICT industry.
Creation of e-infrastructure for e-Learning is a very important aspect, essential to promote this mode of learning, that can also supplement the traditional method of learning. The Government of India had come up with various programs like NPTEL (for content), NKN (for infrastructure) and National Mission in Education through ICT (NMEICT) for Higher Education, and ICT in Schools for school education. Creation of content in Indian languages; availability of technologies, tools, and standards for Indian languages are important and a necessary element. To meet this need, and to build a complete eco system, DIT is working with various organisations. The e-infrastructure so
56 created would be available for use by other sectors such as MSME and Social Sector for inclusive growth.
Due to the improved infrastructure and the higher penetration of mobile services, and the availability of open source operating systems for mobile; the current trend of pervasiveness of availability of video/audio, mobile based learning would be very useful in reaching out to students all over the country. Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the most disruptive applications for mobile learners. Sophisticated virtual authoring software and augmented reality are the areas of importance.
Social media technologies are having exponential growth, providing an array of offerings for online learning. The use of social media as an additional aid in the classroom can make students learn in new dynamic ways, like studying Geography, connecting with other classrooms and planning field trips etc. Social media outlets offer a convenient way to enhance communication among students and teachers, like creating groups, exchange of messages and updates, schedule events and have asynchronous class conversations. Assigning class projects using social media will enable students to participate in dynamic learning activities, share book reviews, follow news stories, do community service etc.
Thus the vision of the e-learning sub group of Working Group on IT for Twelfth Plan is to work out a road map to generate human resources for the electronics and ICT industry using ubiquitous learning models in an inclusive manner.
The e-infrastructure, Internet Governance, Human Centric Computing, e- learning and HRD divisions of DIT provide a holistic eco system needed for the generation of skilled population which can leverage the use of knowledge effectively for the economic and social development of the country.
The e-learning sub group has been constituted with three study teams as under: 1. HRD Study team to cover HRD, Skill Development, IT Mass Literacy and e- Learning Technologies including activities of DOEACC Society. 2. Language Technology Study Team to cover Technology Development in Indian Languages. 3. e-Infra Study Team to cover e-Infrastructure, National Knowledge Network, Internet Governance, Digital Library initiatives and Activities of ERNET Society and NIXI.
This document consists of reports of each study team as mentioned above.
I. HRD & e- learning Study Team Report
1. Background
Human Resources Development activities of DIT are aimed at generation of - trained HR for the manufacturing & service sectors of electronics and ICT industry. Initiatives include identifying gaps emerging from the formal sector and planning programmes in non-formal and formal sectors for meeting these gaps. In pursuance of projects initiated during the 10th Plan for generation of quality manpower in the area of Information Security, VLSI Design; setting up of a Regional Institute for e-Learning and Information Technology (RIELIT) at Kohima, Nagaland for creating skilled
57 manpower in the area of Computer Science/IT were continued during the 11th Plan period.
A ‘Scheme for Manpower Development for the Software Export Industry’ was evolved which is being implemented by DIT, as a follow up to the discussions/interactions with various state governments, industry association, academia and industry representatives. This scheme is aimed at creating course contents, generating mentors & quality faculties and skilled graduates in the Information Technology Sector at various locations across India with a view to increasing the employability of the students.
A Working Group on Human Resource Development in Information Technology was set-up to evolve long-term HR strategies and a suitable approach for the implementation of these strategies for significantly increasing the number of well- trained professionals in line with economic projections, for various IECT and related areas. Based on the recommendations of the Working Group, new projects were initiated in the area of capacity building for meeting the HR needs of the IECT. Having gained significant leadership position in the global IT/ITES sector there is a need to move up the value chain and maintain the leadership position in R&D, Product development, Electronics and Hardware manufacturing sectors as well.
Government of India is laying special emphasis on Electronics, Hardware Manufacturing, R&D and Innovation. There is a need to chalk out special manpower development programmes in these areas. DIT through MAIT had undertaken a study on mapping the manpower skills in the IT Hardware and Electronics Manufacturing Industry. With the envisaged growth of this industry several manpower issues would need to be addressed during the XII Plan period.
Some of these new project initiatives taken in the XI Plan period need to be consolidated and nurtured into full fledged programmes during the XII Plan period. In the context of the National Skill Development Policy which assigned a specified target of 10 million IT manpower by 2022 to DIT, a special programme needs to be drafted to address this issue.
1.1 Manpower Forecasting during XII Plan period a) NASSCOM's Report Perspective 2020: NASSCOM collaborated with McKinsey & Co. to develop an extensive research report ‘Perspective 2020: Transform Business, Transform India’ in 2009. The objective of this report is to identify opportunities that industry can penetrate and provide strategic insights for the industry to reinvent business models and offerings that can transform global business through a well-defined customer value proposition.
As per the NASSCOM's Report Perspective 2020 global manpower projections by 2020 are as follows:
. Total manpower requirement – 12.3 million by 2020 (from the current level of 2.5 million of the employment). . Projected shortage of 2.3 million by 2020 (0.8 million for domestic outsourcing and 1.5 for global sourcing market). . Additional 1.2 million requirements for innovation-driven scenario (shortage of high caliber talent pool of 3 million by 2020): 3 lakh Ph.Ds required.
58 . The report does not cover manpower requirement arising out of e-Governance introduction.
b) National Skill Development Corporation’s (NSDC) Report- HR & Skill Requirement in Electronics & IT Hardware Sector (2022): Government of India announced the National Skill Development policy in 2009 and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was set up. Under this policy a target of 10 million manpower to be skilled by the 2022 was assigned to DIT. NSDC has recently conducted a survey of manpower requirements.
The consumption of Electronics in India was US $ 28 billion in 2005. It is estimated that the demand for electronics (consumption) in India will be US $ 125 billion in 2014 and US $ 400 billion in 2020. Out of this, the Indian Electronics and IT Hardware sector production amounted to Rs. 947 billion in 2009 and has grown at a CAGR of 16.4% since 2002. The human resource directly employed in the industry is estimated to be approximately 770,000 in 2007. This was about 0.9 million in FY 2009.
The Indian Electronics and IT Hardware sector has 6 key segments, namely Consumer Electronics, Industrial Electronics, IT Hardware, Telecommunication Equipment, Electronic Components, and Strategic Electronics. Consumer Electronics and Telecom Equipments are the largest segments with about 27% share each in total production.
It has been estimated that as demand would continue to grow, there would be an incremental requirement of Human Resource as presented in following tables.
Table1: Incremental Human Resource Requirement –education-wise till 2022 (in ‘000s) Incremental Human Ph.D Enginee Diploma ITI Other MBA/ 10th / Resource and rs and and graduat CA/ 12th Requirement Resea other other es such CWA rch equally vocatio as B.Sc. schola certified nal r skills courses Consumer Electronics 14 43 48 35 130 106 105 Other (Industrial 14 184 46 30 14 25 147 Electronics) Computer 25 123 154 62 117 37 99 Telecom Equipment 29 230 115 38 86 32 45 Strategic Electronics 24 150 89 40 41 19 42 Components 38 192 89 110 23 13 220 Total 144 922 541 315 412 232 658 source: IMaCS analysis
Table2: Incremental HR Requirement in the Electronics and IT Hardware Industry (in ‘000s) Projected human resource requirement 2008 2012 2018 2022 Incremental 2008-2022 (in ‘000s) Electronics and IT Hardware Industry in 906 1446 2870 4129 3223 India Consumer Electronics 204 298 532 686 482 Other (Industrial Electronics) 107 168 334 567 461
59 Computers 193 273 689 810 617 Telecom Equipment 184 400 880 759 575 Strategic Electronics 69 128 271 474 405 Components 149 179 164 834 685 source: IMaCS analysis
The Electronics and IT Hardware industry has the potential to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 17% till 2022 and even thereafter considering the fact that the GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 7.5% to 8% over this period. Therefore, we expect the production of Electronics and IT Hardware to increase from Rs. 844 billion in 2008 to Rs. 7,520 billion by 2022. Consumer Electronics, Computers, Telecom Equipment, and Industrial Electronics would contribute to a large portion of the size of the industry. This would translate to the overall employment in the industry increasing from the current level of 0.9 million to over 4 million by 2022. This would translate to an incremental human resource requirement of about 3 million to 3.2 million.
Table 3: Incremental human resource requirement – function-wise till 2022 (in ‘000s) Incremental human resource R&D Manufact Sales Service Administr requirement uring Support ation
Consumer Electronics 19 241 130 67 24 Others (Industrial Electronics) 14 334 69 23 21 Computers 19 130 154 253 62 Telecom Equipment 23 172 172 172 34 Strategic Electronics 49 188 32 83 53 Components 111 427 55 38 53 Total requirement in the Industry 234 1,492 613 637 248 Incremental HR requirement 3,223 source: IMaCS analysis
1.2 Gist recommendations of MAIT for narrowing HR-availability gaps: (a) The IT Hardware and Electronics Manufacturing Industry accordingly address the following issues: Roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, viz. Government, Industry and Educational institutions, to improve the employability of the human resources; funding and the implementation mechanism to drive the skill development initiatives.
b) Supply creation – Creation of additional infrastructure to provide human resource to the industry.
(c) Proposed recommendations for skill development in the Industry: (i) Introducing short term courses and opening training institutes in after-sales service support. (ii) Introducing short term courses to train people in sales. (iii)Inculcating simple assembly/related skills and shop floor ethics at grass roots level: Grass root level training initiative should be aimed at imparting basic and advanced training to unskilled workers to enable them to take up jobs in industries in a structured manner. The target group includes school drop-outs, 10th/12th pass-outs/drop-outs, and casual labourers in key production clusters. This group is engaged in simple assembly/related activities such as helper level functions.
60 d) Incremental requirement of 3.2 Million by 2022 – Existing (0.9 Million – FY 2009) (Target refers to helper (+2) level to R&D/Design(Doctorate) level in Electronics, Electrical, EPD, Communications, etc) e) High calibre Talent pool of 0.14 Million (Ph.D/ Res. Scholars)
The above projections don’t cover additional Manpower requirement arising out of e-Governance spread, Other than IT industry segment deploying IECT (Information, Electronics and Communication Technology), changes in technology-emergence of disruptive technology, social sector, etc This implies that there is a considerable demand for Skilled manpower across all the levels in the IECT Sector. It can therefore be inferred that there is justification for this proposal of Skill Development for 10 Million in IECT Sector.
2. Targets & achievements and Review Performance of XIth Plan
During the XIth Plan period, the DIT’s initiatives for HRD include identifying gaps emerging from the formal sector, planning programmes in non-formal and formal sectors for meeting these gaps. E-learning initiatives supplement the traditional mode of learning. These efforts are also intended to promote proliferation of usage IECT in learning across the full range of academic disciplines with intention to enhance the learning outcome, and providing platform for collaborations.
2.1 XIth Plan Major Recommendations
2.1.1 To spread the concept of Finishing Schools/Bridge Courses in various educational institutions across the country, a programme for capacity building has to be initiated.
2.1.2 Evolving technologies for new paradigm in pedagogy, utilizing the potentials of ICT, broadcasting, Digital Library, etc., need to be introduced to provide wider access to high quality education, to overcome the shortage of teachers and to increase capacity.
2.1.3 To set up Centres of Excellence for different domains of ICT viz., Embedded Systems and VLSI design, Grid Computing, Web Servers, System Software, GIS, ERP, Mainframes, Nanoscale Design and Fabrication etc., and in other identified areas on a continuous basis.
2.1.4 Provide adequate budgetary support for significant increase in the number and value of scholarships offered to encourage a far greater number of graduates to pursue Masters and Doctoral programmes.
2.1.5 There is a need to ensure that deserving candidates are not deprived of access to quality education due to economic disadvantages. This should be done by evolving a suitable “Assistance-ship Programme” for the needy and deserving students.
2.1.6 In order to spread IT education as well as to be concurrent with changing needs of the industry, there is a need to promote education as a whole to be one of the activities under SEZ. IT is to be given special preference and IT education should be permitted in the SEZs as one of the activities.
61 2.2 Achievements and Review of XI Plan Performance
2.2.1 Human Resource Development in IECT Sector:
In pursuance of the recommendations of the XI plan, projects have been initiated for generation of quality manpower in the areas of Information Security and VLSI Design; and setting up of Regional Institutes of e-Learning and Information Technology (RIELIT) at Kohima-Nagaland, Agartala-Tripura and Ajmer-Rajasthan for creating skilled manpower in the area of Computer Science/IT. A Scheme for Manpower Development for the Software Export Industry had been initiated under which various projects are being implemented. The Department had also set up a Working Group on Human Resource Development in Information Technology. The main objective of the Working Group is to evolve long-term HR strategies and suitable approach for the implementation of these strategies for significantly increasing the number of well- trained professionals in line with economic projections, for various IECT and related areas. A Working Group on IT Mass literacy was formed for spreading IT literacy, evolving an implementation strategy for IT mass Literacy. Accordingly about 18 projects were initiated during the XI Plan which are aimed at imparting training at various levels in different disciplines of IECT.
2.2.2 Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) Project:
The ISEA Project is aimed at the development of human resource in the area of Information Security at various levels (Certificate Level to B.Tech, M.Tech & Ph.D Level). This activity is presently being implemented through 6 Resource Centres (RC) as mentoring institutions and 33 Participating Institutes (PI). The project also has a component on awareness creation and imparting training to the Central and State Government Officers on issues related to Information Security. A National Certification Scheme for Information Systems Security professionals at 3 levels has been evolved by DOEACC Society in consultation with academia, NASSCOM, etc.
2.2.3 Scheme of Manpower Development for the Software Export Industry:
A Scheme for Manpower Development for the Software Export Industry which covers Training of the Trainer’s Program, Enhancement of quality of IT education in colleges, Virtualization of Technical Education, conducting specialized short term courses in IT/ITES sector, setting up of National On-line Test System for Graduate Engineers in Information Technology, etc. Accordingly, various projects under the scheme at C-DAC-Noida, IIIT-Allahabad, IIITM-Gwalior, IIIT-Bangalore, IIIT- Hyderabad, State Government of Tamil Nadu, and UP Technical University. The projects at C-DAC-Pune, C-DAC-Hyderabad under this scheme have been completed successfully. Till 15th July 2011, 27,618 faculties and students have been trained/undergoing training under various projects. An ‘Online Examination Software’ has been developed by C-DAC, Noida and is at present under advanced level of testing.
2.2.4 IT Mass Literacy
There is a need to empower everyone with basic IT literacy skills so that they are able to reap the benefits of the spread of Information Technology. IT Literacy would act as a vehicle for improved quality of life, accessibility to information, transparency in governance and an overall improved socio-economic growth.
62 The Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT in it’s 7th report on Information Technology (2009-10) on “Demands of Grants (2010-11)” of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Department of Information Technology) had recommended that there is a need to maintain data regarding the computer literacy rate in our country.
Keeping the above recommendation in view, Government of India has initiated a policy level intervention for spreading IT Mass Literacy in the country. For spreading IT literacy, a Working Group on IT Mass Literacy has been constituted under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and members from Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Rural Development, NASSCOM and various State Governments etc. The objective of the working to evolve a implementation strategy/Roadmap for IT mass Literacy, eliciting suggestions on various aspects of IT literacy viz. definitions & standards, approach for development of course material, methodologies for spreading of IT literacy etc.
2.2.5 In addition the following projects are also being implemented
(a)‘Setting up of ICT Academy Kerala (ICTACK)’ with the primary objective to train faculties in Engineering, Arts, Science, Polytechnic and ITI’s and support roll out of HR programme for graduates.
(b) Training Programmes on ‘IT Enabled Soft Skill Enhancement to Improve Employability of Engineering and Management Students’ by Anna Universities of Coimbatore and Chennai have been initiated. As of July 2011, a total of 5,165 students from 91 colleges affiliated to Anna University of Coimbatore and 5,610 students from 52 engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University Chennai were trained under these projects. More than 80% of the trained students have been successfully placed in the industry.
(c) 5 DOEACC Centres were set up in 2010-11 at Chennai, Patna, Shillong, Gangtok, and Itanagar.
2.2.6 Development of North-Eastern Region
The Department of Information Technology through DOEACC Society has initiated projects for setting up Regional Institutes for e-Learning and Information Technology (RIELIT) at Kohima (Nagaland), Agartala (Tripura); and DOEACC Centres at Shillong (Meghalaya), Gangtok (Sikkim) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh). These institutes/centers are aimed to create skilled manpower in the area of Computer Science and Information Technology and related disciplines for making available industry ready professionals and also cater to the needs of the respective states and in the North-Eastern region. Each RIELIT would have an integrated campus with state of the art infrastructure and hostels for students and residential accommodation.
2.2.7 New Initiatives during XI Plan a) Local Capacity and Capability Building for the Union Territory of Puducherry
The objective of the project is to provide capacity building through training of Teachers and Students in the ICT domain thereby making the students industry ready and
63 employable. The project duration is three years. A total of 3150 faculty & students are proposed to be trained in various ICT areas across Puducherry. b) Three projects in the area of ‘IT Skill development for the disadvantaged segments of the society’
The main challenge is to reach IT education to remote corners of the country, including rural as well as disadvantaged segments of population such as SC/ST, OBC, disabled persons, minorities, economically weaker sections, etc. Keeping this in view, the following projects have been approved recently to be implemented by DOEACC Society:
Training in IT Skills to improve the employability of the rural youth belonging to SC/ST & Minority Communities Training program on ITES-BPO (Customer Care and Banking) to improve the employability of the rural youth belonging to Women, SC/ST & Minority Communities Training in Electronics Equipment Repair & Maintenance to improve the employability of the rural youth belonging to SC/ST & Minority Communities c) Advanced Faculty Training in Emerging Trends of Hardware, Embedded Systems and Information Technology - C-DAC Hyderabad.
The project proposal aims to impart advanced training through innovative and participative learning-teaching approaches within a project based training framework to the faculty of engineering colleges in the niche areas of IECT such as Ubiquitous Computing, Cloud Computing, Multi-core Programming, Virtualization, Scientific Computing etc. It also aims at orienting faculty in research in the area of Electronics, Computer Science and Information Technology. d) Development of North - Eastern Region by enhancing the Training/ Education capacity in the IECT Area
The presence of DOEACC Society though significant in the North Eastern Region as compared to rest of the country, most of the centres here are quite small in size and are located in temporary/ rented premises with inadequate infrastructure. Up-gradation with enhanced capacity is thus felt urgently to create industry ready professionals for the IT industries. The main objective of the project is to carry out capacity building in the area of IECT training/education by:
Setting up 6 RIELITs by upgrading 6 existing DOEACC Centres in the North eastern region. These Centres are at- Guwahati, Imphal, Shillong, Itanagar, Gangtok & Aizawl. Setting up 12 Extension Centres to reach most of the remote locations within the NE region. Increasing the training capacity from 3080 per year to 14400 per year from the 5th year onwards.
2.2.8 E-Learning initiatives
a) Under e-learning tools and technology development, various projects have been initiated in the following broad areas:
64 Real time video compression and decompression techniques Quality Assurance of e-learning tools and content Content Management and Delivery System (Brihaspati) Personalized learning Interactive simulation environment: Online Labs (Olabs) for School Lab Experiments. Content generation, adaptation and distribution in m-learning environment for Mobile phone applications Adaptable e-Learning Accessibility Model for the disabled.
b) An effort has been made towards making these available for wider dissemination: Data Compression Techniques (Image Compression Module and Video Compression Module) - made available in public domain. Content on Animation & Multimedia (The Certificate Course in Digital Media Creation is being conducted for 120 candidates sponsored by DONER). E-Learning Contents for e-Security Solutions Developers for Post Graduate/Engg. Students/System Administrators & Scientists has been developed and is available in e-Learning mode. Quality Assurance of e-Learning tools and content Content Management and Delivery System (Brihaspati) was developed which acts as platform for deploying content in traditional format as well as SCORM format. This is being used by about 85 institutions. Content Based Streaming and Real Time Regional Language Captioning of E- Learning Video Data was developed and put in public domain Training of Teachers in E – Learning by DOEACC Society - Imphal, Calicut and Gorakhpur.
c) The following new projects were initiated during the XI Plan and are under various stages of implementation :
Design and Development of Service Oriented Architecture based Standards Compliant e- Learning Framework with Personalized learning Features. Design and Development of a framework for Adaptive Instruction Video Compression and Decompression techniques “Online Labs (Olabs) for School Lab Experiments” Adaptable e-Learning Accessibility Model for the disabled. Content generation, adaptation and distribution in m-learning environment for mobile phone applications
2.2.9 Special Manpower Development Program in the area of VLSI Design and related software (SMDP-II)
The primary objective of this programme is to train special manpower in the area of VLSI Design and related software at M.E./M.Tech level (Type-II manpower). In addition to this, generation of Type-III manpower i.e. M.E./M.Tech in other areas of electronics etc. with at least two courses on VLSI design were also undertaken.
There are 7 Resource centres (RCs) and 25 Participating Institutes (PIs) which were involved in implementation of this program. The main elements of this program were establishment of VLSI Design Laboratories with State-of-the art Hardware
65 platform and Electronics Design Automation (EDA) software environment in all PIs and RCs; generation of specialized manpower, conduct Instruction Enhanced program for training faculty of PIs; India chip program; conduct workshop involving International guest faculty: creation of VLSI Design web sites at the 7 RCs with educational resource. A total of about 28,403 students have been trained/are undergoing training at UG/PG levels. A total of 447 faculty/ Lab Engineers of PIs have been trained through the Instruction Enhancement Programme. Support has been provided to student and faculty for presentation of papers and International conferences. Twelve Integrated circuit designs in Multi-Project Chip (MPC) or Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) were undertaken through the India chip program for siliconization of analog/digital and mixed signal designs done by students of RCs and PIs. Four workshops involving International guest faculty will have been conducted by the end of the 11th plan period. 14 publications have resulted from the students & faculty involved in the program. The central web-site for this program can be seen at URL: http://www.smdp2vlsi.gov.in
2.2.10 DOEACC Society
DOEACC Society is an Autonomous Scientific Society under the administrative control of Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Govt. of India that was set up to carry out Human Resource Development and related activities in the area of Information & Communication Technology. The Society has 15 Centres at Agartala, Aizawl, Aurangabad, Calicut (with Southern regional office at Pudukkottai), Chennai, Chandigarh (with 3 branches at Shimla, Lucknow & New Delhi) Gorakhpur (Eastern Regional Office at Patna, Bihar), Gangtok, Itanagar, Imphal, Srinagar/Jammu, Shillong, Kohima/chuchuyimlang, Kolkata and Tezpur/Guwahati with its Headquarters at New Delhi. One more Centre at Ajmer has been approved recently by DIT.
The Society is engaged both in the formal & the non formal education in the area of IECT including the development of Industry oriented quality education and training in the state-of-the-art areas, and to establish standards and to be the country’s premier institution for Examination and Certification in the field of IECT. It is also a National Examination Body, which accredits institutes/organizations for conducting courses particularly in the non-formal sector of IT Education & Training. In the non formal sector, the Society is implementing the DOEACC Scheme on Computer Courses, a joint Scheme of the then Department of Electronics (DOE), now Department of Information Technology (DIT), in the area of Information Technology at the national level by utilizing the facilities and infrastructure available with the institutions/organizations. Under this Scheme, ‘O’ Level (equivalent to foundation level), ‘A’ Level (equivalent to Advance diploma), ‘B’ Level (equivalent to MCA Level), ‘C’ Level are being offered. O/A/B/level courses are recognized by MHRD for the purpose of employment. Since inception of the Society more than 8.3 lakhs candidates have been registered, and about 1.61 lakhs candidates have qualified the various DOEACC Computer Courses at O/A/B & C Level.
The following is the gist of the major achievements regarding manpower development.
Activities Achievements 1 Information Security . As of August 2011, more than 35,000 students have Education and been trained/ undergoing training in various long- Awareness Project term/ short-term courses at 6 RCs and 33 PIs. This includes: 2000 New M. Tech in IS and M. Tech in
66 Cdc-IS; 6500 M. Tech (Retrofit); 2200 B Tech (Retrofit), 3250 Short-term Courses. . 269 Information Security awareness workshops have been organized across the country covering 44 cities in 23 states and 5 UTs. About 9685 Teachers/ Parents/ NGOs, etc. 24,250 school children, and 5100 college students participated in the above workshop. 2 Scheme of Manpower .As of July 2011, about 16000 students and 11500 Development for the faculty have been trained/undergoing training under Software Export Industry various projects .An ‘Online Examination Software’ has been developed and is under advanced level of testing. 3 Development of North- .In RIELIT, Kohima, Nagaland so far, 2967 students Eastern Region (NER) have been trained/enrolled. The construction of the main campus at Mereima, Nagaland is under progress. Construction of Academic Block, Administrative Block and Girls Hostel have been completed. .In RIELIT, Agartala so far 925 candidates have been enrolled in various courses. Action for the construction of the main campus is initiated. .In DOEACC Centre, Shillong 440 students have been enrolled for various courses. .5 DOEACC Centers were Set up in 2010-11 at Chennai, Patna, Shillong, Gangtok, and Itanagar. .An integrated and holistic programme on Development of NER through Capacity Building in IECT has been worked out
4 E-Learning initiatives The R&D projects initiated in the following areas: . Online Labs, Video Compression and Decompression Techniques; Service Oriented Architecture e-Learning Accessibility Model for the disabled; Content generation, adaptation and distribution in m-learning environment. Content Management and Delivery System (Brihaspati) was developed through IIT Kanpur 5 Special Manpower . Establishing State–of-the art VLSI Design Development Program in Laboratory with State-of-the art Hardware platform the area of VLSI Design and Electronics Design Automation (EDA) and related software software environment in all PIs and RCs. (SMDP-II) . A total of 28403 skilled manpower [Ph.D: 266; ME/M.Tech (VLSI): 2641, ME/ M.Tech. (elective - VLSI): 4209, BE/B.Tech (elective- VLSI): 21287] were trained/being trained. . A total of 447 faculties/ Lab Engineer of PIs have been trained through Instruction Enhancement Program (IEP). 6 DOEACC Society . Since inception of the Society more than 8.3 lakhs candidates have been registered, and about 1.61 lakhs candidates have been qualified as of March
67 2011 the various DOEACC Computer Courses at O/A/B/C Level. . During the XI Plan period about 6500 students were trained in the formal courses; about 47000 students were trained in short term courses; and 3.14 lakh students were trained in CCC course.
3. XII Five Year Plan (2012-17)
3.1 Objectives, Targets and Strategies
Objectives . To evolve strategies to become world leaders in providing highly skilled manpower for Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology (IECT) sector.
. Plan, assess and prepare a framework for manpower development by assessing the present and future needs of the industry including emerging areas in IECT related disciplines.
. To examine the existing infrastructure and constraints for developing high quality manpower and to recommend measures to meet the needs of the industry in the global perspective including strategies for continuing education for professionals.
. To study the role of new educational technologies and to recommend modalities for their integration in to the present educational/training system. To suggest measures necessary to improve teaching of non- IECT subjects by using computers and the internet for all students.
. To assess the impact of IECT sector and suggest measures to improve use of IECT in various fields for increasing productivity, bringing in socio-economic development and services like e-medicine, e-education, e-entertainment especially to the rural areas.
. E-learning initiatives to supplement the traditional mode of learning. Promote proliferation of usage of IECT in learning across the full range of academic disciplines with intention to enhance the learning outcome, and providing platform for one to one, one to many, and many to many collaboration.
. Identification of Indian needs and accordingly development of relevant tools, standards and technologies for e-content. Localization of available IECT technology for e-learning to suite Indian needs in terms of language, culture and learning requirement of differently able as well as disadvantaged segments for inclusive education.
. To scale capacity building with foundation and life skills being integrated both in formal and non-formal programmes of learning at all levels.
68 3.2 Targets & Strategies
The ongoing schemes would be consolidated and enhanced in its scope to meet the objectives. The following are the directions in which activities/projects/schemes could be initiated and pursued in the next five years which could also provide continuity between XI and XII Plan Periods; learning from the experiences gained so far:
(a) The Information Security Education and Awareness Project which is aimed at generation of quality human resource in the area of information security at various levels viz. from certificate level to doctoral level, training of faculty, creating awareness on information security in the country, etc. is scheduled to be completed by March 2012. DIT is in the process of working out a strategy for further carrying this project and its benefits in an integrated fashion, and also to institutionalize the mechanism so that the system continues beyond the project duration, and also to evolve future strategies based on the emerging needs of the academia, industry and the masses at large. Such a mechanism is proposed to be evolved and the implementation of the same would be carried out during this five years period.
(b) There are several cutting-edge technology areas which are emerging. The market requirement and characteristics are continuously modified based on both emerging technology and change in customer needs. The NASSCOM Report entitled ‘NASSCOM PERSPECTIVE 2020: Transform Business, Transform India’ has identified a set of emerging technology areas which would transform the business. This inter-alia include Artificial Intelligence, Multi-core programming, Cloud Computing, Biometric Identification, Ubiquitous Computing, collaborative online interaction, Pervasive IT Security, intelligent information gathering and processing, flexible IT and Green IT etc. This list could be taken as a starting point for identifying potential emerging areas and launching HR initiatives associating all the stakeholders’ viz. academia, industry/industry associations.
(c) One of the key issues that would emerge is handling e-Waste in the coming years. We would need to train human resource to develop systems to handle disposal of e-Waste through a reverse supply change.
(d) DOEACC as a part of skill development initiatives in the area of IECT would develop a suitable skill testing and certification framework which would be closely linked with the industry requirement and industry associations. Government of India has a plan to set up National Qualification Framework under National Skill Development Policy evolving standards, testing and certification of various skill levels. DOEACC initiatives could be a part of this national effort in collaboration with relevant Sector Skill Councils .
(e) The Government of India is laying emphasis on promotion of IT Hardware and Electronics Manufacturing Industry. A study on the manpower requirement on this segment has made several recommendations regarding the manpower initiatives that are to be taken up. In line with these, it is proposed to launch various short term and long term courses in the emerging areas like Electronics Products Design & Production Technology covering various branches of Electronics viz. consumer electronics, medical electronics, communications, etc. There is also need to address the requirement of quality faculty in this area as this is an inter disciplinary programme.
69 (f) Requirement of trained human resource for application of IT in other sectors like: Automobiles, Construction, etc. this will not only increase the usage of IT in other traditional sectors but also help those sectors to grow further with the increased efficiency of resource management due to use of IT and sector specific IT applications.
(g) Requirement of evolving technologies for a new paradigm in pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, utilizing the potentials of IECT, through a national faculty development programme (FDP), empowering faculty to be learner–centric and to use enabling technologies as support, leading to a professional certification.
3.3 DIT’s Skill Development initiatives in IECT
The National Skill Development Policy announced by the Government of India to take advantage of the demographic dividends (viz. 55% of the Indian are expected to be under the age of 25 while in the developed world 60% of the population is expected to be old) and spur in all inclusive growth has set a target of creating 500 million skilled persons by 2022 win an emphasis on inclusivity so as to deal with the divides of gender, rural/urban, organized/unorganized, employment and traditional/contemporary workplace. The DIT has been listed as a part of these skill development initiatives and has been given a target to train 10 million persons by the year 2022. In line with this, detailed project proposals are being worked out to obtain the approval of the Competent Authority. The proposal involves the following components: As a part of skill development initiatives, the capacities of DOEACC and C- DAC would be enhanced to generate 10 million skilled manpower by the year 2022 starting from diploma level right up to doctoral level and in line with the emerging industry/market/society needs. The Central Government scheme for providing financial assistance for setting up of ICT Academy in each State/UT under PPP mode by respective State Governments/UTs along with industry/industry associations has been proposed. These IT Academies would help in improving the quality of the faculty in various colleges in Tier II and Tier III cities.
3.4 E-Learning initiatives a) Content adaptation (including personalized learning). Creation of high quality interactive simulation environment like (i) Impact of plastic on environment in long span (iii) simulation for Indian environment, culture and language (iv) Global warming (v) Effect of population increase (vi) Online Labs (Olabs) for School Lab Experiments etc. M-Learning has to be made de-facto part of e-Learning, bringing in mobile as part of e-Learning environment to increase the reach and penetration of e- Learning. b) Cloud solutions for e-Learning to enhance the use of advanced web based tools at affordable cost for scheduling, project management, documentation, multimedia production tools in different stages of e-Learning environment is becoming important. Accessible Learning model through e-Learning for “Differently Able Children” (Work could be carried out closely with domain experts in the institutes like NIMHANS, Bangalore, NIMH, Hyderabad) etc. Design and Development of Service Oriented Architecture based Standards Compliant e- Learning Framework with Personalized Learning Features to support Peer-to-Peer Learning. c) Open Educational Resources (OER) – use of ICT for locating right content. Focus should be set towards quality, standards, accreditation of e-Learning courses and
70 industry acceptance to enable the learner to gain employment opportunities. Extensive Groups working in the area of open source and open content will play a crucial role in e-Learning in the future. d) Content Authoring Tool for Indian languages as well as for the creation of Content for the differently abled. Creation and formation of e-Learning ontology with Artificial Intelligence. e) U-Learning framework utilizing power of wireless technologies and cloud computing. Build effective game environment for learning for specific target groups. ICT and DTH services can play a vital role in bringing services accessible to learners at any locations. Building a content creation framework and structure to enable high degree of personalization and adaptation. Standards would be worked out for achieving unification of content & platform and to take care of various available bandwidths along with their limitations. f) The efficacy of e-Learning, virtual class, & virtualization of Learning has not yet been fully understood and the potential of these has not been fully emphasised and exploited. Collaborative e- learning technologies need to be explored in detail. There is a need to setup virtual university for IT/Computer Science by effectively leveraging the potential of e-Learning methodology. The tools/technology built/developed now will find immediate use when looked at along with the National Mission in Education through ICT and the ICT@schools programmes of MHRD. g) For effective private participation, Government could help by establishing quality standards, establishing accreditation arrangements and wide dissemination of information.
4. Implementation Plan
The technological advancements in Electronics and ICT sectors are very dynamic. Therefore, there is a need to regularly monitor and identify the niche areas, estimate the manpower demand and supply gaps which need to be developed in the country along with potential institutions. In order to identify, evolve and implement specific projects as per the above strategy Working Groups (WGs) would be constituted/re-constituted. i. Working Group on HRD in IT – To identify the gaps from the demand and supply of human resources emerging from the formal sector. Planning programmes in the non-formal and formal sector for meeting the demand. ii. Working Group on E-learning: To evolve projects for e-learning tools and technologies
These Working Groups would have members from Industry, Academic / Research Institutions, Government Organizations / Societies and Industry Associations The Working Groups in particular would Identify thrust areas and assessing the skilled human resource requirements along with the institutions to carryout training and education programmes in these niche- areas Work-out details of the capacity building programme in identified thrust areas Identify the state-of-the-art infrastructure required for setting up labs for training in emerging areas Identify the academic institutions with appropriate expertise where the training the trainers programmes could be launched Identify the areas for setting up the Centres of Excellence
71 Work out details to strengthen linkages between R&D / academic institutions and Industry Identify the R&D societies and academic institutions with similar expertise in the identify areas and link the two to carry out joint R&D initiatives. Identify steps needed for linking IT & Electronics industry with academic institutions
Activities like - identification of thrust areas, institutions and working out of other details of infrastructure etc. would be carried out by end of June 2012. This would be followed with initiation of appropriate activities / projects in the identified areas in the remaining 4 years and in the consolidation of the achievements and workout a roadmap for the XIII Plan would be carried out in the 5th year.
The working Group would meet about twice in a year. The Working Group will also review the on-going activities in the identified thrust areas and suggest mid-course correction wherever required.
Sub-Groups may also support these Working Groups, wherever needed, to work out in-depth details of the activities mentioned above.
To facilitate usage of infrastructure created under the government support in the identified institutions and identified areas, wider publicity would be given by providing details of the infrastructure & institution on DIT web site; publishing in the leading News Papers; and publicizing in seminars etc.
5. Recommendations for XII Plan
Existing Manpower Development Schemes be reviewed for this utility. The continuation of the schemes be linked to the its outcome being positive.
Specific manpower development programmes need to be initiated in the frontier areas based on the immediate requirements of the Industry. These inter-alia include Multi-core Programming, Cloud Computing, Biometrics, Ubiquitous Computing, pervasive IT security, intelligent information gathering, processing and Services, flexible IT and Green IT.
Phase II for the Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) project needs to be launched in a structured manner at a large scale and in an integrated fashion with various kinds of courses ranging from short-term to long-term covering both formal (certificate level to doctoral level) as well as non-formal education with a focus on operation, design, research & development. This programme would also need to cover various sector specific requirements for training specialized manpower aiming at high-end product design & development. Further, there is a need to create cyber security awareness at a large scale to cover the schools, colleges, SMEs, Industry segments (other than IT) which uses IT extensively, general public at large, government employees, e-Governance (both users as well as implementers), law enforcement agencies, detective agencies, judiciary along with hands on training etc. Hence, there is a need to work out a holistic programme in an integrated fashion and also to institutionalize the mechanism so that the system continues beyond the project duration and also to evolve future strategies based on the emerging needs of the academia, industry and the masses at large.
72 In order to effectively harness the benefits arising out of our demographic advantage, it is essential to create capacity building infrastructure for generation of skilled human resource. (a) Close Industry-Academia-Govt. inter-relationship is advocated. Curricula be designed and updated on a periodic basis in order to match the industry requirements. Faculty upgradation programme be undertaken in order that skill sets of faculty keeps pace with the changing requirements of the industry. The infrastructure of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) be leveraged to achieve the stated objectives of improvement in the delivery mechanism, quality of students and faculty. (b) DIT to liaise with MHRD and other institutions to effect course curricula revisions/updations.
Further, there is a need to shift our focus from ‘operation/maintenance of IECT systems’ to the ‘next generation design and development’. Creation of specialized Centres/institutions for the programmes to focus on emerging areas such as Cryptology, Cryptanalysis, Crypto-design, Algorithm design and development, Hardware realization of VLSI, FPGA, Boards, and systems, and Policy Research, etc. to create compatible and contemporary eco-system nationally and internationally.
Initiation of specific programmes for IT Management courses like e-Waste, Green IT, Change Management, Software Product Development, Media and content management with small form factor devices, Managing Collaborative environments, Packaging and documentation etc.
R&D projects would be initiated in the area of e-learning tools, technologies and pedagogy inter-alia content adaptation, personalized learning, creation of high quality interactive simulation environment, Open Educational Resources (OER), Adaptable e-Learning, Accessibility Models for the disabled, Ubiquitous Learning, Augmented Reality, , gaming environment for learning for specific target groups etc. Use of Cloud Computing, social media and social networking for e-learning need to be explored.
There is a need to integrate formal and non-formal system of education by introducing the concept of Virtual University or Central University with multiple campuses and blended learning mode. The credits earned in the non-formal system to be recognized for award of certificates in formal system.
There is a need to collaborate with the IT-ITeS Sector Skill Council under NSDC to establish National Occupational Standards(NOS) across levels with an aim to scale quality capacity for IECT industry.
Redefine and establish standards related to ICT Literacy for the masses. Launch a national programme to create and empower ICT awareness to use as a tool and to increase employability.
Formalize international (mutual) recognition of academic degrees and certifications, and encourage internationally renowned academic institutions to establish campuses in the country.
An integrated and holistic project for the development of North eastern region through capacity building in the IECT sectors need to be taken up.
73 As a part of skill development initiatives, the capacities of DOEACC and C-DAC would be enhanced to generate 10 million skilled manpower by the year 2022 starting from the diploma level right up to doctoral level and in line with the emerging industry/market/society needs. The Central Government scheme for providing financial assistance for setting up of ICT Academy in each State/UT under PPP mode by respective State Governments/UTs along with industry/industry associations has been proposed.
Use of disruptive technologies like Augmented Reality, 3D Virtual Environments, Using of “clickers” to Engage Students and Enhance Learning abilities
Initiatives so that all the engineering colleges offering Computer Science/ IT programs to necessarily have industry attachment/collaboration on the model of medical college-hospital tie up.
Mandate may be given for all IT/ Software companies with a turn over beyond a level to necessarily adopt an engineering college/ research institution for promoting research/ innovation and provide test beds/ markets for the research/ innovation taking place in academic/ research institutions. Collaboration of the above nature would be encouraged.
With the emergence of country-wide high bandwidth broadband networks like National Knowledge Network, NMEICT, etc there is a need to build HR centric applications such as Virtual Labs, country wide Virtual Classrooms, etc. to ride on these platforms for improving the quality of students, faculty as well research, etc.
Need to bring in an ‘IT Mass Literacy’ movement for inclusion of all the citizens of India (especially the rural and the far flung areas) in the IT revolution. There is a need to create the benchmarks for functional literacy for various segments, design course-ware in multi-lingual format for multi-modal delivery (including through mobiles, Common Service Centres (CSCs), State Resource Centres (SRCs), Adult Literacy Centres, etc).
Continuation of SMDP in VLSI Design and related software in Twelfth Plan with enhanced scope and coverage in terms of number of Institutions as well as target selected disciplines like: Biomedical, Signal processing, Communications, Embedded system, etc. in order to bridge the talent demand supply gap by 2022, in an integrated fashion, and also workout an Institutional mechanism. The focus should be at post graduate and doctoral level program.
There is a need launch an integrated and holistic capacity building programme for Electronics Product Design and Manufacturing Technology covering entire layer of human resources development (including faculty development) starting from certificate level upto PG/Doctoral level covering the areas of right from manufacturing/production floor upto product Design and Development as well as applied research. Short term skill oriented courses in Sales/after sales support, assembly operations, packaging etc. would also be launched. Such programmes could be designed on similar lines and based on the experience gained in implementing projects like ISEA and SMDP.
Setup specialized institutes for semiconductor design with Government and industry players as key stakeholders to achieve rural inclusion in the
74 semiconductor revolution in India by replicating “the KarMic kind of model and aid” in enabling such set ups in tier-III cities and rural areas to encourage senior secondary and higher secondary graduates to take up a career in semiconductor design industry. Faculty can be encouraged to take up part-time/weekend courses in these setups. Create a pool of skilled labor for the semiconductor design industry
Initiatives for the proliferation of IECT uses in important sectors/resources critical (Sectoral-Electronics) for sustainable growth (in terms of preservation of environment, as well as cost) like: Construction, Automobile, Textile, Mining, Agriculture, Food Processing, Preservation and Storage, Infrastructure Maintenance, Management of forests and water resources etc. and creating a leadership position for India in these sectors. To take it forward specialization of education focused on Sectoral-Electronics at Graduate, Post-graduate and Doctoral level with right blend of academia and industry participation are need to be explored.
Colleges/Academic Institutes/Government Bodies can provide sabbaticals to their faculty-members/experts/specialist for higher education or to work on industry projects. Companies-consortium can attract research-oriented talent by providing benefits such as sponsoring higher technical education (M. Tech, M.S., Ph.D etc.).
Companies-consortium should take initiatives such as organizing faculty/expert/specialist development programs by inviting faculty- members/expert/specialist to work on live industry projects with a view to foster design skills and latest technology know-how.
Expenditure incurred by the students/professionals towards skill enhancement/continuing education is to be made 100% deductible from the income for income tax purposes. In the case of students who have taken an educational loan for regular programmes in IT education, similar tax benefits are to be given to their parents/guardians. A portion of the education cess may be earmarked for higher education.
II. Language Technology Study Team
Technology Development for Indian Language (Human Cantered Computing)
1. Background
The 10th Plan research efforts were directed during the 11th Plan to reach-out to the citizen through language software CDs launch in 22 Indian languages.
Standards in the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Development of language resources are the key components of the advanced language technologies. TDIL Programme is taking initiatives in this direction by working with the international organizations such as Unicode Consortium, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), ELRA etc. Many initiatives are being taken to develop linguistic resources and tools.
The programme is also playing a catalytic role for wider proliferation of Indian language technology products and solutions by making them available to common
75 people through Data Centre in addition to the resources for research for the language technology researchers.
2. Objectives, Targets & Achievements of 11th Plan:
2.1 Objectives: TDIL Programme supports activities related to Research & development, Proliferation and standardization of Language Technologies for Indian languages so that advantages of ICT reach to the common people in their own languages.
2.2 Targets & Achievements: Following projects / activities were initiated to meet the above objectives.
2.2.1 National Roll-Out Plan: Software tools and fonts for 22 Indian languages namely Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu languages have been released in public domain. These software and tools are also freely-downloadable from the website www.tdil-dc.in and http://www.ildc.gov.in.
2.2.2 Consortium Mode Projects: A number of Consortium projects were initiated in mission mode to develop various technologies as detailed below:
Development of English to Indian Languages Machine Translation System - In the Phase-1 of the project Machine Translation Systems for 8 Language Pairs: English to Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Urdu in the tourism domain with varying efficiency have been completed. These MT systems have been made available on the TDIL Data Centre Website http://www.tdil-dc.in.
Development of Indian Languages to Indian Languages Machine Translation System - In the Phase-I of the project Machine Translation Systems for 9 Bidirectional Language Pairs: Telugu-Hindi, Hindi-Tamil, Urdu-Hindi, Kannada-Hindi, Punjabi- Hindi, Marathi-Hindi, Bengali-Hindi, Tamil-Telugu, Malayalam-Tamil with varying efficiency have been developed. These MT systems have been made available on the TDIL Data Centre Website http://www.tdil-dc.in.
Development of Cross-Lingual Information Access system (CLIA): In the Phase-I, CLIA System for 6 Languages: Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Punjabi have been developed for Tourism domain. Some of the resources developed under the CLIA consortium mode project has been made available at TDIL Data Centre http://tdil-dc.in
Development of Optical Character Recognition System (OCR): In the first phase alpha version of OCR System for 9 Scripts: Bengali, Devanagari, Malayalam, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Gurumukhi have been completed.
Development of On-line Handwriting recognition system (OHWR): In the Phase-I of the project which was exploratory phase technology has been tested for 6 Scripts: Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
Development of Text to Speech (TTS) and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Systems: Alpha versions of TTS systems in 6 Indian Languages namely Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages have been developed under
76 Phase-I. Project for development of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Systems for agricultural domain has been initiated for six Indian Languages namely Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. 2.2.3 Development of Language Technology Resources Annotated Text Corpora and Speech Corpora: Annotated Text Corpora for 11 Indian languages i.e. Hindi, English, Gujarati, Punjabi, Oriya, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Urdu, Konkani and Tamil languages has been developed. Annotated Bodo Speech Corpora of 50 hrs has also been developed.
WordNet: Wordnet for eleven Indian languages i.e. Assames, Bodo, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi and Urdu is being generated.
Development of Open-Type fonts in Indian Languages: Sakal-Bharti’ multilingual font with matching characteristics of font-size, height and width supporting 22 Indian Languages has been developed. This unique font is being made available free for E- Governance application development in Indian languages.
2.2.4 Standardization Unicode for Indian Scripts: 12 Indian scripts used for representing 22 official languages of India including Vedic Sanskrit characters and symbols have been represented in the Unicode Standard. Newly adopted Indian Rupee Sign has also been encoded in the Unicode and ISO Standard. It has also been incorporated in the INSCRIPT and QWERTY KeyBoard layout as per BIS notification.
2.2.5 Human Resource Development in Indian Languages Under this initiative M. Tech. in Computational Linguistics/ Knowledge Engineering/ Language technology and PG Diploma in Language Technology courses were initiated at premier universities/ institutions to fulfil increasing demand of trained manpower in the area of Natural Language Processing. About 30 students are passing out each year to work in NLP area.
3.0 Review of Performance of 11th Plan The programme played a catalytic role for wider proliferation of Indian language technology products and solution by making them available to common people through Data Centre in addition to the resources for the research for the language technology researchers. DIT has released the Language-CDs, containing software tools and fonts for all the 22 constitutionally recognized Indian Languages, viz., Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu & Urdu. These Language-CDs are being shipped to the users on formal request and can also be downloaded from the website http://www.ildc.in. Machine Translation facility for English- Indian Languages (8 language pairs) and Indian Languages- Indian languages (4 language pairs) has been made available through TDIL Data centre http://www.tdil-dc.in.
4.0 12th Five Year Plan:
4.1 Objectives, Targets & Strategies In the 12th Plan period the strategy of development of language independent core engines will be pursued further for improving the efficiencies of the engine for the languages worked upon during 12th Plan and also extend it to more languages. These technologies will also be supported by speech interface and accessibility from mobile
77 platform. The greater thrust needs to be laid on development of linguistic resources to support these research efforts. The work will be continued on evolving standards of W3C. 4.2 Continuing Activities:
4.2.1Technology Development: The implementation of the various technology development projects initiated during last phase of the XI Plan in the areas of Machine Translation, Cross Lingual Information Access, Optical Characters Recognition system, Optical Hand Writing Recognition system will continue up to middle of the 12th Plan period.
4.2.2 Language Resources Development: Development of the Language Technology Resources such as wordnet, annotated text & speech corpora, fonts will be continued for all the Indian languages. Annotated Speech Corpora for Mobile, Wireless and In-vehicle Environments; Reference Phoneme set; Speech Recognition Grammar and Pronunciation Lexicon for 22 Indian Languages will also be continued. Development of the Language Technology resources Tree Bank, Morphological Analyzers etc for all the Indian languages would also be taken up.
4.2.3 Human Resource Development in Indian Languages: In order to foster the Language Technology Research in India trained manpower in the form of Masters and Doctorates need to be generated during the Twelfth plan period. This will augment the innovations in terms product development in Language Technology area and fulfil increasing demand of trained manpower in the area of Natural Language Processing.
4.3 New Developments to be taken up during the 12th Five Year Plan
4.3.1 Lab to Land
Already developed, Machine Translation (MT) Systems & Optical Characters Recognition (OCR) Systems will be improved in terms of efficacy and domain coverage. New language/ pairs would be undertaken. The MT & OCR systems would be deployed in real life user application/ organizations in their workflow. Text-to- Speech in Indian Languages (TTS) integrated with screen reader. Appropriate measures are required to be taken for software engineering and system integration of the technology. Hence a policy for converting IP to Product is proposed to be evolved.
4.3.2 Research & Development:
Speech: Projects for Development of Domain specific Low and Medium Vocabulary Automatic Speech Recognition in Indic Languages; Development of Continuous Speech Recognition (CSR) in Indic Languages to develop dictation systems; Phonetic search engine in Indian Languages; Experimental Study of Emotion Recognition and Development of Speaker Recognition Systems would be undertaken.
4.3.3 Mobile: Initiatives would be taken for enabling mobile and wireless devices for Indian languages application. Technologies for Distributed Speech Recognition for Next generation Mobile and Wireless Systems for Indic languages would be developed.
4.3.4 Machine Translation, OCR, OHWR & CLIA: Next Steps
78 Cloud computing approach will be utilized for development and deployment of MT Systems. OCR System for Handwritten Documents & Manuscripts will be explored. OHWR System will be improved in terms of efficacy for deployed in real life user application/ organizations in their workflow and new languages would be undertaken. Cross Lingual Information Access technology will be improved and would be tried for general domain to make it a general purpose Indic language search engine.
4.3.5 Indian Languages to English Machine Translation: There is an urgent need to develop Indian Languages to English Machine Translation System as there are many applications which need translation from regional languages to English. One such application could be the judicial system, which provides all proceedings in the lower courts in local languages, whereas at the higher courts where the proceedings are in English. Many cases are pending for the want of translation from regional languages to English. However the efficiency of such a system needs to be very high. The project will be initiated to develop Indian Languages to English Machine Translation system.
4.3.6 Compilers in Indian Languages: Development of compilers for a programming language based on Indian languages would be initiated so that a non-English speaking person can also write software.
4.3.7 Small & Medium Enterprise Language Technology Innovation Programme: During the 12th Plan period, SME sector proposing to work in the Indian Language Technology programme, would be promoted for development of innovative LT solutions, by providing active technological mentoring, training and hand-holding and making available language technology, resources and tools at minimal cost/ free of cost.
4.4. Standards:
The development standards is a dynamic process, DIT will continue to participate in the Unicode Consortium, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and ELRA etc to represent Indian scripts/ languages in the futuristic standards / web technologies and recommendations. Standardization of International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for Indic languages; Internationalization of various W3C Standards; Standards for voice browser need to be evolved
4.5 Localization - National Localization Research & Resource Center (NLRRC): The objective of the proposed National Localization Research and Resource Centre (NLRRC) is to spur the Localization activities in India. With the availability of language CDs in 22 constitutionally recognized Indian Languages has created the necessary environment wherein now localization activities in all sectors especially the MSME sector is poised for takeoff. The major activities planned to be covered to achieve above objectives are Indian Languages e-content, Localization of IT & Non IT Product, Entrepreneurship and Incubation, Making Available Localization Platform, Identification of Glitches and formulation of Standards, Localized Programming Languages, Tools (IDE), Course curriculum, Localized applications for Mobile Devices, Localization Certification, Localization Tools & Technology Demonstration Lab, Technology Support to Application provider and Joint PhD Program with world recognized Universities under NLRRC Project.
4.6 Dissemination - TDIL Data Centre setup for providing language technology services and resources would be further strengthened. Apart from acting as a single
79 source of Indian language resources, it will also check the quality of data, fix errors if any, and proactively identify gaps in the data, and efforts will be made to make available good quality linguistic resources.
5.0 Challenges Natural Language Processing is a complex technology area. It is also inter- disciplinary area of research in which Computer Scientists, Language experts/ Linguists have to work together. Building any language technology product requires a large number of language resources, hence there is need to tap existing e-data from other sources in addition to developing through funded effort which are under development. There are very few researchers working in the NLP area and constant effort are required to expand the team all over India to address requirement of all 22 constitutionally languages.
6.0 Implementation Plan: Development projects are being implemented in consortium approach. Depending upon the available expertise, the whole task is divided into horizontal and vertical tasks. Basic core modules of the necessary technology are being developed as a generic horizontal part (applicable across the languages) of the engine and language part as a vertical, under which different languages can be embedded. Mechanism will be evolved to seed new research groups by initiating the new researchers & new languages in the existing consortium.
7.0 Institutional Framework: Various research organizations like C-DAC, premier academic institutions like IITs, IIITs, IISc., Universities and standardization bodies such as ISO, Unicode, W3C etc. are already involved however, private universities/ institutions are also proposed to be funded wherever competence is available since the involvement of the computer scientists, computational linguists, language experts from each region is very essential to complete the mandate of research in this complex area. There may be a need to create a separate entity to drive this national agenda.
8.0 Recommendations: 8.1 Technology Development Projects in mission mode to continue for development of language technologies, which is a complex inter-disciplinary area of research. In addition human resource development in Localization/Language technology also needs to be addressed. Projects may be executed in consortium mode so that the expertise of language experts, linguists, computational linguists & computer scientists from all regions can be pooled towards extending the research methodologies to cover more Indian languages. Modern project implementation techniques be adopted in order to have impact of these projects in promoting internet in the regional languages.
8.2 A National Localization Research & Resource Centre (NLRRC) to be set up to focus on the development of software tools, standards, linguistic resources, localization of e-governance services, creating awareness and providing training and consultancy. This will be followed by setting up of Regional/State level centres to spread the localization activity in all domains across India.
8.3 Standards play very vital role in the development of technology. There is a need to evolve standards for Language resources, evaluation methodologies, Phoneme inventories & Localization standards so that these resources can be used seamlessly
80 for the development of the language technologies. The standards for multilingual web to be evolved in close coordination with W3C India/W3C, ICANN, IETF, IPA, GALA, ISO, Unicode, ELRA etc.
8.4 Projects for the development of linguistic resources will be undertaken as good quality linguistic data is crucial for the development of language technology.
8.5 Technologies and components for voice browser in Indian languages would be developed.
8.6 Mobile phone is emerging as an access device, and hence initiatives would be taken for enabling mobile and wireless devices for Indian languages.
8.7 The Intellectual Property generated under TDIL needs to be productized through Technology Incubation/MSME innovation Programmes involving ICT Industry. Suitable policy measures need to be evolved as the laboratory technologies need to be augmented in terms of re-writing the code using software engineering practices, training the language technology engines with more linguistic data, customize the technology for a particular domain, integrate the technology in work flow of the client as per their requirements or package the technology as a product depending on the nature of technology being commercialized & whether it has to be web based or stand-alone. The market needs to seeded in the language technology area through proactive engagement with domestic ICT Industry.
8.8 Suitable online/offline models need to be evolved for enhancing the multilingual web-content.
III. e-Infra Study Team Report
1.0 Background:
World economy is increasingly dependent on the Information Communication Technologies. ICT acts as the vehicle for knowledge creation, diffusion, productivity, economic growth and improved quality of life. The World Summit on Information society (WSIS) recognized the need for an inclusive, human centred and geared to development. IT is the key enabler for today’s innovations and improvements in lives and society. ICTs proliferation drives improved Quality of life in wide array of areas and benefits of a digital society.
E-Infrastructure comprises network connectivities, digital infrastructure, tools, facilities and resources that are needed for advanced collaboration and includes integration of various technologies such as Internet and broadband technologies, computing power, bandwidth provisioning, data storage, grid based resource sharing, cloud computing, digital technology and its storage. It deals with issues, policies, projects, programmes and schemes related to e-infrastructural facilities in the country. Though the core areas like telecom, Internet are being dealt with by other Departments and Ministries, the Division continues to work for the gap areas, and act as supplement to the requirements of an overall, comprehensive and world class e-infrastructure in the country.
The ubiquity and pervasiveness of the Internet or the World Wide Web has the attention of economies and stakeholders. Formulation of public policy on aspects of
81 access, openness, security and privacy therefore is increasingly becoming global and inclusive in its processes and structure. Every Stakeholder is well aware of the need for active participation in the processes of formulation of governing principles for allocation, management and sharing of the three Critical Internet Resources viz., Root Servers, Internet Protocol addresses and Domain Names. Critical infrastructure plays an important role in the country’s financial and governance systems. Internet Governance encompasses all activities pertaining to the management of the Critical Internet resources and other Internet Protocol related technologies, applications, resources and services. This implies formulation of regulatory and governing policies of shared principles, norms, rules, decision making procedures and programmes’ that shape the evolution and use of the Internet by Governments in cooperation/consultation with the private sector and civil society concerning their respective roles.
The Internet Proliferation and Governance aims at the enhancement of the National Information Infrastructure and to establish the principles and guidelines for proliferation of Internet in the country. This entails formulation of governing policies, programmes and processes for establishment of a stable and robust Internet Infrastructure; development of next generation networking protocols and technologies; development of traffic engineering and monitoring principles; development of standards and framework and applications and service management models and most importantly generation of skilled manpower resource pool. All of these inline with global policies and best practices and technology standards while garnering the active and full participation of all stakeholders from the government, private sector and civil society both domestic and international level.
2.0 Objectives
The main objectives has been to formulate and support programs, schemes and projects to sustain the growth of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and to meet the challenges of free market due to proliferation of new and diverse market entrants leading to highly competitive markets, there is a continuing need to invest in quality infrastructure, promote R&D efforts, create intellectual property in communications, Internet and broadband technologies, and address the related policy issues.
2.0.1 Enhancement of requisite infrastructure and resources to provision low cost and good quality Internet access to citizen of India;
2.0.2 Removing barriers of cost, language and accessibility to provision equitable access to Internet and its benefits to all citizen
2.0.3 Promotion of Research and Development in areas of intelligent or self regulating networks, applications and services
2.0.4 Evolution of framework and standards on Internet Technology and services such as to facilitate e-Governance in the country
2.0.5 Formulation of governing principles for allocation, management and sharing of Critical Internet resources namely Internet Protocol addresses and Domain Names
82 2.0.6 Bring out Best Practices and Public Policy on Internet openness, security, privacy in cyberspace
2.0.7 Evolution of dynamic and quality assured online applications and services for the citizenry
Presenting India’s position on Public Policy issues of Internet and its Governance in the international forums and Internet management and governing bodies.
2.0.8 To help promote Internet and its associated critical infrastructure such as Internet Exchange points, robust domain industry and National Internet Registry etc.
2.0.9 To establish an ultra high speed National Information network connecting all major knowledge institutions ( both academic and research ) for creation of knowledge, collation and dissemination and bring out a collaborative network with other global networks for sharing of research, knowledge and application on network technologies.
2.0.10 Digitize, preserve and web enablement of the vast data available in physical form (old manuscripts. books in the libraries etc.).
2.1 Targets
2.1.1 Establishment of effective and resilient Internet Exchange Point to facilitate peering among Internet Service Providers and keeping the domestic traffic within the country and provide cost effective internet access to citizen of India;
2.1.2 Support R&D in network technologies, Internet Traffic monitoring principles to make the country’s network resilient and self-regulating;
2.1.3 Promoting web Hosting services, Introduction of URLs and proliferation of content in Indian Languages on Internet;
2.1.4 Promote use of the country code Top Level Domain Name (ccTLD) .in and Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) ccTLDs .भारत;
2.2 Achievements of 11th Five year plan and ongoing activities
E-infrastructure development projects in technology frontier and high priority areas, societal areas were taken up and supported. Some of the policy matters pertaining to the IT investment regions, Universal electronic accessibility aspects were also addressed. Projects on Research, Development, Standards and Policy formulation and implementation for Proliferation and Governance of Internet in India supported. Department actively engaged with international bodies like ICANN, APNIC and IGF which are responsible for allocation and management of Critical Internet Resources such as IP Addresses and Domain Names and management of the Internet.
Seven Internet Exchange Points (IXP) by NIXI under DIT, NIXI nodes located at Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Noida are IPv6 ready. Disaster Recovery Management - Two Data Centers have been established in Delhi and Chennai towards disaster management with an uptime of maximum 5 minutes.
83 2.2.3 3 Root Servers (I, F & K - Any cast) 2.2.4 Registry Operations for the Top Level Domain Names .IN Registry (www.registry.in). Presently, 80 Registrars have been accredited to offer .IN domain name registration worldwide to customers. It has helped in proliferation of Web hosting in the country and enhancement of Indian. language content in the Internet. Approx. 10 lakhs .IN Domain Names registered by mid 2011 2.2.5 Formulation of Policy resolution for setting up Information Technology Investment Regions (ITIR) in States/UTs to promote investment in the IT/ITES/Electronic Hardware Manufacturing (EHM) units, the Government has decided to attract major investment by providing a transparent and an investment friendly policy to set up Information Technology Investment Regions (ITIRs). 2.2.6 To provide Universal Electronic Access to the Physically Challenged, a policy has been formulated by the Department for providing a framework to benefit them in terms of availability of technology, tools, products (hardware and software), standards and guidelines and to promote research & development. 2.2.7 Created a world class Bio IT research and Training facility in India 2.2.8 Establishment of 100 ICT Vocational Centers for Skill Creation for the Children with Disabilities in the area of Information Technology 2.2.9 Establishment of 100 Centers for helping mentally retarded children and their parents and teachers. in the country. 2.2.10 Establishment of Knowledge Data Center at Anna University, Chennai to host e- content developed in the engineering courseware and deliver the same for the benefit of students of the affiliated colleges in the tier II and tier III cities. 2.2.11 Establishment of 250 ICT centers in schools in rural areas of Rajasthan in the District of Ajmer and Jaipur. 2.2.12 Data repository of 80 million pages have been created through digitization of old manuscripts and books and made it available through web portal.
2.2.13 Development of Next Generation Internet Design Technologies indigenously for Internet Proliferation. Indigenous development of ultra-fast Ethernet Router. Development of an adaptive, self-configuring network solution EDGE (Enterprise Wide Self-Managed Network Solution) has been developed which works with the TCP/IP protocol, applicable to LAN, WAN, Intranet, Extranet and Internet networks.
2.2.14 Development of transport layer technology for Cloud Computing through the integration of Light Trails technology for optical layer multicasting, dynamic bandwidth allocation and sub-wavelength granular support at low price points. 2.2.15 Establishment of traffic engineering principles and models for establishment of an MPLS based QoS assured network. 2.2.16 Development of networking principles, protocols and tools for self managed networks including an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) called N@G.
2.2.17 DIT has supported IPv6 dual stack architectural setup of existing IPv4 networks to make the backbone networks of Education Research Network (ERNET), National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and other organizations under the DIT.
84 2.2.18 DIT is also leading the IPV6 deployment Pilot Projects initiative under the National IPv6 Roll out plan of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
2.2.19 Promotion of Multi-lingualisation of Internet – Domain Names, User Interface tools and Content in Indian Languages - .भारत top-level domain called Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) in 7 Indian Languages and Scripts namely Hindi-Devanagari, Bengali- Bengali, Gujarati – Gujarati, Punjabi – Gurumukhi, Tamil – Tamil, Telugu - Telugu and Urdu – Perso Arabic. ICANN has already delegated country code Top Level Domains (IDN ccTLDs) in these seven Indian languages. 3.0 Review of Performance of XI Plan The programmes, policies and projects under E-Infra and internet Governance have resulted into the following tangible outcomes during the 11th Five Year Plan 2007 - 2011: - Establishment of effective and resilient Internet Exchange Point in the country. - Development of Next Generation Internet Design Technologies indigenously for Internet Proliferation - Development of Network engineering and traffic monitoring principles, - Establishment of Information Technology investment regions, - Formulation of policy on Universal electronic accessibility - IPv6 deployment and readiness - Promotion of Multi-lingualisation of Internet; - Promoting web Hosting services, Introduction of URLs and proliferation of content in Indian Languages on Internet; - Establishment and effective adherence to web based applications and services guidelines by the government departments; - Establish principles of Internet Based communication and governance to help create a transparent and paperless governance mechanism in the country, - Status of NKN as on 31st July 2011: 18 Points of Presence (PoPs) have been established. 252 institutions have been connected and 29 virtual class rooms have been set up.
4.0 Objectives /Targets of 12th Plan for 2012-17
4.1 Objectives
To integrate various e-infrastructure development elements such as Broadband, Telemedicine, telecommuting, tele-cottages, Overlay networks for education health, Rural communications, community business centers etc. under a common program/scheme in DIT
To formulate projects, schemes, programs to create world-class infrastructure for training and research in the emerging technological fields such as genomic, space sciences, environmental research etc.
To create necessary interfaces so that the e-infrastucure in industry, business, commerce is UID compliant and integrated nation wide.
85 o To set up wherever required to Internet exchange points and Peering points.
o To implement Internationalized domain names in country code top level domains in Indian languages.
o Setting up of National Internet Registry (NIR).
o Policy formulation for making Data Warehousing and Data Storage and management viable to attract Web Hosting Services within the country; Establishment of resilient and continuous network backbone such as to redefine broadband as 5 Mbp/Sec and ensure outreach of Internet and its benefits beyond the barriers of cost, language and literacy to the most unreached section of the Indian diaspora;
o Development of applications and services for promoting IPv6 usage and demand;
o Development of modes and mechanisms for usage computer and Internet by the non-English literate populace of the country;
o Development of voice based tools for Internet based applications and services such as the vertical domains of Health, Education and Agriculture for the common people in Indian Languages;
o Development and ease of access and availability of - Indian language interface tools, contextual and local language content;
o Roll-out and promotion of URLs IDN TLDs and other Internet Based Services and content in all Indian Languages;
o Development of an Indian Search Engine supporting English and Indian Language web content;
o Establishment of standards for Interoperability of tools and technologies independent of platform and language;
o Digitize,preserve and web enable the data available in physical form.
o Development of mechanisms and policies to promote secure financial transaction, secure Internet based communication and services;
o Development of mechanisms to promote cloud based models of data transaction, storage and services beyond geographical boundaries;
o Establishment of policies and regulatory mechanisms for mitigation of cyber crime such as identity theft, phising, cyber squatting, etc.
5. Strategies for 12th Plan
5.1 Fund projects for development of tools and technologies for proliferation of ICT infrastructure in unreached areas localization of Internet, fund research projects for identifying evolution of next generation networks.
86 5.2 Incentivize Technology, tool, content and other resource development including support in local languages.
5.3 Establish multi stakeholder expert panels to identify the gaps and implementation hurdles at the last mile and to formulate the annual and five year thrust areas for proliferation of Internet and internet based applications and services as also the principles of sharing and governance of the Internet itself;
5.4 Establish Interest Groups to establish vision and mission and national action plans and programmes
5.5 Evolve and fund cutting edge and futuristic projects for evolution of next generation networks, tools and technologies for proliferation of Internet and its benefits to the unreached
5.6 Increase awareness about the use and benefits of ICT infrastructure for social development, quality of life, and economic growth and over all national development;
5.7 Examine and extend the Indian IT Act (Cyber Laws of India) to promulgate laws and regulations to mitigate cyber crimes and to promote cyber transactions whether data or financial
5.8 Ensure India’s active role in global forums for public policy formulation of governing principle for the sharing and management of the three critical internet resources namely; Root Servers, IP Address and Domain Name allocation. 6.0 National Knowledge Network 6.1 Background: The Government’s decision to set up National Knowledge Network was announced in the Budget Speech, 2008-09. A High Level Committee (HLC) was set up under the Chairmanship of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India to coordinate and monitor the establishment of the NKN. An initial phase was initiated by upgrading all the 17 PoPs NICNet to handle gigabit capacities; a core backbone with 2.5 G was set up and 19 institutions were connected to demonstrate the feasibility of applications such as country-wide class rooms and collaborative research. This initial phase was inaugurated by Hon’ble President of India in April 2009.
In March 2010 the Government approved the establishment of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) at an outlay of Rs.5990 crore, to be implemented by NIC over a period of 10 years.
6.2 Objectives:
The Objective of the NKN is to inter-connect all knowledge institutions across the country with a high speed data communication network to encourage sharing of resources and collaborative research. These would cover over 1500 Institutes comprising of all Universities, and Research Institutions. The core and associated links to about 1500 institutions are likely to be established in a span of 2-3 years. The Network will consist of an ultra-high speed Core (multiples of 10Gbps and upwards), and over 1500 nodes. It is scalable to higher speed and more nodes also. The Core shall be complemented with a distribution layer at appropriate speeds. The
87 participating institutions can directly or through distribution layer connect to the NKN at speeds of 100 Mbps /1 Gbps. The application areas envisaged under the NKN include Agriculture, Education, Health, e-governance, Grid Computing (High Performance Computing). NKN would facilitate creation, acquisition and sharing of Knowledge resources among the large participating Institutions; collaborative research; countrywide classrooms (CWCR) etc. and help the country to evolve as Knowledge Society. MHRD launched in February 2009 a National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technologies (NMEICT) which aims at providing high quality personalized and interactive knowledge modules over the internet/intranet for all the learners in Higher Education Institutions in any time anywhere mode. The Mission has two major components viz., (a) content generation and (b) connectivity along with provision for access devices for institutions and learners. The Mission aims to create high quality e-content for the target groups and on the other, it would simultaneously extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18000 colleges in the country including each of the departments of 400+ universities/deemed universities and institutions of national importance on a single point rental basis through the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in a manner that would permit their seamless integration with the National Knowledge Network (NKN). NMEICT was approved by CCEA with an outlay of Rs.4612 crores in January 2009.
6.3 Strategy for XII Plan
There is a need for creation of side-way-networks so that benefits of NKN can trickle-down to smaller institutions. Also there is a need to initiate sectoral networks for reaping the applications in the key sectors like Agriculture, Health etc.
There is a need to promote research and innovation in the last mile connectivity to reach the connectivity to the institutions and schools at remote locations. There is a need to explore the possibilities for data centric instruments and devices that could be plugged into NKN to get the benefits of high speed and low latency networks.
7.0 ERNET India
ERNET (A scientific Society under DIT) is providing state-of-the-art Network services, such as, Internet/Intranet, web hosting, domain name registration, mail hosting and data hosting to academic and research institutions of the country in various domains viz,. health, agriculture, schools, higher education, science & technology.
R& D projects in networking like connectivity to Global Research Networks, Indian Grids and other e-infrastructures world wide. Research and development in the area of data communications and its applications, such as, mobile IPv6, 6lowPAN, Cloud computing, IPv6 network and QoS, MPLS. Human resource development in the area of ICT and related applications for skill creation, with focus on Networking. Consultancy and implementation of ICT projects on turnkey basis, their management and monitoring. ERNET has executed projects like establishment of ICT Vocational centres for skill creation for the children with disabilities in the area of Information Technology, Citizen centric community centres in the remote areas of the country, e-linkage to the farmers of the country, connectivity to schools, data centres, digital repositories, campus-wide LAN, etc.
88 New Value added services, such as, Data Centre services, co-located servers/services, Disaster Recovery services, Managed Security services, Video/voice conferencing, Web/Multicast services.
Expertise and exposure of ERNET in varied domains would be immensely beneficial / suitable for establishing, managing and monitoring the various country wide e-infrastructure projects on turnkey basis as well as integration of various e- infrastructure elements, overlay of networks for education, rural communication, community business centres, and creation of necessary interfaces for UID.
ERNET is working in the areas of networking and IT research and application development; training to use IT infrastructure and applications; establishment of IT infrastructure in the country like for academic/educational sector in the schools, engineering institutes, farmers, community centres, research institutes, physically challenged school children, teachers, etc; project implementations like knowledge data centre, cloud computing, video conferencing, MIS,; network test beds; etc. These are being operated, managed and monitored by ERNET. Services and exposure of ERNET may be used for creating, uploading, updating, operating, managing and monitoring of data banks/ MIS with cloud computing, help line system; etc. 8 Challenges
8.1 The challenges can be seen in terms of lack of a unified networking plan for providing e- infrastructure to all and reaching the unreached, lack of availability of resources etc.:
8.2 Lack of bandwidth and Internet service providers in rural and semi-urban areas
8.3 Incompatible and differing network standards and protocols
8.4 Fast technological obsolescence
8.5 Non-availability of trained manpower
8.6 Perception of Internet as an English language based technology among the non- English speaking public
8.7 Low literacy levels;
8.8 Lack of bandwidth and Internet service providers in rural and semi-urban areas;
8.9 Very low accessibility to Internet, prohibitive bandwidth cost; unergonomic design of the Computer 8.10 Lack of awareness about the benefits of Internet amongst the public at large;
8.11 Lack of localized content;
8.12 Lack of adequate outreach of Indian Language interface tools and technologies for garnering Indian language content and services
8.13 Industry and Civil Society inertness in undertaking localization of Internet
89 8.14 Incompatible and differing network standards and protocols
8.15 Fast technological obsolescence;
8.16 Non-availability of trained manpower; etc.
9. Implementation plan and methodology:
Identification of thrust areas, gap areas, edge areas, for initiating e-infrastructure development projects
Establishment of a working Group for proposing, initiating, assessing and monitoring of national level programmes and schemes.
10. Institutional Framework:
The institutional framework will consist of organizations and stake holders from Government, industry, academia, including ERNET India, C-DAC, NIXI etc. Adoption of PPP model involving a multistakeholder approach.
11. Recommendations for XII Plan 11.1 Initiate key programmes and projects in specific areas of internet technologies and proliferation. (a) DIT to liaise with DoT in order to ensure that broadband availability improves and it is economically affordable, in order to foster Internet growth. The implementation of proposed National Optical Fibre Network's (NOFN) connectivity to the Panchayats be dovetailed with various e-Governance initiatives. (b) DIT to take the initiative for integrating efforts of public and private players towards developing a ubiquitous Internet Search Engine; integrating technologies developed in Indian languages. (c) DIT and DoT liaise to integrate the infrastructure of NKN, NOFN, NMEICT, ICT @ Schools in order to create the genesis of a knowledge economy. 11.2 Steps need to be taken to improve the Network Readiness Index. 11.3 Infrastructure for user training and experiential learning methods. 11.4 Infrastructure initiatives with special focus on sectors like: Education, Health, and Agriculture. 11.5 Initiatives for Creation of National Cloud Computing Infrastructure, capacity for its regulation, development of open standards to address interpretability issues, amendments in IT Act keeping in view the challenges and opportunity presented by this new technology creating paradigm shift across the IECT uses and ownership. 11.6 Initiatives for identification of use and application of IECT for productivity enhancement cutting across the various sectors. Exploring the possibility of establishment of National Productivity Network (NPN) to facilitate use of IECT for enhancement of productivity. 11.7 Developing supercomputing capabilities and operating system as well as modelling capabilities; there is also a need to focus on building next generation data centres.
90 11.8 Initiation of Indigenous active components programme focused on: Transmission, Security, Routing, Threat management, Optical Chain, etc. 11.9 Initiatives for creation of capacity in Specification, Standardization, Certification, and Sanitisation in IECT keeping in view Indian needs for security, and economic stability. 11.10Creation of Centers of Excellence for the Programmes to focus on: Cryptology, Cryptanalysis, Crypto-design, Algorithm design and development, Hardware realization of VLSI, FPGA, Boards, and systems, and Policy Research to create compatible and contemporary eco-system nationally and internationally. 11.11Initiatives for creation of sideway network, so that every school going child to have access. 11.12Steps towards innovative Last mile connectivity for Data Centres and Facility Virtualisation through Cloud-Computing. 11.13Creation of unmediated environments / ambiance (like Wikis) for content development through participation, and the user will make contribution them selves.
2. Summary Targets / Recommendations for e-learning
Specific manpower development programmes need to be initiated in the frontier areas based on the immediate requirements of the Industry.
Phase II for the Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) project in an integrated fashion and also to institutionalize the mechanism.
In order to effectively harness the benefits arising out of our demographic advantage, it is essential to create capacity building infrastructure for generation of skilled human resource.
R&D projects would be initiated in the area of e-learning tools, technologies and pedagogy.
There is a need to integrate formal and non-formal system of education by introducing the concept of Virtual University or Central University with multiple campuses and blended learning mode.
An integrated and holistic project for the development of North eastern region through capacity building in the IECT sectors need to be taken up.
As a part of skill development initiatives, the capacities of DOEACC and C- DAC would be enhanced to generate 10 million skilled manpower by the year 2022 starting from the diploma level right up to doctoral level and in line with the emerging industry/market/society needs. The Central Government scheme for providing financial assistance for setting up of ICT Academy in each State/UT under PPP mode by respective State Governments/UTs along with industry/industry associations.
There is a need to build HR centric applications such as Virtual Labs, country wide Virtual Classrooms, etc.
91 Need to bring in an ‘IT Mass Literacy’ movement for inclusion of all the citizens of India (especially the rural and the far flung areas) in the IT revolution. There is a need to create the benchmarks for functional literacy for various segments, design course-ware in multi-lingual format for multi-modal delivery.
Continuation of SMDP in VLSI Design and related software in XIIth plan with enhanced scope and coverage.
There is a need launch an integrated and holistic capacity building programme for Electronics Product Design and Manufacturing Technology covering entire layer of human resources development (including faculty development) starting from certificate level upto PG/Doctoral level covering the areas of right from manufacturing/production floor upto product Design and Development as well as applied research.
Create a pool of skilled labor for the semiconductor design industry.
Technology Development Projects in mission mode to continue for development of language technologies, which is a complex inter-disciplinary area of research.
A National Localization Research & Resource Centre (NLRRC) to be set up to focus on the development of software tools, standards, linguistic resources, localization of e-governance services, creating awareness and providing training and consultancy.
Technologies and components for voice browser in Indian languages would be developed.
Mobile phone is emerging as an access device, and hence initiatives would be taken for enabling mobile and wireless devices for Indian languages.
Initiate key programmes and projects in specific areas of internet technologies and proliferation.
Infrastructure initiatives with special focus on sectors like: Education, Health, and Agriculture.
Initiatives for Creation of National Cloud Computing Infrastructure, capacity for its regulation, development of open standards to address interpretability issues.
Exploring the possibility of establishment of National Productivity Network (NPN) to facilitate use of IECT for enhancement of productivity.
Initiatives for creation of sideway network, so that every school going child to have access.
Creation of unmediated environments / ambiance (like Wikis) for content development through participation, and the user will make contribution them selves.
92 3. Projected Financial Requirements for XII Plan (Rs. in Crore) 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Total
HRD Study Team 1. HRD 150 150 200 200 200 900 Skill Development 1500 1500 1000 1000 1000 6000 IT Mass Literacy 30 20 20 20 20 110 e-Learning Technologies 50 50 50 50 50 250 DOEACC Society 40 40 50 50 50 230 Sub-total 7490 Language Technology 65 75 80 90 90 400 2. Technology Development in Indian Languages Sub-total 400 E-Infra 3. e-Infrastructure 150 150 150 150 150 750 NKN (Ongoing) 1000 800 800 700 700 4000 NKN- Phase II & R & D 200 200 200 300 300 1200 Internet Governance 50 50 50 50 50 250 Digital Library initiatives 10 15 15 15 15 70 ERNET 10 10 10 10 10 50 NIXI (for setting up of NIR) 5 - - - - 5 Sub-total 6325 Total (2012 – 17) 14215
93 4. Budget Estimates Head wise: (Rs. in Crores) Ongoing Schemes 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Total Head: Manpower 1. Development HRD 150 150 200 200 200 900 e-Learning Technologies 50 50 50 50 50 250 e-Infrastructure 150 150 150 150 150 750 Internet Governance 50 50 50 50 50 250 Digital Library initiatives 10 15 15 15 15 70 Sub-total (Manpower Development) 2220 2. Head: TDIL 65 75 80 90 90 400 Language Technology, Technology Development in Indian Languages 3. NKN (Head: NKN) 1000 800 800 700 700 4000 4. DOEACC (Head: 40 40 50 50 50 230 DOEACC) 5. ERNET (Head: ERNET 10 10 10 10 10 50 India) Sub Total (TDIL+NKN+DOEACC+ERNET) 4680 Total Ongoing Schemes 6900 New Schemes National Skill Development 1500 1500 1000 1000 1000 6000 Initiative in IT IT Mass Literacy 30 20 20 20 20 110 NKN- Phase II & R & D 200 200 200 300 300 1200 NIXI (for setting up of NIR) 5 - - - - 5 Total New Schemes 7315 Grand Total 14215
94 e-Security
1.0 Background
Over the years, Information Technology has transformed the global economy and connected people and markets in ways never imagined. With the Information Technology gaining the centre stage, nations across the world are experimenting with innovative ideas for economic development and inclusive growth. It has also created new vulnerabilities and opportunities for disruption. The cyber security threats emanate from a wide variety of sources and manifest themselves in disruptive activities that target individuals, businesses, national infrastructure and Governments alike. Their effects carry significant risk for public safety, security of nation and the stability of the globally linked economy as a whole. The origin of a disruption, the identity of the perpetrator or the motivation for it can be difficult to ascertain and the act can take place from virtually anywhere. These attributes facilitate the use of Information Technology for disruptive activities. As such, cyber security threats pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges.
2.0 XI Plan – Objectives, targets and achievements
2.1 Objectives and Targets The following primary objectives had been identified in XI Plan in cyber security: Securing cyber space Preventing cyber attacks Reducing national vulnerability to cyber attacks. Minimizing damage and recovery time from cyber attacks Capacity building
As such, the cyber security initiatives in the XI plan period had the following focus: Enabling Legal Framework Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance Security R&D Security Incident – Early Warning and Response – National Cyber Alert System – CERT-In and Sectoral CERTs – Information Exchange with International CERTs Security training – Skill & Competence development – Domain Specific training – Cyber Forensics, Network & System Security Administration Collaboration – International – National
2.2 Achievements during XI Plan
A number of activities have been performed in each of the above focus areas. Major achievements are summarised below:
2.2.1 Enabling legal framework
95 Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 has been enacted and rules of important sections have been notified. The provisions of the Information Technology Act deal with evidentiary value of electronic transactions, digital signatures, cyber crimes, cyber security and data protection.
2.2.2 Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance Computer Security Guidelines have been circulated to all Departments and Ministries. Cyber security drills are being conducted to assess preparedness of critical organisations. 54 Auditors have been empanelled for audit of IT infrastructure from cyber security point of view.
Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism has been released and is being updated annually. Enabling workshops are being conducted in different sectors and states/UTs. Common Criteria (CC) product testing facility has been set up which caters up to level 4 CC certification.
Draft `National Cyber Security Policy’ has been prepared and posted on DIT website for public comments.
Controller of Certifying Authority (CCA) has licensed 7 Certifying Authorities (CA). More than 22 lakhs Digital Signature Certificates have been issued. Major Applications using Digital Signatures include e-Procurement for Central and State Govt., e-Tendering, e-Filing of returns (MCA-21), Income Tax filing for corporate and individuals, Inter bank transactions (RTGS and SFMS), E-Filling of Patent Application and NSDL Applications.
2.2.3 Security Incident – Early Warning and Response
A Computer Emergency Response Team –India (CERT-In) has been set up and is operational as the national agency for cyber incidents. It operates a 24x7 Incident Response Help Desk to help users in responding to cyber security incidents. It has been issuing regular alerts on cyber security threats and advises countermeasures to prevent attacks. CERT-In has established linkages with international CERTs and security agencies to facilitate exchange of information on latest cyber security threats and international best practices. CERT-In, in collaboration with CII, NASSCOM and Microsoft, has created a portal “secureyourpc.in” to educate consumers on cyber security issues.
2.2.4 Cyber Security R&D
A number of R&D projects have been supported at premier academic and R&D institutions in the identified Thrust Areas, viz., (a) Cryptography and cryptanalysis, (b) Steganography, (c) Network & systems security assurance, (d) Network Monitoring, (e) Cyber Forensics and (f) Capacity Development in the area of cyber security. A host of Cyber Forensic tools have been developed in the country.
2.2.5 Capacity Development/Training
Training Centres have been set up at CBI, Ghaziabad and Kerala Police to facilitate advanced training in cyber crime investigation. Computer forensic labs and training facilities are being set up in J&K state, North Eastern states. Forensic Centres have been set up with the help of NASSCOM at Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhopal and
96 Kolkata. Virtual training environment based training modules have been prepared. Training has been conducted for Orissa, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Judicial Officers on Cyber Crime Investigation. 94 training programmes have been conducted by CERT-In on specialized Cyber Security topics – in which 3392 people have been trained.
2.2.6 Collaboration As part of National level Cooperation, Cyber security awareness programmes were organised in cooperation with industry associations – CII, NASSCOM-DSCI. MoUs were signed with product and security vendors for vulnerability remediation.
Several activities were undertaken under International Cooperation. International level Cyber security drills were held with Asia –Pacific CERTs. Specific cyber security cooperation agreements were signed with US, Japan and South Korea. India participated in cyber security drills of US (Cyber Storm III). CERT-In experts helped in establishment of CERT-Mauritius. India is participating in Internet traffic scanning in Asia-pacific region. India is a member of UN Committee of Group of Experts as well as in the Council of Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) for enhancing cooperation in the area of Cyber Security.
3.0 Current status of Cyber Security preparedness The initiatives taken by the Government so far have focused on the issues such as cyber security threat perceptions, threats to critical information infrastructure and national Security, protection of critical information infrastructure, adoption of relevant security technologies, enabling legal processes, mechanisms for security compliance and enforcement, Information Security awareness, training and research. These actions have significantly contributed to the creation of a platform that is capable of supporting and sustaining the efforts to securing the cyber space. However, due to the dynamic nature of cyber threat scenario, these actions need to be continued, refined and strengthened from time to time.
Salient features of the results of actions and the level of cyber security preparedness include: (a) Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008 has been enacted to cater to the needs of National Cyber Security by addressing host of issues such as technology related cyber crimes, critical information infrastructure protection, data security and privacy protection.
(b) Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has been operational as a national agency for cyber security incident response. It has established operational linkages with overseas CERTs, and cyber security professional organisations to enhance its ability to respond to the cyber security incidents and take steps to prevent recurrence of the same.
(c) PKI infrastructure, set up to support implementation of Information Technology Act and promote use of Digital Signatures, has enabled the growth and application of digital signature certificates in a number of areas.
(d) National Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism has been prepared and is being updated annually. Central Govt. Ministries/Departments and States and UTs as well as organisations in critical
97 sectors are making efforts to prepare and implement their own sectoral Crisis Management Plans.
(e) To enable comprehensive cyber security policy compliance, the Govt. has mandated implementation of security policy within Govt. in accordance with the Information Security Management System (ISMS) Standard ISO 27001. In addition, Computer security guidelines have been issued for compliance within Govt. A Common Criteria based IT product security testing facility has been set up at Kolkata, which can test IT products up to EAL4.
(f) A mechanism for audit and assessment of security posture of Govt. and critical sector organisations has been put in place. Security Auditors have been empanelled for conducting security audits including vulnerability assessment, penetration testing of computer systems and networks of various organizations of the government, critical infrastructure organizations and those in other sectors of the Indian economy. Cyber security drills are being conducted regularly to assess the preparedness of organisations to resist and mitigate cyber attacks.
(g) R&D activities have been supported through premier Academic and R&D Institutions in the country facilitating creation of R&D infrastructure, development skills and solution oriented development.
(h) Nation-wide Information Security Education and Awareness Program has been in progress to create necessary cyber security awareness through formal and informal programmes. Cyber security training facilities have been set up to provide training to law enforcement agencies and facilitating cyber crime investigation.
4.0 Cyber security – Challenges
The Cyber space is borderless and actions in the cyber space can be anonymous. These features are being exploited by adversaries for perpetration of crime in the cyber space. The scale and sophistication of the crimes committed in the cyber space is continually increasing thereby affecting the citizens, business and Government. As the quantity and value of electronic information has increased so too have the business models and efforts of criminals and other adversaries who have embraced the cyber space as a more convenient and profitable way of carrying out their activities anonymously. Today adversaries are producing, selling and distributing malicious code with ease, maximizing their gains and exploiting the fact that attribution is a challenge. Malware is getting stealthier, more targeted, multi-faceted and extremely difficult to analyse and defeat even by the experts in the security field. Organised crime is fast growing and targeting the exponential growth of on line identities and financial transactions. There is increasing evidence of espionage, targeted attacks and lack of traceability in the cyber world as state and non-state actors are compromising, stealing, changing or destroying information and therefore potentially causing risk to national security, economic growth, public safety and competitiveness.
5.0 Cyber Security- Strategic Approach for XII Plan Cyber Security requirements are quite dynamic that change with the threat environment. Threat landscape needs to be updated regularly to prevent emerging attacks. Collaboration among various agencies is needed to share information regarding
98 emerging threats and vulnerabilities, which would help in effective protection and prevention of cyber attacks.
It is necessary to take a holistic approach to secure Indian Cyber Space. While the cyber security initiatives of the XI plan period will be continued and strengthened, new initiatives will be put in place consistent with emerging threats and evolving technology scenario. The following Cyber Security strategies are proposed to be adopted during the XII Five Year Plan :
Enhancing the understanding with respect to factors such as dynamically changing threat landscape, technical complexity of cyber space and availability of skilled resources in the area of cyber security.
Focus on proactive and collaborative actions in Public-Private Partnership aimed at security incidents prevention, prediction, response and recovery actions and security assurance.
Enhancing awareness and upgrading the skills, capabilities and infrastructure to protect the country’s cyber space, to provide rapid response to cyber attacks, to minimize damage and recovery time and to reduce national vulnerabilities to cyber attacks.
Improving interaction and engagement with various key stakeholders such as Govt. and critical sector organizations, sectoral CERTs, International CERTs, service providers including ISPs, product and security vendors, security and law enforcement agencies, academia, media, NGOs and cyber user community.
Carrying out periodic cyber security mock drills to assess the preparedness of critical sector organizations to resist cyber attacks and improve the security posture.
Supporting and facilitating basic research, technology demonstration, proof of concept and test bed projects in thrust areas of cyber security through sponsored projects at recognized R&D institutions.
6.0 Key Priorities and Target Deliverables for XII Plan
The cyber security initiatives will be implemented with the following six focus areas during the XII plan period : Enabling Legal Framework, (a) Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance, (b) Security R&D (c) Security Incident – Early Warning and Response, (d) Security awareness, skill development and training (e) Collaboration
The proposed key priorities for implementation and target deliverables in respect of each of the focus areas are given below:
99 6.1 Enabling Legal Framework
Key Priority
The key priority of this initiative will be upgradation /development of a robust and dynamic legal framework to enable cyber security and address newer cyber crimes.
Target deliverables
It is important to undertake research projects on the theme of cyber laws and related components like, e-commerce, encryption, IPR issues, privacy etc. Further, it is necessary that a data bank/repository of legal cases be created having details of cyber law cases decided in India. Such research projects would help in creating better legal framework and understanding about the issues related to cyber laws including cyber security.
There is a need to devise policy and procedure for obtaining authentic data stored and hosted by Indian companies on servers abroad for lawful access purpose. An encryption/decryption framework is also required keeping in view the concerns of both industry and Law Enforcement Agencies.
As the digital world is much more complex, there is a need to train judiciary, law enforcement agencies and legal practitioners about the cyber crimes, collection of digital evidences and cyber forensics.
With the ever-growing reliance on technology and spurt in newer forms of cyber crimes, it becomes imperative to introduce courses on cyber law.
In line with the requirements, the target deliverables include: Suitable amendments to existing legal framework Strengthening enforcement mechanism Capacity building for judiciary, law enforcement agencies, legal practitioners and students
6.2 Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance
Key priority Cyber security policy compliance and assurance initiative needs to focus on creating an enabling mechanism for achieving conformance with provisions of IT Act, statutes and other policy initiatives of the Government and regulatory bodies.
Target deliverables With the growing use of IT, there is an increasing need to generate and sustain users confidence in the IT systems and transactions. Accordingly, simultaneous efforts are needed on the part of Govt., business and industry in terms of enabling frameworks, mechanisms for compliance and assurance. On its part, the Government is making efforts to identify the core services that need to be protected from cyber attacks and is seeking to work with organizations responsible for these systems so that their services are secured in a way that is proportional to the threat perception. Industry and critical infrastructure organizations have started to focus on their ability to gain users
100 confidence through improved software development, security engineering practices and the adoption of strengthened security models and best practices.
Most often, users of IT products depend on inputs from others to know about the security of the product. There is a need to have a mechanism to certify IT products to provide assurance from security point of view. This in turn requires creation of standards for conformance, establishment of acceptable evaluation method and process to certify products and at the same time ensure that privacy is maintained as per the prevailing regulations. This is required both for proprietary and open source products.
With India emerging as a leading outsourcing partner, there is a need to address compliance requirements to international standards and best practices on security and privacy. As such, there is a requirement for a comprehensive assurance framework that enables compliance within the country and provides assurance on compliance to out sourcing organizations and rest of the world. The target deliverables include: Annual cyber security studies and surveys related to compliance and assurance Enhancement of crisis management plan and emergency preparedness Enhancement of security audit, assessment and certification infrastructure (Third party certification, Self-certification, empanelment and ratings of auditors, technical security testing, cyber security drills), Mechanism for generating a national cyber security index leading to national risk management framework Enhancement of IT product technical security assurance mechanism (Common Criteria security test/evaluation & Crypto Module Validation Program )
6.3 Cyber Security Research & Development
Key priority The key priority of this initiative will be to carry out innovative R&D with focus on basic research, technology development and demonstration, setting up test- beds, transition, diffusion and commercialisation leading to widespread deployment.
Target deliverables Indigenous R&D efforts are essential for facilitating the creation of a sound S&T environment. Resources like skilled manpower and infrastructure created through pre-competitive public funded projects provide much needed inputs to entrepreneurs to be globally competitive through further R&D. Indigenous R&D efforts will contribute to creation of knowledge and expertise to face new and emerging security challenges and to produce cost-effective, tailor-made indigenous security solutions. Indigenous efforts are also required to develop products which are not available from outside sources due to export restrictions. Viable industry-academic/R&D interactions are vital for implementation of the activities. Joint R&D programme in specific identified projects in Public Private Partnership mode will need to be explored. These joint projects are expected to speed up the development efforts and make available outcome from such joint projects for commercial exploitation and deployment in relatively short period of time. This joint R&D programme also will help in harnessing the technical skills and capabilities of institutions and organisations in public and private sector.
101 The target deliverables include: Setting up of Centres of excellence in Cryptography, Malware Research, Mobile Security and Cyber Forensics Creation of Centre for technology transfer and facilitating prototype to production of products Programs to focus on cryptography, cryptanalysis, algorithm design/ development/ hardware realisation Attack detection, protection, response, recovery and prevention systems Security solutions for cloud environment Mobile security solutions Embedded systems security particularly addressing security requirements in SCADA systems Cyber security assurance framework for Govt sector
6.4 Security Incident - Early Warning and Response
Key priority The key priority is strengthening National Cyber Alert System for rapid identification and response to security incidents and information exchange to all desired elements that are critical for cyber security, to reduce the risk of cyber threat and resultant effects.
Target deliverables Information systems must be able to operate while under attack and also have the resilience to restore full operations in their wake. Towards this end, rapid identification, information exchange, and remediation are necessary to contain a security incident and mitigate the damage caused by malicious cyberspace activity. With the active involvement of critical infrastructure organizations, public and private institutions, a National Cyber Alert System can perform requisite analysis, conduct watch and warning activities, enable information exchange, and facilitate restoration efforts.
CERT-In is operational and is catering to the security needs of Indian Cyber community. In line with the emerging requirements, there is a need to further augment the facilities at CERT-In in terms of manpower, communication systems, tools, etc. for vulnerability prediction, analysis and mitigation, cyber forensics analysis, cyber space monitoring/ interception and critical information infrastructure security. For an effective National Cyber Security Alert System, there is a need to create/upgrade sectoral CERTs to cater to the very specific domain needs of different sectors. Strengthening of Government Cyber Security infrastructure
The Government agencies need to set an example in the development and use of secure computer and communication networks. There is a need for priority action to strengthen the security of the Government IT infrastructure to facilitate faster and efficient information flow between various user agencies within the Government as well as effective interface with users outside the Government. In order to meet the upcoming challenges in securing the Government IT infrastructure, adequate attention should be paid to the use of appropriate technology and applications and development of suitable information security policies and guidelines.
The target deliverables include: Establishment of Threat, Vulnerability and Malware Research Centre
102 Expansion of CERT-In Operations Building sensor/honeypot networks at key ICT installations Creation of a central knowledge repository Incident and response mechanism at national gateways Security Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs) Cyber Security Operational Centre (CSOC) which will have co-ordination role with necessary authority and accountability in respect of cyber security defense measures Establishment of Regional level Cyber Security Help Desks Establishment of Botnet Cleaning Centres in the Govt., critical infrastructure and public sector organizations.
6.5 Security Awareness, Skill Development and Training
Key priority The key priority is to establish cyber security capacity building and training mechanisms for developing a strong and dynamic cyber security skilled work force and a cyber vigilant society.
Target deliverables Building appropriate human resources is vital to address upcoming security challenges and threats. There is a need to have trained manpower at different levels both in the Government and private sector. It would also be important to create interest among good IT students by creating opportunities for them. Also those who are already on the job need to be retrained and their skills upgraded. There is a need to include cyber security curriculum both at school and college levels.
Mass awareness campaign is important to create cyber security awareness among citizens. The promotion and publicity campaign could include (a) Seminars, exhibitions, contests etc., (b) Radio and TV programmes, (c) Videos on specific topics, (d) Web casts, Podcasts, (e) Leaflets and Posters and (f) Suggestion and Award Schemes.
The local law enforcement agencies at the operational level as well as central law enforcement agencies are required to be equipped to deal with cyber crimes. There is a need for creating awareness and impart training to law enforcement agencies and judiciary regarding IT Act provisions, cyber security aspects, cyber crime investigation procedures and cyber forensics. A separate Centre of Excellence may need to be created for this purpose.
Indigenous certification programmes need to be evolved to enable affordable certification and generating certified cyber security manpower.
The target deliverables include:
Launch of Security Education, Skill Building and Awareness Programme Sustained awareness campaign through electronic media Establishment of Cyber Security Training Labs/facilities across the country Establishment of examination, accreditation & certification infrastructure
103 Establishment of Cyber Security Concept Labs, Digital Cyber Forensic Training Labs, Cyber Security Auditing of Assurance Labs, SCADA/embedded security labs Establishment of Centre of Excellence for capacity building for Law Enforcement Agencies and Judiciary
6.6 Collaboration
Key priority
The key priority is to promote shared understanding and leverage relationships for furthering the cause of security of cyber space.
Target Deliverables
The cyber threat sources and attacks span across countries. As such there is a need to enhance global cooperation among security agencies, CERTs and Law Enforcement agencies of various countries to effectively mitigate cyber threats. Accordingly, it is vital to have well-developed Cyber Security collaborative framework established through different government agencies in broad collaboration with private sector, partners and stakeholders in academia, national and international agencies. In this context, DIT should coordinate and be a focal point for all cyber security matters including critical sector in the civilian sector for effective collaboration and interface for cyber security aspects. Target deliverables include : Security cooperation arrangements with overseas CERTs and industry Proactive engagement at UN and Asia-Pacific level Enhanced information sharing mechanism within the country Focused and sustained engagement program for law enforcement agencies and judiciary Creation of a tiered structure for information sharing Establishment of a think tank for cyber security policy inputs, discussion and deliberations
7.0 Implementation Plan
The activities to be carried out during the course of implementation of XII plan under each of the six focus areas are indicated in the following paragraphs.
7.1 Enabling Legal Framework
Studies will need to be carried out to understand the impact of new technology, crime trends and current policies on the business environment, public safety, national security and global competitiveness. Studies are also necessary on international cyber laws to harmonise Indian cyber laws with laws prevailing internationally. Based on the studies carried out, amendments required in the existing legal framework will have to be identified and appropriate means devised to strengthen the enforcement mechanism. Policies and procedures will have to be framed based on appropriate public inputs and debates. An enabling legal framework will require:
Policy and framework to establish data sovereignty, ownership and control
104 Legal framework for encryption in the backdrop of cyber security, privacy and national security Framework for lawful access in India with defined checks and balances and redressal mechanism Legal framework for usage of surveillance technologies for public safety Framework to protect privacy of online users Enabling mechanism / framework for cyber security assistance to law enforcement agencies (to take care of costs of additional equipment needed for lawful access).
Activities to create awareness about the role of CERT-In, Adjudicating Officers & Cyber Appellate Tribunal as an Authority under the Information Technology Act, 2000 will need to be undertaken. Efforts will have to be made to set standards for forensic tools and procedures in India.
7.2 Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance
The activities needed to be pursued include Development of crypto module validation program and operationalisation, Enhancement of technical capability of Common Criteria Test lab in emerging technology, Implementation of IT product technical security assurance program and operationalisation, Updation of crisis management plan, Enablement of development and implementation of sectoral crisis management plans, Carrying out periodic cyber security mock drills to assess the preparedness of critical sector organizations to resist cyber attacks, Establishing institutional platform for security professionals in the country, Publishing guidelines and mandate for secure development and deployment of ICT systems, Creating a mechanism for interface between the government and public on policy compliance and assurance like interactive portal, website, etc., and Establishing a mechanism for incentivising security compliance and assurance.
7.3 Cyber Security R&D
The R&D Programs undertaken have to address all aspects of development: Study of the security properties of existing major systems and components, development of prototypes in selected application and infrastructure domains and simulation environments, development of deployable systems, testing of the systems developed and deployment and maintenance of trustworthy systems throughout the life cycle.
An indicative list of areas of R&D is given below: Indigenous cryptographic algorithms, protocols and systems for securing data at storage and transmission Quantum Cryptography Research Secure software engineering and development Trusted/trustworthy systems development with end-to-end security Tamper resistant and self healing systems Static and dynamic roots of trust for secure transactions
105 Device security System-on-chip security Predicting future resilience of systems Solutions for ensuring trust of electronic transactions Video analytics Analysis and certification of commercial IT Systems Software assurance, code testing and analysis Threat Management systems Active devices with built-in capability for event based monitoring Network penetration and vulnerability assessment tools Interception of encrypted communication Development of national security index leading to national risk management framework Development of compliance and self-assessment tools, validation and implementation.
7.4 Security Incident - Early Warning and Response
The activities needed to be pursued under this initiative include Augmenting operating capabilities of CERT-In to address rising scale and scope of national security incident response management, Adopting and deploying state-of-art tools and techniques, Creating a structured knowledge repository with continuous streaming of information, Strengthening partnership and cooperation with security technology industry, international CERTs and security forums, Acquisition of intelligence about vulnerabilities, threats, and security risks collated from a comprehensive list of sources, Building of framework for engaging external expertise, Establishing a mechanism for technical security posture measurement, Establishing Security knowledge management delivery mechanism, and Establishing a collaboration platform for engaging with security community.
7.5 Security Awareness, Skill Development and Training
The activities needed to be undertaken under this initiative include Building capacity through various training delivery modes and certifications in network security, forensics, audit, security management and application security, Mandating Certification for security roles including CISO/CSO and those involved with critical information infrastructure, Enhancing Cyber Security Training and Awareness Programmes in different States across the country, Conducting Security Training and courses in Public Private Partnership mode, Conducting, supporting and enabling Cyber Security Workshops/Seminars and Certifications, Conducting security awareness programmes at schools level with suitable cyber security curriculum, Introducing specific and specialized courses in University, Engineering colleges and management institutions, Promoting Secure Coding Practices, Creating and updating role relevant standardised courseware contents,
106 Establishing Centre of Excellence for capacity development of judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and Development of courseware on cyber law and cybercrime investigation and implementation.
7.6 Collaboration
The activities necessary under this initiative will include Developing bilateral and multi-lateral relationships in the area of cyber security with other countries, Creating models for collaborations and engagement with all relevant stakeholders, Enabling private-to-private and private-to-government collaboration and cooperation in the area of cyber security for sharing information on practices and breaches, Actively contributing to the development of international standards, Collaboratively conducting cyber drills and actively participating in international exercises including promoting global priority group, Engaging in defining controls for managing supply chain risks, Collaborating for bot-net takedowns and increasing consumer trust in ICT, and Seeking international legal cooperation by entering into bilateral/multilateral Protocols or Conventions on Cyber Crimes and Cyber Security.
8.0 Funds requirement during XII Plan
A tentative assessment of budget requirement for each focus area in cyber security is as follows: Enabling Legal Framework : Rs. 50 crores Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance : Rs. 125 crores Security R&D : Rs. 300 crores Security Incident – Early Warning and Response : Rs. 500 crores Security awareness, skill development and training : Rs. 475 crores Collaboration : Rs. 50 crores Thus the projected outlay/ budgetary support needed to carry out the cyber security related activities during XII Plan is Rs. 1500 crores.
9.0 Institutional arrangement and role of DIT
DIT will act as a nodal agency to implement the cyber security activities planned for the XII Plan. It will provide funding support to the programs for execution by partner agencies. Public private partnership (PPP) arrangement will need to be explored in the relevant areas like joint funding of select R&D projects, organizing awareness and training programs jointly with industry associations, state governments etc.
10.0 Summary of Recommendations
The primary objectives identified in the XI Plan for securing country’s cyber space, viz. preventing cyber attacks, reducing national vulnerability to cyber attacks, reducing national vulnerability to cyber attacks, and minimizing damage and recovery time from cyber attacks, continue to be valid for the XII plan period. Accordingly, the cyber security focus areas in the XII plan period will be (a) Enabling Legal Framework, (b) Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance, (c) Security R&D, (d) Security Incident
107 – Early Warning and Response, (e) Security awareness, skill development and training, and (f) Collaboration.
New initiatives recommended to be taken up in the XII Plan include: Seamless integration of agencies involved in the area of cyber security Creating Centres of Excellence for research in identified areas of advanced security. Setting up security threats, vulnerability and malware analysis facility. Setting up a mechanism to certify IT products to provide security assurance (including creation of standards, establishment of evaluation methods and processes and facility to certify products). Establishing Security Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs) across the regions and sectors for government-to-private and private-to-private information sharing. Establishing Sectoral CERTs. Strengthening infrastructure and activities at CERT-In. Strengthening National Cyber Alert System for rapid identification and response to security incidents and information exchange. Setting up Cyber Security Help Desks at regional levels for general users to provide first level of guidance and support. Setting up Botnet Cleaning Centres in the Government, Public, and Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Establishing Cyber Security Training Labs/facilities across the country in collaboration with State Governments and Private Sector Some of the major targets/deliverables in the identified focus areas of the XII Plan are as follows: Enabling Legal Framework - Setting up of think tanks in Public-Private mode to identify gaps in the existing policy and frameworks and take action to address them. This includes addressing privacy concerns of on-line users.
Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance- Enhancement of IT product security assurance mechanism (Common Criteria security test/evaluation, ISO 15408 & Crypto Module Validation Program), establishing a mechanism for national cyber security index leading to national risk management framework.
Security R&D - Creation of Centres of Excellence in identified areas of advanced Cyber Security R&D and Centre for Technology Transfer to facilitate transition of R&D prototypes to production, supporting R&D projects in thrust areas.
Security Incident - Early Warning and Response- Comprehensive threat assessment and attack mitigation by means of net traffic analysis and deployment of honey pots, development of vulnerability database.
Security awareness, skill development and training - Launching formal Security Education, Skill Building and Awareness Programmes.
Collaboration - Establishing a collaborative platform/ think-tank for cyber security policy inputs, discussion and deliberations, operationalisation of security cooperation arrangements with overseas CERTs and industry, and seeking legal cooperation of international agencies on cyber crimes and cyber security.
108 e-Industry (Electronics Hardware)
1. Background
The degree of Information, Communication Technology and Electronics (ICTE) integration has come to be regarded as the index of development, competitiveness and efficient delivery of services in any economy. The competitiveness of various industries is fashioned by their ability to integrate ICTE in their business processes. World over, ICTE is recognized as a meta-resource.
India has become a global power house in software and software services sector. However, it lags behind in electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) capabilities. The objective should be to transform India into a global destination in electronics hardware manufacturing, to meet the fast-increasing domestic demand and global demand. However, there are multiple challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, tax structure, supply chain and logistics, inflexible labor laws, limited R&D focus, funding, limited value addition focus and exports. Moreover, the competition in the sector is from China which has achieved high economies of scale and has highly subsidized operating environment which is largely opaque. Additionally, the sector has great velocity in terms of business and technology obsolescence, requiring real-time decision making and continuously evolving policies, which the normal decision-making processes cannot address. Government attaches high priority to the growth of electronics hardware manufacturing sector and has taken a number of steps on an on-going basis for promotion of this industry in the country. However, the growth of Indian electronics hardware industry has not been consistent with the market potential.
Increasing Supply-Demand Gap for Electronic Hardware: Electronics, reported at USD 1.75 Trillion is the largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry in the world. It is expected to reach USD 2.4 Trillion by 2020. The demand in the Indian market was USD 45 Billion in 2008-09 and is expected to reach USD 400 Billion by 2020. The growth of domestic production at a CAGR of 22% is expected to be driven by surge in income levels, the aspiration value of electronics goods, the demand from resurgent corporate sector and the government’s focus on e-governance. The domestic production in 2008-09 was about USD 20 Billion. However, the gross Manufacturing Value Addition was very low, anecdotally between 5 to 10 percent. This implies that out of the demand of USD 45 Billion, between USD 1-2 Billion was value added in the country and rest was imported, making it a close second to the country’s oil import. Unless the situation is corrected, it may be that by 2020, the electronics import may exceed oil imports. This fact goes unnoticed because electronics, as a “meta resource” forms a significant part of all machines and equipment imported, which are classified in their final sectoral forms, for example, automobiles, aviation, health equipment, media and broadcasting, defense armaments, etc. Indian electronics hardware production constitutes around 1.31% of the global production. On the other hand, China’s share of global electronic equipment production has increased from 17% in 2004 to 33% in 2009. At the current rate of growth, the domestic production can cater to a demand of USD 104 Billion in 2020 and the remaining would have to be met by imports. This aggregates to a demand supply gap of nearly USD 1200 Billion by 2020.
Drivers of Demand for Electronics Hardware: The main growth drivers of electronics hardware demand in India are: (i) growth in per capita income and corporate
109 spend on electronics; (ii) government focus on infrastructure; (iii) increasing spend on IT equipment; (iv) growing penetration of Internet including Broadband and Mobile phones and (v) need for innovative products at low cost. Most of the domestic growth by 2020 is likely to be achieved from the main verticals viz mobiles phones (USD 30 Billion), PCs (USD 55 Billion), Color TVs (USD 20 Billion), Controls and Instrumentation (USD 10 Billion), Telecom Equipment (USD 10 Billion), Medical Electronics (USD 4 Billion), Design Industry (USD 80 Billion), Exports (USD 80 Billion) and Components (USD 115 Billion). However, with the convergence of technologies variety of smart devices supporting multiple applications are expected to modulate the demand in the future. For sustained growth of GDP and productive employment to younger generation, faster growth of manufacturing sector is a National imperative. The share of manufacturing sector is targeted to increase to 25% of the National GDP by 2025. Over the next decade, the manufacturing sector is expected to be the main plank for creating large employment opportunities for the engineers, skilled, semiskilled and unskilled persons. India has the potential to develop and manufacture electronics hardware for the global markets and gain higher global share besides meeting the country’s future requirement in the converging areas of information, communication and entertainment. There is a big opportunity for stepping up production of Electronics hardware in the country. Moreover, to keep up the growth rate of software and services sector, it is important to have a strong electronics hardware sector, which is lagging behind.
2. Objective, Targets and Strategies
Vision
The vision is to establish India as a leading global destination for the manufacturing of electronics system design and manufacturing.
Objective
The objective is to achieve domestic production of about USD 122 Billion by 2017 by creating a industry friendly policy framework and ecosystem for the ESDM sector.
The aim is to create a level playing field and an enabling environment, both at the Central as well as at the State level for the industry to take up electronics system design and manufacturing. The support would be provided across the value chain to begin with, but will be tapered off for those sectors and products which achieve global competitiveness.
Targets and Strategies
To achieve the objective, the targets and strategies are as under:
(i) To create an enabling policy framework and providing suitable financial incentives to create a level playing field for domestic industry so as to achieve domestic production of about USD 122 Billion by 2017 in electronics system design and manufacturing by 2017. This is expected to generate exports of about USD 20 Billion, direct employment of about 3.5 Million and indirect employment of 6.5 Million
110 (ii) To progressively increase the domestic production of the requirements of strategic sectors, namely, defense, atomic energy and space through domestic production, through appropriate combination of public sector and private sector. (iii) To ramp up the manufacturing value addition in electronics system design and manufacturing. (iv) To set up at least two semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in India. (v) To set up an Electronic Development Fund to support the creation and sustaining a vibrant research and development eco-system, involving both the private sector and public sector to enable the electronics system and design industry to remain at the frontier of technological and business process innovations. (vi) To set up electronics manufacturing clusters with state-of-the-art support infrastructure to achieve the target of production and value-addition in electronics system design and manufacturing. (vii) To provide preferential market access to domestic industry in the electronics system design and manufacturing sector. (viii) To mandate suitable standards for electronic system design and manufacturing, to safeguard the consumers and industry against sub-standard items. (ix) To develop human resource required for various verticals of electronics system design and manufacturing. (x) To jointly work with industry to create a global “Brand India” for electronics system design and manufacturing. (xi) To promote Green Electronics and e-Waste management for ensuring sustainable growth and development of the electronics industry in India. (xii) To promote Semiconductor chip design industry. (xiii) To promote Electronics Components industry. (xiv) To promote Vendor Development and Electronics Support Services like repair and maintenance to support the growing demands of electronics products, particularly with fast changing technologies/ features. (xv) To carry out effective negotiations in World Trade Organisation (WTO) for market access to Indian industry in foreign countries and for removal of barriers to trade in its forums of Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), GATT, TRIPS, TRIMS etc.
3. Challenges faced by Indian Electronics Hardware Manufacturing
Some of the challenges faced by the ESDM sector are: i. The China Factor: India’s biggest competition in the sector is from China which has achieved high economies of scale and has highly subsidized operating environment which is largely opaque. ii. ITA and the WTO: On the other hand, electronics was the first sector to be opened up and which accepted zero duty regime for large number of products. As a signatory to the Information Technology Agreement-1 (ITA-1) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), India has implemented zero duty regime on
111 217 product lines. Under the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with various countries, the import of electronics hardware from these countries is allowed at a duty which is lower than the normal duty rate. iii. Disability Costs in local Manufacturing: The three elements of operating environment which pose significant challenges to Indian manufacturers are: infrastructure, power and finance. Infrastructure challenges arise from poor supply chain logistics and inadequate ready availability of land. The finance costs in India are typically 5 to 6 points above international rates. Power supply is, in several parts, inadequate, unreliable and costly. High transaction costs due to stringent rules and regulations, complex administrative processes also add on to the disability cost to manufacturers. An analysis by the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) reveals cost disabilities, including the transaction costs borne by Indian exporters vary and range from 19-22% as against 2 to 3% in developed countries. iv. Diversity and Velocity of technology change: Electronics is pervasive and spans all sectors. Therefore, the development of the sector involves domain knowledge of each of the sectors which it serves. The half-life of technologies in the sector has been continuously reducing. Currently it is estimated to be even less than six months in certain verticals Convergence between different technologies, devices, software and hardware are also driving technology changes. Mergers, acquisitions, technological choices are everyday phenomena.
4. SWOT Analysis - ESDM
Strengths Weaknesses Sustained growth of 15% even during Zero duty due to ITA-1 economic slowdown Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Domestic demand to grow exponentially and Preferential Trade Huge Indian consumer market with rising Agreements (PTAs) middle class and young population with Disability costs - Cost of power, disposable income in their hands finance, logistics, fragmented Large pool of manpower supply chain) Significant presence of MNCs Weak components Potential to become one of the factories manufacturing base, especially of world semiconductors Conducive Government policies Lack of targeted & proactive R&D in collaboration with industry
112 Opportunities Threats Global opportunity projected at USD FE outgo liability – ICT all 1.75 Trillion by 2014 and 2.4 Trillion pervasive – growing usage by 2020. Export of USD 80 Billion inevitable projected by 2020 National/ Business/ Personal Domestic Demand of USD 400 Billion security risks by 2020 Loss of employment opportunity Growing Demand - Supply Gap (Social angle) Investors looking for alternative Flux of sub-standard goods locations due to concerns of IP and search for talented and cost effective manpower etc.
5. Core Activities of ESDM
‘Electronics industry’ entails electronic systems design and manufacturing which comprises semiconductor design, high-tech manufacturing, electronic components, Electronics manufacturing Services (EMS), and electronic systems design for consumer electronic products, telecom products and equipments, IT systems and hardware and other segments.
Electronics systems design and manufacturing ecosystem
The domestic industry is presently characterized by high level of imports and low domestic content. This will start to change with the Government’s pro-active policy initiatives to encourage higher domestic value addition and product development.
The performance of Electronics Hardware Manufacturing Sector over the Eleventh Five Year Plan period is given at Annexure-1.
113 6. Implementation Plan / Recommendations
6.1 Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme for improved value addition
Manufacturing base of electronic products in the country is grossly inadequate in comparison to demand of such goods. Even in cases where products are manufactured in India, the extent of domestic value addition is low. Semiconductors are at the heart of any electronic systems and constitute a significant part of the total value of the Bill of Material (BOM). The main impediments in the way of attracting investments for manufacture of semiconductors, components and electronic products are disabilities like high cost of power and finance, high transactional costs and poor base of supply chain (components and accessories). Presently, semiconductor wafers, semiconductors and majority of the hi-tech components are being imported. The manufacturing capabilities for semiconductors are highly capital intensive and have to deal with constantly changing technology. Development of supply chain is essential for the manufacture of electronic products with higher domestic value addition.
Indian electronics industry faces significant challenges like high transactional costs as a result of stringent rules and regulations, complex administrative processes and infrastructural deficiencies. An analysis by the Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO) reveals that cost disabilities, including the transaction costs borne by Indian exporters vary and range from 19 to 22%. In contrast exporters in developed economies pay only 2 to 3% of transactional costs. As per the report of the Task Force on IT/ITES and Electronics Hardware Manufacturing, the ESDM industry in India lags behind its counterparts in other countries despite having basic capabilities to develop the sector due to its strength in software and software services sector. Therefore, Government needs to offer a package of incentives to attract domestic and global investments into the Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector within Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) as a means to minimizing the disabilities.
To eliminate disabilities arising due to higher cost of logistics, power, finance, transportation, transactional costs and fragmented nature of location of industry as well as attract investment for development of manufacturing eco-system like Electronics Manufacturing Clusters and encourage manufacturing across the entire value chain, financial incentives need to be provided. Hence, announcement of Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (SIPS) to attract electronics manufacturing investment at various levels should be expedited. The incentives under Modified SIPS should be aimed at providing a level-playing field and achieving competitiveness in the global market. The scheme should attempt to partly offset the aforesaid and other difficulties through appropriate incentives.
The scheme should include Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) as well. The scheme needs to be dynamic in nature to remain in tune with latest technological developments, so as to carry out modifications to include new technologies like micro and nano technologies, including smart systems.
6.2 Promotion of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters
The growth of the electronics hardware manufacturing industry in the country is constrained by several factors. This was the first sector to face elimination of import
114 duty on account of implementation of Information Technology Agreement (ITA-1) of WTO and suffers from several disability factors which impact its competitiveness. The major ones relate to high cost of power, finance & logistics; high transaction costs; inadequate infrastructure and high raw material costs due to cascading taxes and inverted duties on dual use inputs. The impact of disabilities increases in proportion with value addition. It is estimated that for a value addition of 50%, the incidence of disability is about 8%, of which power accounts for 35%, finance 30%, logistics 20% and others 15%. Additionally, absence of a well developed supply chain, supporting ecosystems and low scales of production render indigenous electronics hardware manufacturing uncompetitive and discourage capital intensive, high value addition investments. Several of the above disabilities can be addressed through organising manufacture in the Cluster model. A well developed cluster can give a unit located in it a cost advantage of 5 to 8% because of various reasons such as increased supply chain responsiveness because of manufacturing consolidation near suppliers, decreased time- to-market, superior access to talent and lower logistics costs. The cluster development approach besides aiding the growth of the sector helps development of entrepreneurial ecosystems which drive innovation and catalyze the economic growth of a region by increasing employment opportunities and tax revenues.
India has created a world class electronics manufacturing ecosystem in Sriperumbudur in the state of Tamil Nadu, which is a testimony of India‘s capability as a low cost manufacturing country. It is essential to take this success forward and set up world class infrastructure. Further, the Government may identify more locations to set up clusters and replicate the success of Sriperumbudur. This will bring in synergies, save costs and improve competitiveness. Therefore, Government should focus on establishment of “Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs)” across the country for enhancing the competitiveness of electronics hardware manufacturing sector.
Government needs to promote existing and create new clusters as islands of excellence by creating a world class manufacturing ecosystem in association with State Governments. Financial support should be provided for setting up of quality infrastructure through public-private partnership in order to mitigate disability costs to the extent possible, for both Greenfield EMCs (new clusters) and Brownfield EMCs (existing clusters). These EMCs would aid the growth of the ESDM sector, help development of entrepreneurial ecosystem, drive innovation and catalyze the economic growth of the region by increasing employment opportunities and tax revenues. States should be encouraged to create EMCs provided they satisfy certain basic minimum ‘hygiene factors‘ to enable creation of end-to-end value chain with up-stream and down- stream industries in close proximity. These are:
State Nodal Agency for single window clearance and inter-departmental co- ordination. Ready infrastructure, easy access to port/air-port and State-of-the-art logistics for fast track clearance and quick turn-around. Making available land, power and other amenities within state control at concessional rates Easy access to Financial Institutions and Commercial bank Create access to talent - Infrastructure for skilled manpower, Technical/Vocational training institutions
115 Infrastructure for collaborative R&D and Testing
Institutional framework for market development - National and International Soft-Infrastructure and amenities for employees - quality housing, health-care, education facilities, restaurants, entertainment avenues etc.
6.3 Semiconductor Fabs
Semiconductor is at the heart of any electronic system and constitutes at least 25% of the total value. In case of high-end equipment and mobile handsets, this content goes as high as 60%. Presently, while this is imported, in order to enable manufacturing of electronic equipment and also push up the value addition in India, setting up of Semiconductor wafer fab is a pre-requisite and critical requirement for enhancing domestic manufacturing capabilities in India. Government had put in place a Special Incentive Package Scheme (SIPS) for attracting Fab to India in the year 2007. However, due to the dramatic downturn of the global economy affecting the demand, it was not successful in attracting investment in Semiconductor wafer fab. The policy needs modification to meet the current situation.
All out efforts must be made by the Government to set up two fabs:
Fab-1: To be set up as a green field cutting edge state-of-art facility. This would require provisions for giving equity / grant to an established Integrated Device Manufacturer to establish its fabrication facility in India. The amount of equity / grant would have to be negotiated or through bids.
Fab-2: To set up a semiconductor fab with established technology to support fabrication of varieties of chips to meet the requirement of high volume products as well as the requirement of the fab-less design companies on pay per use basis. This activity may involve acquiring an existing fab abroad and its relocation to India, if possible.
Besides the above, setting up of semiconductor fabs and ATMP should also be supported under the Modified SIPS Scheme.
6.4 Preferential Access to Domestic Electronics Goods
Preferential market access in Government Procurement and procurement by Government Licensees (without compromising on price and quality) is one feasible mechanism to induce demand and encourage manufacturing in India as it would work as anchor for the industry. It is felt that unless some assured market is provided manufacturing will not take root in India. Therefore, it is felt necessary that preference in Government Procurement and procurement by Govt. Licensees for electronic products ‘Manufactured–in–India’ / ‘Indian Products’ is provided. The terminology ‘electronic product’ includes ‘telecom products’ for purposes of all these recommendations. Many countries in the world, including the USA, have such policy in one context or the other.
The process of providing preferential market access entitlement in Government Procurement and procurement by Government Licensees (or Government aided procurement) should be to provide 30% preferential market access to
116 ‘Manufactured–in–India’ / ’Indian Products’ in procurement of Electronic Products by the Central, State Government, PSUs and by Government Licensees by matching of L1 price and on satisfying the technical specifications of the tender.
For Defence related procurements, the “Defence Offset Policy” be amended to specifically take care of Electronics sector. It is proposed that in case of procurement of items with electronics, at least 10% of the procurement price (which should gradually be increased to 15% over the next 5 years), be earmarked for ‘Manufactured–in–India’ / ‘Indian Products’ electronic products, which go into manufacture of that item. In case domestic electronic products relating to a particular purchase are not available, the supplier must undertake a commitment for investment for manufacture in India of any electronic product/any of the inputs such as components, sub-assemblies, design, embedded systems etc. to meet the offset obligation (in terms of value).
6.5 Research and Development There is an urgent need for intervention to promote and develop innovation, R&D, Indian IP and manufacturing within the country for electronic products, which include telecom products, especially those having security implications. The R&D strategy should inter-alia address the following issues: i. Offering research and development grants to companies that generate product revenues from the country and have substantial value addition done within the country. ii. Providing incentives to encourage innovation by providing higher tax concessions for R&D expenditure. iii. Facilitation of patent filing. iv. Providing seed fund to support technology and innovation focused start-ups. v. Encouraging collaborative research between industry and academia through suitable grants for the purpose. vi. Setting up of Center for Research in Embedded Systems and Semiconductor technology (CREST). vii. Government should also support pre-competitive electronics collaborative research in the areas of energy, medical, security, education and agriculture. viii. Promoting developments in a manner that Intellectual Property resides in India. ix. Promoting development of electronics hardware products/devices suitable for unique Indian requirements x. Carrying out effective negotiations for cross licensing and other software products for development of Indian ICT products
Electronics Development Fund
A dedicated ‘Electronics Development Fund (EDF)’ should be created with an initial corpus of Rs.3,000 crore for Innovations, R&D, Intellectual Property and product development and promotion of electronics equipment manufacturing. This fund would also support seed, angel and venture funding. The fund may be leveraged to acquire foreign companies so as to shift the production of products currently imported in large volumes, into the country. Some of the PSUs which are well positioned may take a lead role and venture into such acquisitions. The EDF should inter-alia have the following components:
117 - Offer R&D grants and concessions to companies generating product revenues and doing substantial value addition - Provide seed fund to support technology and innovation focused start-ups, angel and venture funding - Encourage collaborative research between industry and academia - Support pre-competitive electronics collaborative research in the areas of energy, medical, security, education and agriculture - Technology Acquisition Fund - Support setting up of Center for Research in Embedded Systems and Semiconductor technology (CREST)
The fund should be managed professionally and accessible to both Government and private sector.
6.6 Export Promotion of ESDM
ESDM is sunrise sector and therefore, an omnibus scheme of incentives is essential for its growth. Towards this, following export incentives may be provided/measures may be taken in order to promote export of ESDM Sector: a) The entire ESDM Sector may be extended the benefits of Focus Products Scheme (FPS) including Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). b) The benefit of Market Linked Focus Product Scheme (MLFPS) may also be extended to the entire ESDM Sector including Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). c) DEBP Scheme may continue or may be carried out with duty draw back Scheme and entire ESDM Sector be provided this benefit. Today some items are included in the scheme but in order to promote export of entire ESDM Sector, the entire sector may be extended this benefit. As IT goods are at Zero duty, a new window has to be carved out. d) DTA sales of ITA-1/zero duty electronics goods may be treated as physical exports and extended all the benefit of export schemes. e) Income Tax exemption on export from ESDM Sector for a period of 10 years. f) Continue the existing incentive schemes. g) Ensure stable fiscal regime at least for 10 years. h) There are a large number of companies in US/ Europe who have closed down or are at the verge of closing down. They would like to migrate their manufacturing to India but retain brand/ marketing in US/ Europe as the case may be. Such companies should be consciously wooed. Specific incentives should be created for them. In addition road shows should be conducted in these countries. Industry associations can be engaged with the effort of identifying such companies abroad. i) Communication and branding should be developed to showcase high tech companies in electronics/ electronics systems design in India.
118 j) Region specific studies be evolved for boosting exports. For example, electronics has tremendous scope of exports in Africa, South America. PTAs may be developed for countries in these regions. k) Procedures need to be simplified. l) Product offerings under various bilateral programs to Africa / Latin America etc., should preferably be with domestically produced electronics. m) Carry out effective negotiations in World Trade Organization (WTO) for market access to Indian industry in foreign countries and for removal of barriers to trade in its forums of Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), GATT, TRIPS, TRIMS etc.
6.7 Policy and Regulatory Framework
The overall manufacturing in the electronics hardware sector would work under the framework of existing Acts and Rules and the existing FDI policy. The relevant Acts include the Industries (Regulation and Development) Act, 1951; Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992; the Industrial Disputes Act 1947; the Factories Act, 1948; various other labor legislations relating to wages, working hours, conditions of service and employment, the SEZ Act, 2005. Issues in the regulations relating to over-time and contracts need to be addressed to meet the highs and lows of demand.
The review process should also assess the need to update the skill assessment on a periodic basis. The requirement of having special legal provisions for electronics manufacturing clusters needs to be examined.
Indian standards for electronic products should be mandated at the earliest. The standards for voltage, frequency, thermal variations as well as EMC/EMI and safety should be created for Indian conditions. The need for developing a specific legislation for the purpose should be examined if the existing provisions of Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 and rules made there under are found to be insufficient. Similarly, standards for energy efficiency for electronics products in harmonization with international standards should be developed. Suitable incentives should be provided to encourage companies to adopt such standards.
A dedicated legislation for the management of e-waste, mandating all stakeholders in the electronics value chain to execute their responsibilities and liabilities with no adverse impact on the environment should be considered. Producers and manufacturers should be encouraged through effective take-back programmes to ensure that e-waste would be recycled in an environmentally sound manner. Similarly, component manufacturers should be encouraged to ensure that the content of hazardous elements is minimized.
Fiscal Incentives: A stable tax structure needs to be put in place in order to encourage long term Investment by companies. The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) that is expected to bring rationality and transparency to the tax structure needs to be expedited. However, challenges of Octroi, Surcharge and Entry tax should be eliminated. Availability of financial resources at attractive rates and according priority
119 sector lending status to IT purchases are important measures for promotion of electronics hardware manufacturing.
Simplification of Procedures: All operations (Import, Export and DTA sales/procurement) may be permitted on self-declaration and post-audit basis so as to reduce transaction time and cost. To start with, following simplification of procedure for import of goods without payment of duty (Basic & CVD) by DTA units manufacturing ITA-1 items and notified zero duty electronic items is suggested, based on the new scheme of self-assessment as per CBEC Circular No.17/2011-Customs dated 8.4.2011:
(i) All imports (in terms of raw materials, components, parts, consumables, sub- assemblies and capital goods) be permitted without payment of any duty/taxes by the units manufacturing electronics items which are importable at zero basic customs duty.
(ii) Imports, exports as well as DTA sales by these units be permitted on self- assessment/self-declaration basis by following the procedure laid down in Department of Revenue (CBEC) Circular No.17/2011-Customs dated 8th April, 2011 regarding “Implementation of ‘Self-Assessment’ in Customs”.
(iii) Duty (Basic customs duty + CVD) as applicable, would be payable only on sales by these units to DTA.
(iv) There would be no export obligation on these units since at zero duty there is no difference between the goods exported and those which are supplied domestically in competition with imports at zero duty.
(v) DTA sales of electronics items manufactured by these units which are importable at zero basic customs duty be accorded the status of physical exports.
(vi) All supplies from the DTA to these unit be treated as deemed exports.
(vii) Scrap generated by the units be allowed for clearance from the premises on self- declaration on payment of applicable duty.
6.8 Human Resource / Skill Development
As per the DIT Taskforce Report 2009, the Indian electronics industry has the potential to be USD 400 billion by 2020. The Indian electronics hardware sector has 6 key verticals, namely Consumer Electronics, IT Hardware, Telecommunication Equipment, Electronic Components, Strategic Electronics and Industrial Electronics. Consumer Electronics and Telecom Equipments are the largest segments with about 27% share each in total production.
According to the Task Force set up by DIT, it is estimated that around 27.8 million people will be employed for a production of USD 400 Billion by 2020. There needs to be skill based mapping of this requirement, i.e. the manufacturing segment, sales and support segment, and the research and development segment. A Note on Human resource requirement in the Electronics Hardware Manufacturing Industry is at Annexure-2.
120 Skill gaps and focus areas for skill development
Skill gaps: The electronics manufacturing sector has a lot of potential for large-scale employment of ITI graduates, diploma holders, hardware engineers etc. Semi-skilled persons with some training can also be employed in this sector.
According to the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) report on human resources and skill requirements in the electronics and IT hardware sector, the largest concentration of manpower is in the manufacturing segment followed by after sales and sales support, and R&D. Regulations relating to over-time and contracts also need to be revamped to meet the highs and lows of demand.
It is observed that while there are certain skill gaps which are common across different sectors of the electronics hardware manufacturing industry, there are certain skill requirements and gaps which are unique to each sector. For example, while lack of machine handling abilities and knowledge of latest technologies is a common skill gap in the production function, insufficient knowledge about the manufacturing/assembly of PCB of Flat TVs, LCD TVs, Plasma TVs is unique to the Consumer Electronics sector.
The supply of quality talent from the education system is yet another challenging task. The stakeholder feedback in the primary survey reveals that the following major issues are impacting the educational scenario:
Insufficient number of faculty members Inadequate infrastructure Lack of industry interface/practical training Delays in curriculum changes Lack of fluency in English.
Focus areas for skill development: The focus areas for skill development as per the NSDC Report are given below:
Manufacturing
- Basic Manufacturing
. Basic Manufacturing skills . Safety norms . Meeting pollution control laws, etc. . Punctuality . Reading circuit diagrams and populating boards . Awareness of shop floor, concepts of ESD . Adherence to cleanliness norms
- Advanced Manufacturing and Contract Manufacturing operations covering:
. Quality certifications like Six Sigma . Productivity measurement . Process control . Assembly line scheduling . Costing and budgeting
121 . Basic management program, effective meetings, constructive confrontation etc.
- High-Tech Manufacturing
. Chip Mounted Technologies . Complex LCD Technologies . Semiconductor Technologies . Plasma displays . Nanotechnology
Servicing Support
. L1 and L2 servicing/repair of Mobiles, Telecom Equipment, IT Hardware, Consumer Electronics . Higher order servicing – L3 and L4 repairs
The above two skills sets account for about 70% of the incremental human resource requirement between themselves.
In the area of semiconductor design, the skill gaps are as follows: a) Quality of Talent and fresh talent supply: Difference in expectations between industry and the Indian education system result in low skill-set levels available from non-premier institutes implying higher training costs and a considerably large gestation period before the engineer is productive. b) Lack of experience: Companies have cited instances of lack of experienced talent in both the breadth and the depth of experience, where breadth indicates the knowledge of all the aspects of a design flow and depth indicates an extensive knowledge of a particular aspect of the design flow c) Digital vs. Analog: Although India has good capabilities in the digital technologies; it faces a shortage of talent capable of handling analog technologies d) Lack of product know-how: There is a lack of talent for product conceptualization and product management for emerging markets. Systems management still continues to be driven by overseas headquarters; talent for this need to be nurtured.
Requisite steps shall be required for Human Resource Development in the sector. IITs and premier Engineering Colleges need to be involved to design and develop specialized courses in semiconductor design and other high tech verticals with financial assistance from Government, if necessary. The Directorate General of Education and Training under the Ministry of Labour may be requested to introduce training modules for course materials for technicians in order to create a verticals specific skilled workforce which could service and maintain various electronic products. A Government Fellowship programme to train selected engineers / technologies and scientists in Electronics in world class institutions abroad should be taken up. Fellowships may be at two levels (i) research and (ii) higher degree (M.Tech). This may be done in consultation with industry to offer employment opportunities. There is a pressing need for skill building to increase employability and meet demand across all sectors.
122 Following recommendations are made for skill development in the Industry:
• Skill development of workforce at supervisory level and below (Diploma / ITI qualified or below) and engaged in assembly operations, sales and service support - Introducing short-term courses and opening training institutes in after- sales service support - Introducing short-term courses to train people in sales - Inculcating simple assembly/related skills and shop floor ethics at grass roots level - Improving skills for contract manufacturing and assembly operations - Creating appropriate infrastructure • Skill development of workforce - technical graduates and above
- Opening engineering finishing schools for technical graduates - Capacity addition and curriculum updation in Technical Education - National/Regional Centres of Excellence for Design and Development skills - Course on Manufacturing Management Capability - Imparting specialized training for emerging high technology manufacturing - Improvement of Soft Skill Sets
Skill development in high-tech manufacturing: A three-pronged approach towards skill development in high-tech manufacturing for the electronics hardware manufacturing industry is proposed:
- 4 Regional High Tech Training Centres well-equipped with state-of-art laboratory facilities should be set up at the major clusters - Curriculum updation in engineering colleges: The need for such courses (both specific and generic) is highlighted by the fact that while electronics engineers lack skills and exposure to production processes, mechanical engineers lack sufficient exposure to electronics, but the industry/shop floor expects multi- skilling in both these areas. Major areas proposed in the curriculum include Surface Mounted Technologies (SMT), LCD technologies, semiconductors, nanotechnology, PLC and robots, and quality practices and tools. - Train the trainer initiatives: It is recommended that large companies which have high tech manufacturing equipment and production facilities should train teachers from select institutes.
Funding for the above schemes has to be sourced through a mix of Government funded, Private funded, and Partnership funded mechanisms.
Talent requirements in semiconductor design segment - Recommendations a. Setup specialized institutes for semiconductor design with government and industry players as key stakeholders b. Cultivate student interest c. Faculty development d. Employee advancement
123 Funding for the above schemes can be sourced through a mix of Government funded, Private funded, and Partnership funded mechanisms. Funding options available in the National Skill Development Mission may also be used.
6.9 Compliance Framework for Safety and EMC Standards
Lack of domestic regulations and standards is a potential cause of import of sub- standard goods that may not only put our consumers and environment at risk but also leads to an unfair and cut-throat competition for the domestic manufacturing industry. The individual consumer seldom has the means to identify sub-standard / hazardous goods or deal with related failures at the time of purchase. Instead, the consumer looks to the Government for protection against such failures. Intervention by Government to determine and control the technical attributes of products can only be in the form of “technical requirements.” It is with that perspective in mind, the need for creating and mandating standards has been very strongly advocated by all the stakeholders, in the recent times.
India is a signatory to World Trade Organisation (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. WTO members are not to implement technical requirements that create unnecessary obstacles to international trade. However WTO-TBT Agreement provides flexibility for member countries to specify the requirements in interest of national security, prevention of deceptive practices, protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment. WTO members have to ensure that products imported from another WTO member are accorded the same treatment as products produced locally or by any other member state. This means that the Government is not allowed to set up measures that would discriminate against any imported products. While it is felt that there is a pressing need for India to invoke standards, a balance has to be settled by adhering to WTO TBT Principles and providing impartial treatment to imports vis-a-vis the domestic industry. In the light of this background, it is recommended that the following parameters be followed for standards and test/certification in the country:
• Mandating Standards
- BIS to ensure availability of Indian standards for every finished electronic good - Mandating compliance to safety and EMC standards in a phased manner - Mandating compliance to RoHS standards at the earliest
• Adequacy of Infrastructure
- Development of necessary infrastructure for testing and mandating standards including recognition of Manufacturers test labs and international agencies on reciprocal basis • Implementation / Enforcement
- Strengthening DIT to regulate standards / coordinate compliance etc. - Create specialized enforcement wing to handle fake/ spurious /non- complying goods - Bridge skill set gaps with enforcement agencies / border control agencies - Consumer Awareness Campaign
Financial Requirements: A Budget of Rs. 275 crore over the Twelfth Five Year Plan Period is proposed for ensuring compliance of consumer, IT and other electro-technical goods to standards of Safety and EMC, etc. This shall be utilized towards upgradation
124 and set-up of test labs, accreditation cost, mutual recognition schemes and participation in international meetings etc., creation of cell in DIT to manage regulation related issues, introduction of promotional training programmes for industries / border control agencies / QC personnel, upgradation of standards and participation in technical committees, advertisements, campaign etc.
6.9 Developing “Made in India” Brand
A credible “Made in India” brand for electronic items should be developed to address the confidence deficit in electronic hardware manufacturing and to bring about a culture of innovation and product development at cutting edge technology. As part of the effort, a comprehensive communication programme, targeting various stakeholder audiences should be developed and implemented. The messaging for each stakeholder group would be customized based on their role in the development of the sector. A cell should be set up within National Electronics Mission (NEM) for international and national marketing of investment opportunities in ESDM. The target groups that need to be targeted include: industry - existing and potential, domestic and foreign; financing institutions - Banks, VCs, Angel investors, public investors, FIIs; academia, students; government agencies etc. The activities that need to be taken up as part of this campaign should include: i. Creation of a slogan for “Made in India” brand. ii. Supporting magazines in the area of electronic hardware manufacturing - print and electronic. iii. Developing blogs for reaching web audiences. iv. Developing Coffee Table Book/brochures and other publicity material. v. Including reference to the same in major speeches of Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Minister of Communications and Information Technology and other policy thought leaders. vi. Organizing road shows in India and abroad. vii. Declaring Decade of Electronics hardware.
6.10 Sustainable growth and development - Green electronics & e-Waste Management
To ensure sustainable growth and development of the electronics industry in India, standards for the energy efficiency for electronics products in harmonization with international standards need to be developed urgently for the Indian market. Suitable incentives will need to be offered to encourage companies to adopt such standards.
Electronic Waste (e-Waste) comprises of waste electronic / electrical goods which are not fit for their originally intended use. These include items such as computers, mobile phones, TVs, stereos, refrigerators, air conditioners, other consumer durables, etc. E- waste is not hazardous waste pre-se but hazardous constituents such as lead, cadmium, mercury, Poly Chlorinated Bi-phenyls (PCB), Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) present in the e-waste render it hazardous to health and environment if not recycled properly. As per a study by MAIT-GTZ, e-waste generation in India is expected to be of the order of 4,70,000 MT by 2011.
Government of India treats e-waste as hazardous waste for purposes of recycling and is presently included in the hazardous wastes rules. Various regulations that cover different aspects of e-waste are: (i) The Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling)
125 Rules, 1989 as amended in 2008 - e-waste categorized as a hazardous waste. Transboundary movement (export and import) of e-waste regulated in accordance with the Basel Convention and waste categories included in Schedule III of these rules. Registration is mandatory for all e-waste recyclers, as e-waste is listed in Schedule IV; (ii) The Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 - for all non- toxic contents; and (iii) The Foreign Trade Policy restricts import of second-hand computers and does not permit import of e-waste.
The Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of e-waste published in March 2008 by MOEF and Central Pollution Board (CPCB) are only voluntarily and not mandatory. This is the basic guidance document recognizing fundamental principles viz., (i) Producer Responsibility (EPR); (ii) RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances); (iii) Best practices and (iv) Insight into technologies for various levels of recycling.
The issue of e-waste management needs immediate attention. The government should announce a dedicated legislation for the management of e-waste, mandating all stakeholders in the electronics value chain to execute their responsibilities and liabilities with no adverse impact on the environment. Producers/ manufacturers, through effective take-back programs, need to ensure that e-waste is recycled in an environmentally sound manner. Similarly, component manufacturers should ensure that the content of hazardous elements is minimized (RoHS).
6.12 Promotion of Semiconductor Chip Design Industry The Goal should be to sustain and nurture high-class semiconductor design manpower at a growth rate of 20% p.a. to double its current output levels to reach a workforce size of 400,000 in the next five years. Following is recommended:
(i) Special Manpower Development Programme (SMDP III) should be enlarged in its scope to reach out and include more institutions as Participating Institutions (PIs). National Knowledge Network (NKN) should be leveraged for SMDP III.
(ii) Set-up specialized institutes for semiconductor design: Four technology institutes specific to semiconductor design with government and industry players as key stakeholders should be set up. (iii) Create a pool of skilled labour for semiconductor design industry: The government should consider setting up a for-profit organization through PPP on similar lines as NSDC.
(iv) Support dedicated foundries to create devices meeting local demand: i. Create foundries at second-to-last technology nodes which require less investment
ii. Create foundries for analog and mixed signal technology
(v) Protect and promote IP: Foster innovation - encourage Indian entities to develop IP
Encourage IP ownership by Indian entities
Encourage Indian universities to do international quality research
126 (vi) Provision of R&D funding initiatives for academia and industry: For academia: A council should be set up by DIT to identify good individual research projects undertaken by M.Tech / Ph.D. scholars and projects undertaken at institute level. For industry: Government of India should setup a semiconductor fund of excellence to provide funds to encourage private companies who undertake R&D activities for India- specific products designed in India.
6.13 Promotion of Electronics Components industry
(i) Financial Measures and Incentives to promote Indigenous manufacturing as well as attract Investments: The government can make amendments/relax a few monetary policies to provide required boost for the Indigenous manufacturers to set up manufacturing plants and help narrow the difference between the imports and local production such as expediting introduction of GST, providing freedom to source funds globally and lowering interest rates for funds sourced from financial institutions. The disabilities need to be compensated and special incentives be provided on investments in manufacturing and R&D. A stable policy environment is required to attract investments.
(ii) Promote Electronics Manufacturing Clusters for creating a harmonised and cohesive eco‐system which enables higher efficiency and lower costs. Global players are looking for manufacturing in low cost economies such as India. Relocation of plants, even of SMEs must be supported in a big way to expand the manufacturing base in the country. For attracting investments and Transfer of Technology (TOT), good infrastructure (as in Clusters) must be provided and single window clearances be provided to reduce project set up time. Procedural simplifications are necessary to reduce turnaround time and for ease of doing business.
(iii) Promote Research & Development of electronics in the country: A strong demand (both local & global) and a technically inclined set of customers has forced the manufacturers to put on their thinking caps and come out with newer products in order to sustain in a highly competitive environment. Hence, the area of R&D is an important aspect for the electronics industry. Currently, India lags behind significantly with most competing economies. Therefore, it is vital that the government promotes R&D in 2-3 critical areas of technology development and facilitates the industry and the R&D community into taking up this activity with specific and focused goals. Monetary and Infrastructure related support should also be offered through grants. The government could explore a Public private partnership model in order to sustain the R&D Center. Some of the areas in which India could start research & development and develop an indigenous manufacturing process are: Micro Motors and Stepper Motors Flat panel display devices – LCD’s, LED Panels, and Plasma Photosensitive semiconductor devices- Solar PV Cells and Solar Energy Generation Systems including its components / inverters Discrete Semiconductors - Diodes, transistors and similar semiconductor devices; Passive Chip Components Light Emitting Diodes and LED Based Lighting Systems Components and accessories for Mobile Phones Advanced Sensor technology for multi-sensor devices like Temperature, humidity, air flow, motion etc.
127 Mounted Piezoelectric crystals Lasers
The above find applications in most electronic products and therefore have a huge demand both locally as well as globally. India could also explore the option of focusing on newer technologies like Nanotechnology, Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and superconductivity.
(iv) Setting up technical standard for products to be sold in India: Indian manufacturers have indicated that most competition economies have set up their own technical standards to ensure quality products are sold within the country. For example, EU legislation follows the “CE Mark” while China has developed their own standards titled “CCC mark”. These standards ensure that no manufacturer produces sub‐standard products by using cheaper components and violate the existing level playing field. It is vital that India develop its own standard which encapsulates the various safety and environmental standards that is at par with global standards, so that the Indian consumers get quality products, the Indian manufacturers get a level playing field and the environment is protected. Also, the standard must ensure that imported products meet local requirements; warranty, safety, energy consumption, technology standards.
(v) Provide preferential access to Indian Products well as Manufactured-in- India Products in Government procurement, PSU purchases as well as by Government licensees
6.14 Strategic Electronics
India’s defence and aerospace sectors are poised for substantial growth on the back of economic growth and in the interest of national security. Driven by geo-political considerations, India is expected to be a top-5 market for defence equipment by 2015. Similarly, economic growth and a focus by commercial aircraft manufacturers on low- cost countries are expected to create growth in the aerospace market in emerging markets in general and India in particular. Transnational and multi-national co- development and co-production are on the rise and increasingly seen as critical to competitiveness. India has an opportunity to play an important role in this global phenomenon. Following measures are recommended: (i) Accelerating process for private sector and indigenous participation in Strategic Electronics (ii) Level playing field for private players and (iii) Collaboration with Indian manufacturers. (iv) Amendment of the Defence Offset Policy for enhancing its scope to include electronics products for meeting the offset obligation should be pursued with the objective to promote electronics hardware manufacturing.
6.15 Promotion of Vendor Development and Electronics Support Services like repair and maintenance
Encouraging local eco-system development would require closer interaction between the industry, equipment/ technology suppliers, investors, financial institutions, Banks, Government user Ministries/ Departments and the policy makers etc. Finished goods manufacturing companies, jointly or individually, need to engage in a vendor/supplier
128 development program. Hence, a programme for Vendor Development needs to be evolved.
Electronics Support Services like repair and maintenance are needed to support the growing demands of electronics products, particularly with fast changing technologies/ features. Therefore, it is recommended that appropriate programmes be developed to support electronics support services.
6.16 International Collaboration
ESDM is recognized as a growth sector worldwide. Strategic international collaborations and partnerships aimed at meeting the priorities set out under the proposed Mission should be developed, along with effective technology transfer mechanisms and strong IPR protection. Cooperation should be encouraged at the level of research organizations along with industry partners and at individual level also to generate new ideas. Wherever feasible, cooperation through bilateral and multilateral arrangements should be facilitated. Joint research programmes under bilateral cooperation should be taken up as being done in other scientific Ministries.
6.17 Government Procurement Procedure - Need for electronics hardware procurement reforms
One of the major procurers of electronics hardware is Government/Government Agencies due to large scale deployment of electronics in major projects like e- governance, National Knowledge Network (NKN), National Broadband Plan, Telecom Network Expansion, National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT). However, traditional e-procurement practices do not support the nature of this industry i.e. fast rate of technological obsolesce/changes in specifications and dominance of large OEMs with undue influence on the market, etc. It is recommended that an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) comprising of representatives of Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Information Technology etc. and also involving the Industry/ Industry Associations may be set up to examine the recommendations made by MAIT and NASSCOM in this regard.
6.18 Statistics and Systematic Data Collection
It is vital to build a credible and consistent source of information on Electronic Components, Raw Materials, and Equipment Industry as well as Market, with the following objectives: Identifying Opportunities for manufacturing where India has an advantage or existing eco-system
Status of investments and investment needed to meet the targets to ensure strategic strength and independence for the country
Country-gap scenario – equipment / components not manufactured or not manufactured to desired specifications by indigenous manufacturers; quantity wise gap
129 Profiling of the potential users, especially in case of investors in the components and EMS sectors and Competitors for enabling an informed investment decision
The data would to an extent help in sourcing of inputs from local sources and thus higher added value
Cost advantages and disadvantages for high value add manufacturing and reasons for lack of investments
Determine and provide direction to R&D activity to make the nation ready for future challenges and opportunities
This would require regular mapping of the electronics Value Chain as well as map the End-User Electronics Equipment Market. To arrive at such a credible source of information, the following steps need to be taken and information collected:
Current Status including production and demand for raw materials, components, sub-assemblies (where applicable) and finished products/ equipment
Disaggregated Export and Import data
Projected demand – domestic as well as for accessible export markets
Identify ‘star’ products and components which have potential for rapid growth and obtain global statistics on the same. This will enable assessment of their future potential and relevance for Indian market and manufacturers
Reasonably accurate data needs to be collected about the industry as detailed above, to derive useful information about the industry. This may be done by one or more of the following methods / sources:
o Industry Associations can be called upon to conduct annual studies for collection of data from industry and by direct sampling in the market. A Budget needs to be provided by Department of Information Technology for this exercise and the format in which data has to be collected and presented is to be pre-defined so that each association follows the same format for their respective segments
o This data can then be consolidated with relative ease and verified statistically and/or by Input-Output norms etc so that it is validated
o The above exercise needs to be carried on continuously for at least 5 years. This will enable the researcher to reach a fair degree of accuracy and annual updates will become easier and will cost less. A detailed survey for data can then be carried out say once in every three years with quick updates for the next 2 years
o Once the Central Excise e-filing system is in place throughout the country, data on domestic production can be obtained and consolidated HS Code-wise.
o Data on import - export is readily available from the DGFT website and can be downloaded fairly easily. Once the Associations are conducting the exercise of industry and market survey annually, they can use this resource and carry out an
130 analysis of export and import trends as well as global movement of goods/ main exporting and importing countries etc.
The Production and Export Targets for Electronics Hardware for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2017-2017) under High Manufacturing Growth Scenario (Optimistic) and Natural Manufacturing Growth Scenario are given at Annexure-3. The proposed Outlay for the various Schemes / Programmes for promotion of ESDM Sector for the Twelfth Five Year Plan is estimated at Rs.33,375 crore, are detailed at Annexure-4. The sectoral overview of Electronics Hardware Sector is given at Annexure-5.
7. Institutional Framework
The execution of the strategy would involve announcing setting up of the National Electronics Mission (NEM) for achieving the targeted growth of the sector. The vision of development of ESDM should be achieved through two important enhancements in the governance processes i.e. greater inclusion and greater empowerment.
Inclusion
Create a governance mechanism which is inclusive of industry in guiding the high level strategy and policy making. At the implementation level it should provide inclusion of relevant Government Ministries and Departments whose functioning is directly or indirectly connected to the achieving the Mission objectives.
Empowerment
The Mission should act as a single window for all decisions relating to the electronics system design and manufacturing sector. Greater powers should be provided for speedier and more effective decision-making.
The Mission should work closely with State Governments and the Local Self Governments so that they provide greater thrust and priority to the sector. The State and the Local Self Governments should be encouraged to provide supporting quality infrastructure, viz., land, power, water and financial incentives for the sector. Some State Governments have already announced attractive incentives for electronics hardware industry. The Mission should work with all States to have policies conducive to the development of the industry. Most importantly, they may nominate a State nodal Agency for single window clearances and inter-departmental coordination, so as to reduce red tape and cut transaction costs.
NEM must support international and national marketing of investment opportunities in ESDM. The Mission should work closely with the Department of Commerce, Government of India and industry associations in matters relating to India’s international commitments relating to the World Trade Organization and other bilateral and multilateral Free or Preferential Trade Agreements.
Single Window Mechanism
The NEM should provide a unique single window mechanism for the ESDM sector. It should provide necessary coordination and speedier decision-making.
131 8. Summary Recommendations
i. Create enabling policy framework and provide suitable financial incentives for domestic ESDM Industry for level playing field. ii. Set-up a National Electronic Mission. iii. Introduce Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme for improved value addition. iv. Promote setting up of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters. v. Set-up at least two Semiconductor Fabs in India. vi. Provide preferential market access to domestic industry in the ESDM sector. vii. Promote and develop Innovation, Research & Development and Indian IP by setting up of Electronics Development Fund. viii. Promote Exports of ESDM by providing appropriate incentives and schemes. ix. Provide stable fiscal policy framework and simplify procedures and approval processes for ESDM industry. x. Promote Human Resource / Skill Development for ESDM sector. xi. Mandate Indian standards for ESDM to safeguard against sub-standard items and institute a mechanism for mandating compliance to standards for electronics goods. xii. Communications and Brand development as well as International and National marketing of investment opportunities in ESDM. xiii. Promote sustainable growth and development of ESDM industry and e-Waste Management. xiv. Promote Semiconductor Chip Design Industry. xv. Promote of Electronics Components Industry. xvi. Promote Strategic Electronics Industry. xvii. Promote Vendor Development and Electronics Support Services like repair and maintenance. xviii. Promote International Collaboration in ESDM. xix. Introduce reforms in Government Procurement Procedure for Electronics Hardware. xx. Promote Systematic Data Collection for ESDM sector. xxi. Carry out effective negotiations in World Trade Organisations for market access to Indian industry in foreign countries and for removal of barriers to trade.
132 Annexure-1
Performance During the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12)
Electronics Production and Export (Rs. crore) 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11*
Production 66,000 84,410 97,260 1,10,720 1,21,760
Export 12,500 13,200 31,230 25,900 25,900
* Estimated
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Production: 16.5% (10th FYP: 15%) Export: 20% (10th FYP: 16.6%)
133 Annexure-2
Human resource requirement in the Electronics Hardware Manufacturing Industry
As the sector presents a large opportunity and the increasing thrust on higher value addition in manufacturing and product development, the employment in the electronics hardware industry is estimated to grow phenomenally. The functional distribution of employment (the employment pattern) in the various segments has been profiled in the DIT-MAIT report on skill development as follows:
Distribution of human resource in the electronics hardware industry
Function-wise breakup of manpower across sectors in IT Hardware and Electronics Manufacturing Industry
R&D Manufacturing Sales After-sales Administration support Consumer Electronics 4% 50% 27% 14% 5%
IT related hardware 3% 21% 25% 41% 10% Telecom Equipment 4% 30% 30% 30% 6% Strategic Electronics 12% 46% 8% 20% 13% Components 16% 62% 8% 6% 8% Manufacturing 0% 78% 8% 7% 7% Design 81% 0% 8% 0% 11%
Source: Primary survey of leading players across sectors, IMaCS analysis
134 The various educational requirements for different sectors are outlined in the following table:
Education-wise breakup of manpower across sectors in IT Hardware and Electronics Manufacturing Industry Diploma or ITI and equivalent Ph. D/ other Other 12th/10th Engineers certification CA/MBA/etc. Research vocational graduates standard by other courses agencies Consumer 3% 9% 10% 7% 27% 22% 22% Electronics
IT related hardware 4% 20% 25% 10% 19% 6% 16% Telecom 5% 40% 20% 7% 15% 6% 8% Equipment Strategic 6% 37% 22% 10% 10% 5% 10% Electronics Components 6% 28% 13% 16% 3% 2% 32% Manufacturing 1% 20% 15% 20% 2% 2% 40% Design 25% 60% 5% 0% 8% 1% 1%
Source: Primary survey of leading players across sectors, IMaCS analysis
135 Annexure-3 Targets for the Twelfth Plan (2017-2017)
Production and Export Targets
A. High Manufacturing Growth Scenario (Optimistic) (All values in USD Billion) 2011-12 (E) 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Total Demand 82 100 121 148 181 221 (Growth Rate: 22%) Total Domestic 75 91 110 135 165 201 Demand (Growth Rate: 22%) Exports 7 9 11 13 16 20 (Growth Rate: 22%) Production 33 43 55 72 94 122 (Growth Rate: 30%) Imports 49 57 66 76 87 99 (E): Estimated
B. Natural Manufacturing Growth Scenario (All values in USD Billion) 2011-12 (E) 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Total Demand 82 100 121 148 181 221 (Growth Rate: 22%) Total Domestic 75 91 110 135 165 201 Demand (Growth Rate: 22%) Exports 7 9 11 13 16 20 (Growth Rate: 22%) Production 33 38 44 51 59 69 (Growth Rate: 16%) Imports 49 62 77 97 122 152 (E): Estimated
136 Annexure-4
Proposed Outlay (2012-2017)
S.No. Programme / Scheme Outlay (Rs. crore)
1. National Electronics Mission 100 (including Marketing and Brand development) 2. Infrastructure and Ecosystem 20,000 (SIPS, Modified SIPS, EMC, CREST etc.) 3. Semiconductor Wafer Fabs 10,000
4. Electronics Development Fund 3,000
5. Standards /Test Certification 275 (Strengthening testing infrastructure, Administrative set up, Trainings & publicity, etc.) Total 33,375
137 Annexure-5
Sectoral Overview
1. Computers and Peripherals Industry
(Source: Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT))
Background
The Computer and related peripherals market in India is growing at a rapid pace and fast assuming global scales. In 2010-11, 9.31 million computers (including Notebooks & Netbooks) were consumed in the country registering an annual growth of 16%, a phenomenon almost consistent all through Eleventh Five Year Plan. The sales of desktops stood at 6.03 million (60.3 lakh) units registering a growth of 9%. Notebooks and Netbooks taken together recorded a consumption of 3.28 million (33 lakh) units, growing 31% over 2009-10. Given the rise in disposable income and the stability of jobs in the country, PC sales are expected to cross 12.60 million (126 lakh) units in FY 2011-12, growing about 35%.
The growth in increased sales in computers can be attributed to significant consumption in telecom, banking and financial sectors, IT and ITES, education, SOHO, retail and e- governance. The computer being the driver pulled the growth in all-round consumption of peripherals and networking products as well. With sound macro-economic conditions and signs of a robust growth in the domestic economy, the computer and related peripherals market is expected to grow at a comfortable pace of 25-30% for the next few years without any government intervention on the policies front. However, should the Government policies be made conducive towards creating a favourable eco-system for IT manufacturing and consumption, the annual growth may well exceed 40-50% in the ensuing years.
With consistent growth in consumption in computers and peripherals, and finally a streamlined duty structure on the excise front, confidence has now been restored in the IT manufacturing industry. Further, there is increased realization in the government that a robust hardware sector is not only essential for reasons of national security, maintaining the competence of the software industry without a strong hardware base will also be a challenge.
138 Computers and Peripherals market: 2009-10 & 2010-11
Total installs Total Revenue (in Rs. Crores) April 09 – April 10 – % April 09- April 10- % Product March 10 March 11 Growth March 10 March 11 Growth Computers Desktop PCs 5,525,992 6,030,418 9% 11,267 13,014 16% Notebooks 2,322,850 2,950,192 27% 8,868 9,440 6% Netbooks 185,714 334,324 80% 260 468 80% Servers 101,827 87,275 -14% 1,836 1,574 -14% Printers Dot matrix 383,597 384,869 0% 257 258 0% Inkjet 1,142,131 1,355,504 19% 177 203 15% Laser 971,807 1,130,658 16% 660 734 11% Line 4640 4234 -9% 54 50 -7% Other Peripherals Key boards# 5,756,923 6,171,191 7% Monitors 5,754,111 6,163,108 7% UPS systems# 2,324,480 2,384,197 3% Networking Products Network Interface 3,454,721 4,440,666 29% Card# Hub# 161,602 155,899 -4%
Current Status including production and Exports
As manufacturers seek to reduce costs, there has been a marked shift in electronics output worldwide, including that of computers and peripherals, from high cost to low- cost locations. Although Asia/Pacific-in particular, China has been the main beneficiary, Central and Eastern Europe, Mexico and Brazil have also benefited from significant inward investment. In the longer term, many of today’s low-cost locations will also offer significant market opportunities, creating the need for further investment in local manufacturing. The opportunity is knocking at India’s door as well.
IT Products being manufactured in the country include personal computers, servers, workstations, supercomputers, data processing equipment, Dot-matrix printers, digitizers, networking products such as modems, hubs, etc., and add-on cards. The production in the PC segment is dominated by i3 and i5 Processors. Other processors are gradually entering the market reflecting, perhaps, the need for low-cost computing solutions. The IT products manufacturing industry in India is essentially an import intensive one.
The industry has been essentially assembly oriented one with very low value addition. The impact of infrastructural related disabilities are significantly pronounced in the component and the sub-assembly and component manufacturing industry, as a result of which the component base in India is practically nonexistent.
Of the total Desktops market in the country, almost 85% are assembled locally. All leading global brands including HP, Lenovo, Acer, Dell, etc., have an assembly unit in India, Multinational brands account for 35% of the PC market in India. Indian PC
139 brands such as HCL, Zenith, Wipro, PCS etc account for 35% of the market. The reduction in customs and excise tariff over the years has had an adverse impact on the grey market, the proportion of which has steadily come down.
In the peripherals industry, a very high degree of value addition (to the tune of 65%) has been achieved in the manufacturing of the Dot-matrix printers. TVS electronics and WeP Peripherals, the top two leaders in Dot-matrix printers manufacturing in India account for close to seventy per cent of the Dot-matrix market. There is no indigenous manufacturing of laser or inkjet printers in the country.
Computer Penetration PC Penetrations in SEC A-C Year Households (in %) 2006-07 19 2007-08 30 2008-09 38 2009-10 41 2010-11 43
(Source: MAIT-IMRB)
Performance in the Eleventh Plan
The Eleventh five-year plan from 2007 onwards witnessed a significant growth in the computer consumption in the country, which grew from 6.34 million units in March 2007 to 9.31 million units in March 2011. The computer penetration in the country has also witnessed a rapid growth, which stands at 40 per thousand in 2010-11.
Total PC (Desktops, Notebooks & Netbooks) sales: 2004-2011
10,000,000 9,314,934 8,034,556 8,000,000 7,344,306 6,341,451 6,796,107 6,000,000 5,046,558 s t i 3,809,724 n 4,000,000 U 2,000,000 0 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11
• CAGR (2004-11): 16 % • Growth over 2009-10: 16 %
2 Technology Status
The Indian IT industry does not lag in technology in comparison to its global counterparts. Most products are launched simultaneously across the globe and so in the Indian market. However, very few companies spend resources in designing products for the Indian market, while those who did take up the challenge have not been successful due to their inherent disabilities of scaling up and other deficiencies in the eco-system. The Governments in India both at the centre and state levels have made several efforts to reach the benefits of IT to the Indian populace beyond the urban areas by launching several projects in regional language computing, however, very few have been
140 successful. All this is in direct contrast to the fact that several MNCs have set up their product design centres and technology labs in India to harness the inexpensive Indian engineering talent. Further, several Indian entrepreneurs as also Indian companies are engaged in product and technology development meant for exports purposes only.
The linkages between the Industry and the academia in India are poor and there is no movement of personnel between the two thus limiting innovation and cross pollination of ideas. Lastly all nations with advancement in IT have scaled heights owing to the contribution of their governments in R&D and technology development. Government of India’s spend in R&D in IT is insignificant and not readily extended to the private sector.
Future Trends
The character of the IT industry is global and the industry in India also follows the global trends. With convergence of technologies, the distinction between technologies – IT, Consumer electronics and telecom is fast diminishing. Globally the consumption of mobile PCs (notebooks) exceeds that desktops and India will certainly follow suit over the next few years.
Tablet PCs since its launch in India in November 2010 are growing very fast, with major MNCs and domestic operators eyeing a share of the pie. Given the small form factor and its utility, the tablets are going be the preferable choice among the end-users over the coming years.
Further, with mobile industry is rolling out 3G, the mobile phone will become the access as well as the computing device. This will lead to a significant increase in population with internet access and with a critical mass, several services could be rolled out increasing the value proposition of IT. The traditional definition of computing will thus undergo a change.
India will be the youngest nation in the world by 2025. A large population of people under thirty will drive the consumption of IT products, the Indian market is therefore going to expand rapidly, the challenge will be how to tap our own ready market for purposes of manufacturing in India rather than creating jobs in other economies by meeting the demand through imports. Should measures be adopted to convert the opportunity into domestic IT manufacturing, India may well emerge as a strong manufacturing country.
Thrust Areas: It is evident from the experience of the mobile industry in India that a vibrant market attracts investments. The lowering of first the customs duty and subsequently the excise duty has enabled the organised sector to offer mobile products to the consumers at the same prices as that of the grey market. The grey market in the mobile phones, once over 90% is now totally eradicated. With the consumption attaining global scales, several global leaders and EMS companies are investing in mobile and related equipment manufacturing in the country. With convergence of technologies and with products mimicking each other’s functions, the basic building blocks for all IT, Telecom and consumer electronics products are also converging. While most investments in the manufacturing value chain are concentrated towards assembly operations, the industry faces the challenge of deepening the manufacturing activity as the component and sub-assembly base is non-existent. This would require
141 significant focus from the government and the industry, as component manufacturing is highly capital intensive.
Status of investments and investment needed to meet the targets
A poor investment climate, and a policy structure non-conducive to manufacturing, failed to attract any significant investments in IT manufacturing. However, with rapid growth in consumption in the domestic market in the last few years, especially that of the mobile phones, most of the top ten EMS players have set up their operations in India.
Therefore the thrust should be on the creation of a vibrant market through mission mode projects that would enable investments and simultaneous rolling out of measures that will help deepen manufacturing by incentivising investments in high capital-intensive components such as ICs, LCDs etc. and subassemblies. Attention will also be needed to streamline procedures of exports, imports and also that of movement of goods within the country, as it is critical to achieve international levels of turnaround time. Delays lead to depreciation/loss in the value of goods, as the rate of obsolescence is very high in the IT industry. Further, thrust is also needed to create products specific to the requirements of the Indian market, suiting the Indian price points.
The core competence of EMS players is manufacturing and their investments in manufacturing will not remain relegated to mobile products alone. They are actively looking at diversifying their product profile as several of their international customers such as HP, Dell etc., have a strong market presence in India.
The hardware industry has the potential to create several employment opportunities for the semi-skilled and the blue collared.The Computer and related peripherals market in India is growing at a rapid pace. The IT products manufacturing industry in India is essentially an import intensive one. With a non-conducive policy structure and several inherent infrastructural disabilities, the industry has been essentially assembly oriented one with very low value addition. The disability factors are significantly pronounced in the component and the sub-assembly and component manufacturing industry, as a result of which the component base in India is practically non-existent. A rapidly growing market provides an opportunity to the IT industry to scale up their manufacturing operations, however, the policy structure needs to be streamlined to uniform low taxation rates across the country. Being an industry operating in a zero duty regime, mitigation of disability factors such as high cost of capital, high rates of electricity, poor turnaround time are essential as these loom large when compared to our global competitors. It is essential for the government to give thrust to domestic consumption so that the market attains global volumes in consumption and enables industry to operate at global scales. Global scale of operation will lead to significant employment opportunities, not only direct but also indirect including those in research and new product development. Issues of revenue loss to the Government due to changes in the taxation structure are unfounded, as a vibrant industry and market will move that make up for the revenue shortfall in the short run. The Twelfth Plan provides an excellent opportunity for the Government to enable the hardware manufacturing industry in India and aim for a significant proportion of the global IT manufacturing industry.
142 2. Consumer Electronics Industry
(Source: CEAMA)
Current Scenario
In the last decade, the Indian economy changed gears and went through a period of high GDP growth. This translated into larger surplus in the hands of the consumer, more choices in the market, higher aspirations, more brands entering India and more money going round in the system.
Television is the largest segment of consumer electronics. By the end of the XI Five Year Plan, Television sales are expected to grow to 17.50 million units, a growth of 7% during the Plan period. CRT TV will have the largest market share of 13 million units, but the growth is almost flat over the five years. LCD Television is the emerging technology and is expected to grow to 4.50 million units in 2011-12, a growth rate of more than 80%, though on a small base to begin with. With the price of LCD TV steadily going down, it is only a matter of time before it dominates the market.
Microwave Oven market is currently at 1.25 million units with a growth rate of 5.7% over the XI Five Year Plan period. The most popular is the convection technology, which has a 50% market share and has registered a robust growth of more than 19% during 2007-12.
DVD player market has been impacted by the rapid growth of the DTH industry. The superior audio and video delivery of DTH viewing vis-a-vis cable, Movie-on-Demand option, carriage of a large number of channels etc. has made in-roads in the DVD player market. Sales of DVD players have progressively declined from 7.45 million units in 2007-08 to 5 million units in 2011-12, a de-growth of 9.50%.
Home Theatre sales have grown by more than 18% from 1.80 lakh units at the beginning of XI Five Year Plan to 3.5 lakh units at the end of the plan.
With the rapid growth of the DTH industry, market for set top box has grown rapidly in the last few years to 11 million units of domestic consumption. Imposition of 5% customs duty on imports in July 2009 has given a boost to domestic production. Competition from cheap Chinese STBs is a major constraint for the domestic units and the market is split 70:30, in favour of imports.
Technology Status
Technological obsolescence is very rapid in the television industry. CRT television has disappeared from the developed markets. In India, LCD, Plasma, 3D, HD have made rapid strides. On the world stage, LCD technology will play the dominant role and will have 90% of the market share in terms of both units and revenue. Within the LCD technology, while currently LED and CCFL have equal share, but going forward LED will capture 90% of the market. The share of plasma display will gradually decline, while CRT televisions will be wiped out.
Among emerging technologies, Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLED) will find an application in television sets. Currently, OLED technology is used in small screen devices like cell phones and digital cameras.
143 Another interesting phenomenon is that over the years, the average size of the television screen is increasing. From 24” in 2004, it is expected to go up to 35” in 2014. Televisions with a screen size in the range of 30” - 39” will have the largest market share of 43% in 2014.
WORLD SCENARIO – TV UNITS
CRT LCD PDP OLED RPTV CAGR -52.10% 15.17% 1.06% 0% 0% Source : Display Search*Forecast
WORLD SCENARIO – TV SCREEN SIZE
Average Size 24.2 24.4 25.6 27.4 29.1 30.9 32.4 33.5 34.1 34.5 34.7 (In Inches)
* Forecast Source : Display Search
Future Trends
The total number of television households in India is expected to increase from 130 million in 2010 to 168 million by 2015. The penetration in India in terms of television
144 household still remains low at around 62% as compared to the developed countries where the penetration is around 90% or more.
The government has mandated a complete switchover from analog to digital cable in a phased manner with a sunset date of December 31, 2014. Digitisation will see a surge in demand for Set Top Box (STB) over the next few years. For digitisation to succeed, the interest of all stakeholders will have to be reconciled. A similar move to implement CAS in 2003 was subsequently scaled down. Further, DTH will be a major growth driver for the Set Top Box industry.
The threat of cheap STB imports is a major impediment in the growth of the domestic manufacturing of STB’s. Consistent policy of import duty on STB’s is essential for additional investment in capacity build-up and utilisation of existing manufacturing capacity in the country.
Item-wise sales trend during XI Plan sales targets during XII Plan are depicted below:
TELEVISION – SALES TREND
CRT LCD PLASMA TOTAL
CAGR 0.15% 82.01% 4.66% 7.03%
145 TELEVISION – SALES TARGET
CRT LCD TOTAL CAGR -15.14% 39.98% 13.38%
MICROWAVE– SALES TREND
SOLO GRILL CONVECTION TOTAL CAGR 2.41% -6.6% 19.36% 5.74%
146 MICROWAVE – SALES TARGET
TOTAL CAGR 6.33%
DVD– SALES TREND . s o N n o i l l i M n I
DVD CAGR -9.49%
147 DVD – SALES TARGET
TOTAL CAGR -18.35%
HOME THEATER – SALES TREND . s o N
d n a s u o h T
n I
Home Theater CAGR 18.09%
148 HOME THEATER – SALES TARGET
TOTAL
CAGR 12.91%
SET TOP BOXES – SALES TREND
Production- Production-Export Import SetTopBox Domestic Market Market CAGR 29.36% 15.18% 28.51% 25.92%
149 SET TOP BOXES – SALES TARGET
Set Top Box CAGR 6.4%
Thrust Area Growth segments during the XII Five Year Plan period will be the Television and Set Top Box industry. LCD TV is projected to grow at a CAGR of 40% for 5 years. The expected exponential growth in Set Top Box is linked to the successful implementation of digitisation in the country. Nevertheless, the rapid increase in DTH subscribers will still support robust growth in the requirement of STB’s. At its current growth rate, the Indian DTH market is likely to overtake the US in terms of subscribers by 2012.
3. Electronics Components Industry
(Source: Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA)) One of the key segments driving the investments is the technology segment. A strong electronic components manufacturing sector is vital for a successful and vibrant Electronics Manufacturing industry. It is envisaged by several experts that the development of component manufacturing capability in the country could catapult India into the league of large technology manufacturing countries and thereby, increase the investments from large OEMs.
The total market for electronic components in India for FY 2009-10 is estimated at USD 9.2 Billion. The market has witnessed a growth of 11% CAGR over the last 3 years and is expected to witness a growth of about 15% year-on-year over the next two years. It is expected to be around USD 12.1 Billion by FY 2011-12 with a CAGR of 12% over the 5 year period. This growth is largely expected to be driven by the growth in telecommunication, consumer durable and automotive sector.
However, the contribution of Indian manufacturing to the total available Indian electronics market is only to an extent of 39%. A large proportion of the demand is met through imports from countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Europe. The contribution of imports is significantly higher at over 60% in more specialized and hi-tech components like ICs, Discrete Semiconductors, PCBs, LEDs, and Chip
150 Components. If we consider the Total Market vis-à-vis the Total Available Market, then the share of imported components would be even higher at close to 80%.
At the same time, India has established a higher degree of self reliance in several components. This includes components like cables (with only 20% being imported and expected to reduce to 15%), Speakers (with only 20% being imported), Connectors, CRTs, etc. In case of many of these components, Indian manufacturers are also exporting to several countries in Europe, Americas, Middle East etc.
The component industry is generally classified into active, passive, electro-mechanical and associate components. The figure below provides a breakup of the industry based on the classification of the components.
Diode CRT 5% 36% Transistor 4% LED IC 3% 52% Rectifier 0%
Figure - Classification of Electronic Component Market
Active Components - include components like Integrated circuits, CRT, LED, Diode and Transistor. Of these, Integrated Circuits (ICs) have the largest share of about 52%. Capacitor Resistor 9% 5% The demand for active components Piezo is estimated at USD 2.2 Billion in electric Crystal FY 2009-10 and is expected to Wound 3% growth at 9-10% year-on-year. The Component s Crystals growth in the Active component 80% oscillators segment is expected to be largely 3% driven by LED & Integrated Circuits with digitization being introduced in most products. Passive Components: - Resistors, Figure : Market Share - Active Components Capacitor, Piezo-electric Crystals and Crystal oscillators are some of the widely used Passive components. Wound components contribute about 80% of the total passive components market of India followed by PCBs. The market for Passive component in India is estimated at USD 1.88 Billion in FY 2009-10. The market is expected to grow at around 13% year-on-year. This growth is largely expected to driven by wound Components, resistors and Capacitors. Unlike the active components, the share of indigenous production for wound components is relatively higher, with close to 80% being largely produced in India. However, there are a few components like resistor, Capacitor, etc. which continues to be largely imported. Figure : Market Share - Passive Components 151 Electro-Mechanical Relays Micro/ Components: PCB, Switches, Switch 1% Stepper cables, Speakers, fuses and relays 15% Cables motors Fuse 1% 1% are some of the widely used 15% Electro-mechanical Components. Speakers PCB 25% Connectors and PCB contribute to 17% about 50% of the total electro- Connector mechanical components markets of 25% India followed by speakers, cables and switches. The market for Electro-mechanical component in India is estimated at Figure : Market Share - Electro-mechanical Components USD 2.46 Billion in FY 2009-10. The market is expected to grow at around 10-12% year-on-year. This growth is largely expected to driven by PCB, Connectors and Switches. Unlike the active & passive components, the share of indigenous production for a few electro-mechanical components like cables, speakers and switches is relatively higher.
Associate Components: These components largely function as aids in electronic equipment and sometimes even for electronics components. These are Optical disc Magnets RF tuners Heat sinks largely used in conjunction with active 16% 4% 4% 2% components and passive components in Magnetic tapes electronic circuits. Optical Disc, 0% Magnets, RF Tuners, Heat Sinks, Magnetron Magnetron, Magnetic Tapes are some 2% of the main associate components. Others Optical Disc is one of the largest 72% contributor to this category contributing about 15% to the total. The demand for associate components is estimated at USD 2.66 Billion in FY Figure: Market Share - Associate Components 2009-10. This is expected to grow by 16%.
Production of Electronics Components - Imports vs. Indigenous
The Indian electronic component market continues to be largely dependent on imports which have about 61% of the share. Majority of these imports are from East and South Asian countries like Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and China. Despite the increase in the production, the country continues to be dependent on imports for meeting the domestic needs for electronic components because of the rapid increase in the consumption of electronic products.
In addition, most manufacturers attribute this huge demand–supply gap to the lack of a supportive ecosystem in the country for indigenous manufacturing. This includes lack of adequate infrastructure, taxation issues, cost disabilities including high energy and finance costs which all add up to a 8-12% cost disadvantage against our more competitive neighbours in Asia. The figure below indicates that the gap is expected to increase further in the next couple of years.
152 Figure: Market Value - Imports Vs. Indigenous
Over the years, both the government and the manufacturers have realized the potential that the country offers and are increasingly focusing on promoting indigenous Others, 4 Connector manufacturing in India. % , 9% PCB, 5% This has led to increase in the production in Optical many components and exports have increased Disc, 73% Cables, 3% for certain components. The markets include Middle Eastern countries, Europe and Africa. However, the export is restricted to a few Switch, 7% components like Optical disc, and electro- mechanical components such as connectors, cables, switches and PCB. Figure: Market Share - Exports
The export market was estimated at USD 1.14 Billion for the financial year FY 2009- 10. Most industry experts believe that the export market is expected to increase in the next few years with most leading manufacturers in the process of obtaining international certifications for the products manufactured.
5. Telecom Sector
(Source: Department of Telecommunications (DOT), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Planning Commission)
The Indian Telecom revolution is recognized as an international success story. With an overall subscriber base of 886 million and a teledensity of 73.95, the sector continues to grow from strength to strength. With the urban teledensity reaching more than 150, the market has been showing signs of maturity. Rural India is the key target market likely to drive the next round of growth, particularly for voice based services. Roll out of 3G and BWA networks is expected to reinvigorate the saturating urban markets and help in bridging digital divide. The impressive growth observed by mobile services needs to be replicated in case of broadband service, where the subscriber base currently stands just at about 12 million against target of 20 million.
The 11th plan had envisaged target to reach 600 million connections by March 2012. However, during 2007-11 itself, the total telephone connections increased by 640.46
153 million. The wireless connections have grown from 165.09 million as on 31.3.2007 to 851.70 million as on 30.6.2011. Overall teledensity reached to 73.97 as on 30.06.2011 where as rural teledensity has surpassed the target of 25 of Eleventh plan and now stand at 35.64.
Thus, the major objectives envisaged in the Eleventh plan have been achieved well in advance. Affordable and effective communication services could be offered as tariff declined substantially due to intense competition among the operators. Government has taken several steps to encourage the participation of private players to create competitive environment in telecom sector.
Growth of Telephone Connections
The number of wireline connections decreased from 40.77 million (at the beginning of 11th Plan) to 34.29 million in 2011-12 (as on 30.06.2011). However, the total telephone subscribers during the same period increased from 205.87 million (as on 30.06.2011) to 886 million. The tele-density increased from 18.22 (as on 31.3.2007) to 73.97 (as on 30.06.2011)
Investments during 11th Plan
The total estimated investments by the public sector and private sector operators during the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) in telecom sector is Rs.3,98,700 crore.
Telecom equipment Manufacturing, R&D, Product Standards and IPR
Telecommunication infrastructure is a critical-asset of any country and it is a key growth enabler. Telecom networks are mission-critical elements for secure and timely communications. It is the delivery vehicle for a large number of IT and IT-enabled services including health-care, education, financial services, e-governance etc. both to the urban as well as rural masses. While telecommunication networks could be set-up with imported equipment, it becomes a concern when a large network, such as that of India, require continuous large imports, draining the foreign exchange of the country. Besides, a telecom network today is vulnerable to security and espionage threat, compromising the security and independence of a nation. Complete dependence on imported equipment, in which malware could have been designed in and implanted at the component (IC) level or at the level of hardware or at the level of BIOS (Basic Input Output System) or Operating System or at the application level, makes the nation highly vulnerable. The issue of security can be dealt comprehensively only when we have sound manufacturing base, higher order skills in telecom technologies and skills to deal with security related issues, which can be developed only when we start doing R&D, design and development including manufacturing of the equipment indigenously.
On the other hand, the design, development and manufacturing of its own telecom equipment is a big opportunity for India, creating huge value as well as large employment, and it is not that India does not have an option; it certainly has the design capabilities, as reflected in large amount of telecom design and development work that is carried out in India for multinational companies. With the right policies to promote R&D, IPR creation and manufacturing, India can certainly deliver. According to TRAI, the demand for telecom equipment in India was Rs.54,765 crore (US$12 billion) in 2009-10 which was about 5.5% of the global demand. This is projected to grow to Rs.96,514 crore (US$ 21 billion) in 2015 and Rs.170,091 crore (US$ 37 billion) in 2020. This large domestic demand may be a perfect launch pad for Indian Product
154 industry. A thriving telecom manufacturing industry would have a large positive impact on many other elements of the electronics manufacturing value chain. This will also provide employment, increased share of manufacturing in GDP and export of equipment and services. Moreover, technical knowledge and IPR creation will also have spillover effects for other industries. India has missed having stake in technology standardization, development and commercialization so far and a couple of more years of apathy could seal the fate of telecom manufacturing in the country forever.
Further, the scenario for telecom equipment design and manufacturing has been fast changing. The Western companies, which did well in the past, are contracting, with many of them going out of business. Very few have survived. The void has been filled by the Chinese companies, which have emerged on the scene only in the last ten years, and have already acquired leadership in telecom equipment manufacturing. If India does not strengthen its own telecom product industry, it will increasingly depend on importing equipment from one country. It is imperative that India moves rapidly in nurturing and strengthening its telecom R&D, IPR creation and product industry. Despite significant growth of the telecom network and the subscriber base over the last decade, the telecom manufacturing sector has not shown corresponding increase. The contribution of all domestic products have been 12-13% in the year 2009-10 while Indian Products could meet just 3% of the Indian demand. It is quite clear that the telecom equipment manufacturing ecosystem has so far failed to adequately spur the manufacturing segment and as a result, the domestic telecom equipment manufacturing segment has not been able to meet the demand forcing the telecom operators to import most of the equipment required for their network.
There are reasons for the Indian manufacturing Industry not being able to meet the demand through domestic equipment manufacture. It includes weak links in the complete chain from basic research to IPR generation, product design and development, product commercialization and achieving economies of scales so that the product can compete with the imported one. Manufacturing needs support of other components of the value chain to flourish. Manufacture of components and sub-assemblies in India would help both the Indian Product companies and Indian manufactured product companies. Large global EMS vendors need to be encouraged to set-up competitive large scale operations in India. This would not only reduce the input cost but also enable the same infrastructure to be used across the entire electronics sector. It is very important to have a tax structure that encourages manufacturing. Today, import of some components invites custom duty whereas the finished products attract zero duty. Smaller domestic players face the problem of not having economies of scale and availability of long term financing at low interest rates. R&D facilities, access to low cost funds and testing and certification are other areas which need to be strengthened to make the manufacturing environment more conducive. Several measures need to be taken to increase domestic production and enhance the value addition to the products being manufactured in the country. A robust telecom network needs a strong telecom manufacturing base which will in turn contribute handsomely to the GDP and employment in the country. There is, therefore, need for a comprehensive Telecom Equipment Manufacturing Policy that would give the country a definite direction and facilitate it becoming a strong telecom manufacturing hub. We have not been able to leverage our market for spurring manufacturing till date.
Planning Commission has proposed that the strategic objectives for the manufacturing sector in the next 15 years should be to bring about a quantitative and qualitative change via a set of policy choices with following core objectives:
155 i) Increasing the growth of manufacturing sector to 12-14% over medium term so as to contribute at least 25% to the National GDP by 2025; ii) Increasing the rate of job creation in manufacturing to create 100 million additional jobs by 2025; iii) Increasing domestic value addition; iv) Enhance global competitiveness of Indian manufacturing through appropriate policy support; v) Ensure sustainability of growth, particularly with regard to environment.
A strategic sector like telecom should give a befitting contribution to this target. With the expansion of the manufacturing base, development of ancillaries, support facilities like electronic design and manufacturing clusters, there would be employment for hundreds of thousands of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers. Similarly Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is in the process of framing a National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) in which it has been envisaged to create National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) which will be developed as integrated industrial township with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and favorable export-import policies. These Zones can play the role of a facilitator for the entrepreneurs who want to set up their business in the Telecom Sector. India has the capability to create global telecom product companies of its own if it can tap the next wave of telecom growth that would happen in the areas of broadband, Next Generation Networks and Next Generation Mobile Networks. Market Preference for domestically designed and produced telecom goods is being used today by most large nations, where the local industry is weak. The value lies in design, development, IPR and in system software. Without strengthening these aspects, India’s gains will be limited.
6. Mobile Handsets (Source: Indian Cellular Association (ICA))
Market Estimates (11th Five Year Plan)
INDIAN MARKET ESTIMATES 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011(E) Volume In Millions 90 110 130 150 165 Value In Crores 26,000 26,500 30,100 34,500 37,600 Total Volume (In Millions) 2007-2011 645 Total Value (In Crores) 2007-2011 154,700 (E): Estimated
Market Estimates (10th Five Year Plan) The Market performance during the 11th Five Year Plan was significantly higher as compared to the 10th Five Year Plan. Indian market performance during the 10th Five Year was as under:
INDIAN MARKET ESTIMATES 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Volume In Millions 7 15 20 40 65 Value In Crores 4,200 8,900 10,150 15,350 19,500
156 Total Volume (In Millions) 2002-2006 147 Total Value (In Crores) 2002-2006 58,100
Market Estimates (12th Five Year Plan) For the 12th Five Year Plan ICA expects a robust growth trajectory for the Industry, as per following projections:
INDIAN MARKET ESTIMATES 2012(E) 2013(E) 2014(E) 2015(E) 2016(E) Volume In Millions 180 200 220 240 265 Value In Crores 43,200 50,500 58,100 66,800 72,800 Total Volume (In Millions) 2012-2016 1105 Total Value (In Crores) 2012-2016 291,400
Production Regarding Production in the sector, the production was limited to only 32 Million during the 10th Five Year Plan, for which figures are given in the following Table (Manufacturing facilities started being set up in the last year of the 10th Five Year Plan)
PRODUCTION IN INDIA 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Volume In Millions NIL NIL 0.5 1 30 Value In Crores NIL NIL 200 400 6,500 Total Volume (In Millions) 2002-2006 31.5 Total Value (In Crores) 2002-2006 7100
In the 11th Five Year Plan, there was a massive growth in Manufacturing, as under:
PRODUCTION IN INDIA 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011(E) Volume In Millions 45 120 135 140 150 ValueInCrores 8,500 20,000 22,500 24,000 27,000 Total Volume (In Millions) 2007-2011 590 Total Value (In Crores) 2007-2011 102,000
In the 12th Five Year Plan, ICA estimates that in a positive scenario manufacturing can continue to grow. ICA’s estimates for production for the 12th Five Year Plan are as under:
PRODUCTION IN INDIA 2012(E) 2013(E) 2014(E) 2015(E) 2016(E) Volume In Millions 180 250 295 339 372 ValueInCrores 35,100 48,750 60,950 73,100 80,450 Total Volume (In Millions) 2012-2016 1436 Total Value (In Crores) 2012-2016 298,350
However, the threat from unbranded Chinese phones is very severe for domestic manufacturing.
157 Export Export was insignificant during the 10th Five Year Plan. Export started happening during the year 2006 (the last year of the 10th Five Year Plan): EXPORT FROM INDIA 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Volume In Millions NIL NIL NIL NIL 5 Value In Crores NIL NIL NIL NIL 1,450 Total Volume (In Millions) 2002-2006 5 Total Value (In Crores) 2002-2006 1450
During the 11th Five Year Plan, exports grew substantially, as given below:
EXPORT FROM INDIA 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011(E) Volume In Millions 10 55 70 80 85 ValueInCrores 2,400 11,500 12,500 15,300 14,850 Total Volume (In Millions) 2007-2011 300 Total Value (In Crores) 2007-2011 56,550
For the 12th Five Year Plan, ICA’s estimates for exports are as under:
EXPORT FROM INDIA 2012(E) 2013(E) 2014(E) 2015(E) 2016(E) Volume In Millions 100 150 180 220 240 ValueInCrores 19,000 30,750 36,900 44,300 48,700 Total Volume (In Millions) 2012-2016 890 Total Value (In Crores) 2012-2016 179,650
158 7. Semiconductor Industry (Source: India Semiconductor Association (ISA)) The first ISA-F&S report was released in 2006. The fourth update of ISA-F&S Report 2010 - 2012 provides market estimation and forecasts for different semiconductor product markets in India till 2012. The application segments studied include: • Mobile devices • Telecommunications • Information Technology & Office Automation (IT&OA) • Consumer electronics • Industrial electronics • Automotive electronics and • Others (aerospace, defense, medical electronics and smart cards).
Chart 1: Total Indian semiconductor market: TM, TAM revenue forecasts, 2009 - 2012
Definitions The TM volume for a particular end use product (say handsets) represents the total sales units for a specific year. In other words TM represents the total local consumption of a said product in that year. It therefore includes imports; basically volume of local sales irrespective of whether it was manufactured in India or not.
TAM volume for an end use product (say handsets), on the other hand, represents the total number of units manufactured and/or assembled in the country in the study year. In other words, TAM represents the locally manufactured (includes EMS activity) + locally assembled Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units and therefore will include even export units manufactured in the country.
This TM and TAM volume for a particular end use product (say handsets) are then multiplied with the electronic Bill of Materials (eBoM) (semi eBoM per handset) to arrive at the semiconductor TM and TAM revenues for that product (handsets).
The key findings: • The Indian semiconductor market grew by a phenomenal 28.3 percent in 2010; global semiconductor market’s cyclical trends had minimal impact in India. • Mobile devices, telecommunication and IT&OA contributed 82 percent to semiconductor TM in 2010. • Local manufacturing of telecom equipment by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS)
159 companies to propel related semiconductor consumption by a massive 50 percent during 2010 to 2012. • Influenced by regulatory norms and sharpening competition, the automotive segment to account for the highest growth in semiconductor demand at 31 percent from 2010 to 2012. • Sustained gulf between semiconductor Total Market (TM) and Total Available Market (TAM) from 2010-2012 highlight the urgency to promote local manufacturing to drive higher growth in TAM.
As per the ISA-DIT-E&Y Report 2011, the Indian semiconductor design industry, consisting of Very Large-Scale Integrated (VLSI) design, embedded software development and hardware/board design, was estimated at USD 7.5 billion in 2010. By 2012, it will reach USD 10.6 billion. Of that, embedded software development will constitute USD 8.6 billion, board design USD 0.7 billion and VLSI design USD 1.3 billion. In 2010, the Indian design industry employed 160,000 people. It is slated to grow to 234,000 by 2012. The key challenges constraining the growth of the Indian semiconductor design industry as per this report are talent availability, lack of startup ecosystem and competition from Asian countries.
Chart 2: Semiconductor design industry in India, 2009 - 2012
160 Table 1: Revenue and workforce of semiconductor design industry in India, 2010 and 2012
2010 2012 Segment Revenue Workforce Revenue Workforce (USD mill.) (USD mill.) VLSI design 944 17200 1333 25200 %share 12.6 10.8 12.6 10.8 Revenue CAGR (2009-2012): 17.3% Workforce CAGR (2009-2012): 20% Hardware/Board 476 11600 672 17000 %share 6.4 7.3 6.4 7.3 Revenue CAGR (2009-2012): 17.3% Workforce CAGR (2009-2012): 20% Embedded Software 6076 131000 8579 192000 %share 81 81.9 81 81.9 Revenue CAGR (2009-2012): 17.3% Workforce CAGR (2009-2012): 20% TOTAL 7496 159800 10584 234200 Source: ISA-DIT-EY report, 2011 CAGR: Compounded Annual Growth Rate
Growth drivers India talent scenario: Presence of abundant talent continues to play a major role in India’s positioning in worldwide semiconductor design, which employed workforce strength of 1, 60,000 in 2010. It has the presence of a young industry workforce with close to 78% of the workforce consisting of B.Tech graduates and close to 60% with less than eight years of work experience.
VLSI design: Almost 50% of the work done in VLSI design is in the gate range of 1M – 10M range and more than 50% of work is done in the digital design segment but mixed signal design work is also rapidly increasing. In terms of design, Intellectual Property (IP) development and module design & verification garner the major share of projects. The main growth drivers are:
- Increasing maturity of Indian design ecosystem - Rising global demand for electronics products
Embedded software design: The embedded software industry contributes close to 80% of the Indian semiconductor industry revenues with the key consuming verticals being the telecom/networking products and consumer electronics products. Factors which provide an impetus to this segment are: - Product customization due to localization & legislative requirements - Lower entry barriers - Adaption to open-source platforms - Hardware/Board design: The hardware/board segment is the smallest contributor to the semiconductor design industry in India. More than 50% of the work is done on the sub-10 layers range. Factors which aid in growth of this segment are: - Increased outsourcing by service providers - Re-engineering opportunities - Captives partnering third-party service providers bringing in increased business
161 With all the top 10 global fabless companies and the top 25 semiconductor companies present in India, the ecosystem is gradually orienting towards product/ design innovation. Both the captives and non-captives are gradually orienting themselves towards executing projects of higher strategic value (towards spec-to-tape out/ product ownership). By 2005, a large number of global semiconductor companies had setup design captive units in India.
Key drivers for global semiconductor companies turn to India for growth: 1. Globally, India is one of the fastest growing electronics product market; with semiconductor TM reaching USD 9.86 billion in 2012 with a CAGR of 22.7% (ISA-F&S, 2010-2012).
2. With the large middle class population having purchasing power, the domestic market is estimated to be USD 400 billion by 2020. This makes India a key focus market for semiconductor companies.
3. India as a hub for embedded design is evidenced by: - Several global electronic product companies in telecom / IT / automotive/ industrial domain setting up large Design Centers in India - Indian design services companies developing electronic products for global customers from India and - Local companies developing electronic products for Indian market as well as for exports - Major embedded designs and socket/ architecture decisions are happening in India which has an impact on global revenues of the semiconductor industry.
4. Proactive Government policies to support local electronic product manufacturing as well as attracting semiconductor manufacturing to India.
162 e-Industry : IT-ITeS Industry Background 1.1 Introduction India is fundamentally advantaged and uniquely positioned to sustain its global leadership position, grow its offshore IT-ITES industries at an annual rate of 13-14 per cent, sustain nearly 10 million direct jobs, and generate export revenues of about USD 175 billion by 2020. This represents an opportunity, capable of catapulting us into a high growth orbit. The transformational impact that this industry can achieve has the potential for India to not only sustain global leadership, but also build a truly inclusive growth environment in the country. The domestic IT-ITES industry in India is at an inflection point today. As Indian consumers and corporations rapidly adopt mobile phones, and Internet access and broadband connectivity expand, there is likely to be a significant increase in spend on IT hardware, software and services. Finally, the biggest domestic opportunity in most sectors (e.g., banking, insurance, retail, telecom and healthcare) lies in tapping the opportunity to serve the billions of underserved at the bottom of the pyramid. The other big positive is that our knowledge sector is largely driven by youth—the average age of employees in the industry is between 25 and 28. The basis of the “demographic dividend” is that in 2020, the average age in India will be only 29 years, compared with 37 in China and the United States, 45 in western Europe, and 48 in Japan. Moreover, 70 percent of Indians will be of working age in 2025, up from 61 percent now. According to the Indian Labour Report, 300 million youth would enter the labour force by 2025, and 25 per cent of the world's workers in the next three years would be Indians. This demographic advantage—will become a bigger edge for the country. The global demographic composition is increasingly getting skewed towards a few countries having a large working age population and the developed countries having a deficit. The young people need to be properly educated to fully contribute to the growing economy. India’s young demographic profile, where over 3.5 million graduates and postgraduates including over 500,000 IT & Electronics & Communication Engineering graduates are added annually to the talent base, will continue to give us an unassailable edge. Today, no other country offers a similar mix and scale of human resources. There is no denying that there are gaps in talent suitability. The lack of suitability poses challenge and the same needs to be proactively addressed. On the plus side, the Indian IT-ITES industry has also moved up the value chain of global perception. India is a global partner delivering several mission critical services to clients globally. Today, Indian companies are stepping out of India and are going global. Indian companies have set up delivery centres across the world and are actually providing services from different regions. Around 340 delivery centres in 184 cities across 48 countries in 2007 have now increased to over 500 centres across 60 countries, and 200 cities.
163 IT-ITeS/BPO industry provides employment to people with various skill levels i.e. Engineers, Lawyers, Arts/Science/Commerce/ Literature etc. graduates; High School Pass outs etc. This sector is the largest employment provider of women and has about 30% of its workforce comprising women. In the ITeS/ BPO segment, women employment is about 40%. The IT-ITeS industry has become one of the most significant growth catalysts for the Indian economy. In addition to fueling the economy, the industry is also positively influencing the lives of its people through an active direct and indirect contribution to the various socio-economic parameters such as employment, standard of living and diversity, among others.
1.2 Indian IT-ITES Industry Performance The Indian Information Technology - Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-ITES) industry has continued to perform its role as the consistent growth driver for the economy. It has built the global brand for India as a knowledge economy. Global leaders, media and analysts have recognised the potential for India through the brand built by this sector. IT enabled solutions have helped government and industry enhance governance and efficiency. Government of India has played a key role in supporting development of this sector. From providing tax incentives under Section 10A/10B, setting up STPI, creating capacity and competition for telecom services, zero import duty on software are some of the steps taken for this industry to develop as the leading global sourcing hub of the world. While the sector has maintained a CAGR of over 30 percent in the tenth plan, the IT-ITeS industry has continued to sustain growth rate in the Eleventh Plan despite the global economic downturn, which has impacted the growth trajectory of the industry, to single digits in FY 2009-10. With worldwide technology spending declining significantly in 2009, and being an export led sector with a key thrust on banking and financial services, there was single digit growth in exports revenues. Along with the decline in global demand, many other low-cost countries are building a significant value proposition to challenge India’s leadership position aided by enabling investment policies. The industry in this phase (2008-2010) has demonstrated maturity by reducing costs, focusing on new markets, investing in sales and development, domain expertise, enhancing operational excellence and thrust on customer centricity. However, there has been a marked improvement in FY2010-11, with reduction in recessive conditions, enabling the return of double digit growth for the industry However, all the stake holders viz, Industry, Industry Associations, Central/State Government would be required to work together to address the emerging challenges to sustain the growth rate by retaining the competitiveness and build for the next wave of growth.
164 Table - 1 : Performance of the industry during the Eleventh Five Year plan US $ Bn FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11(E) FY12(P) CAGR 31.2 40.4 47.1 49.7 59.0 69 17.0% Exports Domestic 8.2 11.7 12.8 14.2 17.2 20.0 19.5% Total 39.40 52.10 59.9 63.9 76.2 89.0 17.7% Source: NASSCOM
1.2.1 IT-ITeS Exports The exports revenue of Indian IT-ITeS industry has grown from US $ 40.4 billion( Rs. 164400 crore) in 2007-08 to US $ 59 billion (Rs. 269630 crore) in 2010-11 and are projected to reach $ 69 billion by 2011-12 with CAGR of 17% in dollar terms. In view of the severe global economic recession in the developed markets, which account for almost 90% of India’s IT-ITeS exports, the exports growth rate during the year 2008-09 declined to single digit (5.5%). The export industry is diversified across three major focus segments – IT Services, BPO and engineering services. While IT Services have been the mainstay of the industry, BPO and engineering services sector has built upon the India value proposition and today there exist integrated service providers across the three focus areas as well as niche providers. Table - 2 : Segment-wise IT-ITeS Exports in XI Plan US$ Bn SERVICE LINES 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 (E) (P) IT Services 22.2 25.8 27.3 33.5 - BPO 9.9 11.7 12.4 14.1 - Software 8.3 9.6 10.0 11.4 - products/engineering Total 40.4 47.1 49.7 59.0 69 (P) Source : NASSCOM
165 1.2.2 IT-ITeS Domestic Market
The domestic revenue of IT-ITeS industry has increased from US $ 11.7 billion (Rs.47000 crores) in the year 2007-08 to US $ 17.2 billion (Rs.78700 crores) in 2010-11 and is projected to reach US $ 20 billion (Rs.90000 crores) by 2011-12 with estimated CAGR of 19.5% in dollar terms. Thus, the growth rate of domestic IT-ITeS revenue has outpaced the growth rate of IT-ITeS exports from the country.
The Government is expected to contribute significantly to this growth through spending for the National e-governance Plan (NeGP). Leading Indian firms, multinationals as well as the SMEs are gearing their products and services to tap into the e-governance opportunity.
Table - 3 : Segment wise domestic IT-ITES revenue in XI Plan INR Bn SERVICE LINES 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 (E) (P) IT Services 318 378 429 501 574 BPO 64 89 109 127 145 Software products/ engineering 88 123 140 159 184 Total 470 590 678 787 900 (P) Source : DIT Annual Report and NASSCOM
IT-ITeS Domestic Revenue INR Bn Software products/ engineering 900 BPO 900(P) IT Services 787 184 678 159 145 140 600 569 127 470 101 109 88 87 64 300 429 501 318 381
0 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11(E) 2011-12(P)
1.2.3 Employment generated Direct employment in the IT services and ITeS/BPO segment touched 2.54 million by the end of FY2010-11, and is expected to reach 2.8 million by the end of the current five year plan. This also translates to the creation of about 8.7 million indirect job opportunities attributed to the growth of this sector in diverse fields such as commercial and residential real estate, retail, hospitality and transportation, etc. Direct employment generation by the IT-ITES sector during the Eleventh Plan is given below: (In Million numbers) 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12(P) Direct Employment 1.96 2.20 2.29 2.54 2.80
166 Direct Employment Million Nos 3 Direct Employment
2
2.54 2.29 2.8 2.2 1.96 1
0 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12(P)
2.0 Objectives, Targets and Achievements of Eleventh Five Year Plan 2.1 The main objective of Eleventh Five Year Plan was to evolve strategies to become world leaders in development of IT software and services including ITES. India continues to be a premier destination for the global off-shoring market of IT-ITeS, accounting for almost 55% in 2010 as compared to 49% in 2005. India has emerged a dominant player in global IT services outsourcing with increase in India’s share to 70% in 2010 from 52% in 2005. Although India’s share in BPO sourcing market has declined from 45% in 2005 to 34% in 2010 but continues to be the leader in this space. (See Figures below).
India’s Share of Global Sourcing Market in US$ Billion
India Share of Global India Share IT Service India's BPO Exports Offshoring Market Export 106 64 42 Others Others Others India 47 India 19 India 28 37 25 12 45 59 12 19 7 14 13 5 18
2005 2010 2005 2010 2005 2010
49% 55% 52% 70% 45% 34% India's Share in Global Offshore Market (%) 75% 70% 2005 2010 55% 52% 49% 45% 50%
34%
25%
0% Global IT-ITES IT Services Market BPO Market
167 2.2 Targets and Achievements of Eleventh Five Year Plan The exports target for IT-ITES industry in 11th Five Year Plan has been $ 86.6 billion by the FY 2011-12 with CAGR of about 24%. The industry is expected to generate export revenues in the range of USD 68-69 Billion by 2011-12, with a CAGR growth rate of 17 per cent over five year period.
Table - 4 : Achievement of IT-ITES Export Target in XI Plan (US$ Bn) 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Target 37.6 47.5 60.0 72.1 86.6 Revised in MTA 50 60 72 Achievements (Exports) 40.4 47.1 49.7 59.0(E) 68-69(P) MTA = Mid Term Appraisal (E) = Esitmated (P) = Projected NASSCOM has projected IT/ITES exports to grow 15-17 % in 2011-12.
US $ Bn Targets vs Achievement 90 86.6 Target Achievement 72.1 69
60 59 60 49.7 47.5 47.1 40.4 37.6
30
0 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11(E) 2011-12(P)
The growth of the sector has also led to tremendous pay-offs in terms of wealth creation and generation of high quality employment. Over the last five years, net direct employment creation by the IT-ITeS sector is estimated at 1.2 million professionals and indirect job creation is over 4 million.
3.0 Performance of Plan Scheme in XI Plan
Software Technology Parks of India
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) was established and registered as an autonomous Society under the Societies Registration Act 1860, under the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India on 5th June 1991 with an objective to implement STP scheme, set- up and manage infrastructure facilities and provide other services like technology assessment and professional training.
168 The Software Technology Park (STP) scheme, a 100% Export Oriented scheme, is meant for undertaking of Software Development for Export using data communication links. The STP scheme is a strategic policy initiative by Government of India, which allows software companies to set up operations in the most convenient and cheapest locations and plan their investment and growth driven by business needs. STPI has facilitated regional development by uniform dispersal of STP units across secondary cities and thereby increasing employment opportunities in these areas.
STPI has created basic infrastructural support in the form of Business Incubators with state of art facilities with Plug & Play facilities for start-up companies. These incubation services enable small and medium enterprises to set up operations at minimal fixed costs with low start-up investment, thereby encouraging entrepreneurship and creating jobs.
The number of unit registration with STPI has been decreasing in the past two years. The number of operating STP units as on 31-03-2011 stood at 6588 as out of which 5532 STP units have been exporting with estimated exports of ` 207375.84 crores during the year 2010-11. In the year 2009-10, around 250 units have de-bonded from STP/EHTP. In the year 2010-11 (Upto Dec, 2010) around 214 more units de- bonded from STP/EHTP. The exports by STP units have been over the last three year have remained almost stagnant. Number of Operating STP units 8188 8455 8000 7543 7007 6588
4000
0 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11(E)
During the 11th Plan period, number of exporting units have reduced from 6842 to 5532. About 85% of the exports by STP units is contributed by less than 15% of total number of STPI units. It can be seen from the table below that , more than 4000 units which are in SME category (85% of the total STP units) are contributing about 15% of the total exports by STP units. Table - 5 : Exports Revenue by STP Units
Exports (in Percentage Percentage of No. of Rs. Crores) Share of the Units of the Total Exports Revenue by STP units units (till (FY 2008- Total Exports No. of Exporting 2008-09) 09) by STP units(%) STP units (%) Below Rs. 10 Crores 3828 11220.71 5.41 66.82 Between Rs. 10-50 Crores 1166 21850.42 10.54 20.35 Between Rs. 50-100 Crores 320 18847.48 9.09 5.59 Between Rs. 100-500 Crores 350 73204.54 35.30 6.11 Above Rs. 500 Crores 65 82252.59 39.66 1.13 Total 5729 207375.75 100.00 100.00 Source : STPI
169 During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, four new STPI centres have already become operational and few more centres including centres in the North-East region are in different stages of development. STPI is working closely with the respective State Governments/local authorities for creation of more incubation space, equipped with state-of–the-art infrastructure facilities, for development of the software industry and increasing exports.
Today, STPI has 52 centres spread across the country and over 6588 units are operating under STP Scheme. Majority of the STP units are Small and Medium entreprises (SMEs) , which contribute about 15% in the total exports of IT-ITES sector from the country. Besides deployment of STP/EHTP Scheme, STPI has been supporting the smaller units and budding entrepreneurs to graduate up in the value chain. Many of the STPI centres are not yet scaled up and lack in providing the much needed support to the start ups, incubation, plug and play facilities which are available in the Jurisdictional STPI Centres. Such STPI centres need to be appropriately upgraded in the XII Five Year Plan and work closely with the industry and local engineering institutes.
Income Tax benefit on exports by STP units were to initially expire on 31st March 2009 which was further extended twice, once to 31st March 2010 and then again to 31st March, 2011. With the withdrawal of Income Tax benefits beyond 31-03-2011, the number of new STP units registeration has declined as new IT-ITES units are coming up in the IT-ITES specific SEZs. About 236 IT-ITES SEZs have been notified. Out of this, over 75 IT-ITES SEZS have already become operational. As per the proposed DTC Bill, the IT-ITES SEZs units , which become operational upto 31-03-2014 would be eligible for the benefits for a period of 15 years as per the SEZ Act 2005. It is pertinent to mention that STP scheme provides an alternative channel for unrestricted growth, if the current impediments are removed.
In the XII Plan , STPI needs to play more dynamic and proactive role for sustaining the growth of SME STP units and may be required to administer some schemes for extending benefits to STP units especially in Tier II & Tier III locations.
4.0 Twelfth Five year Plan (2012-2017) : Objectives, Targets & Strategies 4.1 Objectives
The main aim is to harness the potential of the software and services sector to contribute to the country’s development and growth, particularly in terms of investment, exports, employment generation and contribution to GDP. Keeping in view the growing congestion in Metros(90% of the IT-ITES revenue is from 7 Metros), the IT-ITES industry needs to look beyond the Metro cities for balanced regional development. The key objectives for the twelfth plan are as under:
1. To retain India’s leadership position as a global IT-BPO destination, consolidate and grow in both mature and emerging markets. 2. Enhance innovation and build India as the hub for global design, IP and product development. 3. To harness ICT technology for inclusive growth, promote gender inclusivity and ensure balanced regional growth. 4. To nurture and accelerate the growth for the SMEs and start-up enterprises in the country. 5. Build India centric software industry, drive domestic market IT adoption, and enhance SMB competitiveness in the country.
170 6. To focus on development of IT- ITES/ BPO industry beyond the current 7 Metros including NCR.
4.2 Targets for the Twelfth Five Year Plan Over the next decade, several global megatrends will shape the technology and ITES/BPO industry as they reshape the global economy. Hence with increased GDP growth of emerging markets, and shrinking working age populations, these megatrends will present a new set of hitherto untapped opportunities that will include emergence of new verticals, service lines, geographic and customer segments. On the back of these trends, the addressable market opportunity for the IT-ITES/BPO sector is likely to expand from the current USD 500 billion to USD 1.5 trillion by 2020. Given the backdrop of large untapped demand potential and strong fundamentals, India is uniquely positioned to secure global leadership, grow its IT-BPO exports at a compounded annual rate of 13.8 percent, and generate export revenues of USD 130 billion, and domestic revenues of USD 40 billion by FY 2017. Direct employment generation is expected to increase by 65% from FY 2011 levels, to 4.2 million, while indirect employment is expected to touch 10.6 million by FY 2017. This translates to incremental direct employment of about 1.4 million people and incremental indirect employment of 2.3 million. Further, establishing India’s leadership in the global IT-BPO sector will mean more than achieving a targeted growth in exports. Following are a proposed set of indicators that may be used as targets to be achieved during the 12th plan. Attaining these ambitious outcomes will require breakthrough collaboration amongst, central and state governments, industry players and industry associations – to ensure that appropriate actions required to maximize the global sourcing market potential and sustain India’s superiority as the preferred sourcing destination are executed in a timely manner.
The goals identified to achieve the aspirations are as under: Description Current (FY2010-11) Target FY 2016-17
IT-ITES Exports USD 59 Billion USD 130 Billion
IT-ITES Domestic USD 17.2 Billion USD 40 Billion revenue
Direct Employment 2.54 million 4.2 million
4.3 Strategies 1. Build an enabling policy environment for India to sustain and grow its leadership in the global sourcing sector in developed and emerging markets. 2. To support small and medium enterprises and provide competitive edge through fiscal benefits, innovation fund and incubation. 3. To build world class infrastructure in identified tier II & tier III cities to create new hubs for industry development as potential centres of excellence. 4. To address the gap of employability through skill development initiatives.
171 5.0 Institutional Framework
5.1 Inter- Ministerial Group: The industry currently faces a number of issues that are inter-ministerial in nature and do not get resolved. There is a need to have an Inter Ministerial Group having representation from the concerned Ministries/Departments and determine bottlenecks and recommend solutions. The Group would meet quarterly. The Inter Ministerial Group will also review the on- going activities and suggest mid-course correction wherever required.
5.2 Software Technology Parks of India (STPI): In view of the withdrawal of the tax benefits for STP units, STPI is working out a road map to facilitate the IT sector in the changed scenario. Some of the salient steps in this direction are given below: A non-profit linked incentive schemes for STP registered units is being formulated to ensure accelerated growth of IT/ITES exports and the dispersal of IT/ITES industry to the Tier II and Tier III cities across the country. Based on the format of the scheme, requirement of funds would be worked out. The present incubation programme of STPI would be further strengthened for innovation led Business Incubation and entrepreneurial development for start up units. This programme would be designed to provide venture, infrastructural and mentoring support to the entrepreneurs. In addition to the existing infrastructure available at 52 STPI centers, STPI is in process of creating additional incubation space at Gurgaon, Mohali and Bengaluru as of now. STPI would explore creating more and more incubation space in Tier II and Tier III cities across the country. Proposal for above initiative is under preparation at this stage. STPI is working with DIT for establishment of a National Productivity Network, which would create capacity and necessary IT infrastructure across STPI centers to provide support primarily to SMEs across the country. For this, the data centres at major STPI centers having excellent data communication and cloud computing resources would be created. MSMEs in India are facing unprecedented challenges necessitating the need for ICT adoption in their business processes and integrating into globalized economic environment. With ICT tools, the MSME sector can improve upon the way it is doing businesses currently and become more vigilant in the finer details in its day-to-day operations thereby increasing its own competiveness. The ICT adoption in manufacturing sector can change the way the organizations conduct their business which will enable them to compete in the national and international markets. The major objective of ICT application is the cost-effective and efficient improvement in business activities. STPI would promote and assist the start-up companies in innovation/research & development. Further, STPI would also create awareness & encourage the start-up companies to register the IPR of their innovative products.
172 6.0 Key Constraints and Challenges
While India continues to be the dominant player in the global sourcing sector, its future will depend on how challenges to its continued competitiveness are tackled. The primary sources of risk are low employability, infrastructure constraints, rising costs, discontinuation of fiscal incentives and a supportive policy framework and lack of an innovation ecosystem. In addition, the competition is intensifying and many countries are now positioning themselves as global sourcing destinations providing a plethora of incentives.
(i) Competition and strong pull from other countries : China, Philippines, Vietnam, Poland, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt are an indicative list of countries that are emerging as competitive locations with this increasing to almost 50 locations which present a huge challenge to India’s success story. Many of these countries are offering a host of incentives (income tax holiday, deduction from taxable income upto 40% of the salary of additional skilled and unskilled workers, reduced rentals, subsidy on trainings, access to government contracts) to attract global players to set-up operations in their countries. Various Governments provide attractive incentives through fiscal, indirect and ICT sector-specific schemes.
There is real danger that some of these locations will move from being small second-source alternatives to primary sources. Already, many MNCs and Indian companies are setting up centres in these countries. As an example, Philippines is already half the size of the Indian ITES/BPO industry and is expected to grow at rapid pace. China is intent on transforming its economy from a manufacturing engine into a services hub, and the Chinese Government has been pushing the growth of the country’s service outsourcing market. Though the total offshoring market in India is much higher compared to China, R&D offshoring has a different story. India’s accounts for 20-25% of the global R&D offshoring market with China close behind at 15-20% market share. There are about 920 MNCs with about 1,200 subsidiary centres carrying out R&D related work in China. However, there are only about 400 R&D centers in India. Chinese government has initiated several policies & programs to promote R&D activities in the country. The financial and tax incentives and other preferential treatments have been able to save 15-20% of the operations cost and has also helped reduce the set up costs significantly for MNCs. China is pushing talent development and its’ strategy is to increase spending on education and provide monetary incentives to companies developing talent pool. Another important factor to be considered is that due to its nature of being less capital intensive and flexibility in operations, IT/ITES industry can be relocated in a very short time. If India is not able to retain its competitiveness and the status of being most preferred destination for outsourcing, not only the foreign companies would move to other destinations that are more attractive but Indian companies may also prefer to set up operations in those countries due to the same reasons.
(ii) Reduced competitiveness of the industry : India’s competitiveness is declining due to a diminishing employable talent pool, high cost of doing business due to inefficiencies of power, transport, security, concentration in metros due to
173 inadequate infrastructure in other towns etc. Currently, over 90 per cent of total revenues are generated from 7 Tier 1 locations which are nearing peak capacities in terms of infrastructure support. And hence there is a pressing need to fast-track the development of alternate delivery locations in Tier 2/3 cities. The companies in India have invested in world class facilities, extensive talent development initiatives, disaster recovery and business continuity, high cost of transport, enhanced security, captive power generation, UPS and other equipments which have over all created a cost disadvantage of 10 – 15% as compared to other emerging markets. Thus, India will be hard pressed to manage its competitiveness in the wake of rising costs and increasing competition.
(iii) Improving the Supply and Capacity of Suitable Talent: Though India accounts for over 28% of the total suitable talent pool available to work in the IT- ITES/BPO sector across all the potential global sourcing low-cost locations, the proportion of graduates found suitable for employment is fairly low (quoted estimates range 10-20 percent). As a result the effective pool of employable graduates is far lower than the overall pool of people entering the working-age population.
Currently, any graduate who is hired, irrespective of the institute he comes from or his skill levels, is put through the 16-week training (in areas such as technical skills, soft skills, company orientation and process-specific domain skills) when he joins the firm. Research shows that the industry spends over 1.5% of its revenues on training activities alone. This incremental training post education completion of students is a clearly a drag, and recruiting a trainable pool is not a sustainable option going forward. Inadequate English-language proficiency and lack of soft- skills are the key gaps in the current graduate pool, reported by the industry. Further, as highly skilled talent enters the workforce, the gestation period before new employees can generate revenues (up to six months for some players) will diminish and there will be a much greater focus on ongoing development of specialised skills and capabilities. There are many initiatives being run by the industry to partner with the universities to enhance the employability of the talent pool.
(iv) Lack of early stage/angel funding : While venture capital availability has grown strongly in India, most of it is concentrated towards later stage (Stage 2 onwards) and private equity funding. There continues to be a severe shortfall in seed stage funding / angel funding. Even the available seed funding is skewed towards entrepreneurs focussed on services business as it has a relatively short gestation period. This results in the IP focused entrepreneurs facing a severe ‘access to capital’ challenge as IP development requires a long time horizon and hence patient investment.
VC funds are reluctant to invest in early stage start-ups as they do not have access to low cost capital. Government (CSIR, DST, DBT etc) have several schemes for providing seed capital to entrepreneurs but the amounts are low and none of these schemes is IT focussed.
(v) Global economic recovery : The Indian IT-ITES/BPO sector has been an export led industry with USA and UK accounting for almost 75-80 percent of the industry’s export revenues. The global recession of 2009 had a great impact on the
174 growth trajectory, with growth beginning to decline FY2008-09 inwards, to single digit levels in FY2009-10. While the situation improved in FY2010-11 with double digit revenue and employment growth, major global economies have not yet fully recovered.
(vi) Direct and indirect protectionism in key markets : US, UK, Australia are some of the key markets wherein there is increasing movement on direct and indirect protectionism. This is being manifested through introduction of legislations on visas, taxation, TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) regulations etc. Some of the suggested measures have the potential of severely impacting the business models that the industry has developed and pioneered over the last decade.
(vii) Transparent and stable policy framework with defined implementation: Multinational companies today account for over 30 percent of the industry revenues and employment creation. Lack of clarity in approach to transfer pricing is leading to inflated tax demands and enhanced litigation with these organizations, some of whom are choosing to relocate their APAC headquarters and hence decision making to other countries like Malaysia, Singapore etc. There also continues to be uncertainty on policies, changes in announced programs MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax), labour laws. It is imperative that a harmonious policy structure is created which is implemented uniformly across the country.
(viii) ‘Made in India’ procurement : The combined spend on IT (hardware, software, services and network) related procurement by the Government in India is huge and Government is the largest procurer of IT in India. Apart from services, a significant proportion of the IT assets deployed in projects (hardware, software products ) are imported.
Indian firms particularly the SME firms who develop products find it difficult to sell to the Government as they lack the sales capacity or they fail to meet the qualifying procurement criteria e.g. annual revenue, number of customer etc. As a result the ‘Made in India’ IT products find it difficult to scale up.
(ix) Lack of research capacity : A key weakness of the Indian IT industry including Government agencies is the lack of original technology development. Majority of IT deployed in India is either imported or IPR resides with non Indian entities.
Innovation ecosystems who lead in technology development e.g. Silicon Valley, have demonstrated that a key lever for technology development is the maturity of the post-graduate and doctoral research program. In India, the number of computer science doctoral research programs is very low – both qualitatively and quantitatively. (x) Declining Global ITES/BPO share : India’s share in global BPO off shoring market has declined due to competition from other emerging countries. Development of the BPO industry in Tier-II and Tier-II cities, which is feasible under the STP scheme, is important for ensuring long term competitiveness as Tier I locations would gradually loose their competitive edge over the other emerging nations due to high infrastructure cost. Lack of skilled manpower and sustainable supply of talent pool remains a major hurdle especially in tier 2 and 3 cities.
175 7. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACHIEVING THE 12th PLAN VISION FOR THE IT- ITES INDUSTRY
Based on the assessment of the key challenges and constraints, it was suggested to drive domestic domestic growth, address issues of talent and skill building, ensure India’s competitiveness, incentivise the SMEs and need to play a proactive role by the State Governments so as to provide ease of doing business.
The 12th plan policy approach will centre on a five-pronged strategy that will include:
(i) Building new markets and expanding the core markets - Access and Outreach (ii) Accelerating the ecosystem and initiatives for small and start-up companies (iii) To strengthen infrastructure & eco-system in other cities for regional balanced development of IT-ITES/BPO sector. (iv) Enabling policy environment that encourages innovation, employment creation, skill development and domestic IT adoption for inclusive growth (v) Leveraging India’s demographic dividend through skill development
Some of the recommendations relating to IT-ITES industry would cut across the other sub-groups of DIT for the twelfth plan and also come under the purview of other Ministries/departments (viz, MHRD, DOC, MEA, MSME).
Each of these recommendations and fund required for the respective Program/Scheme are given below:
1. Building new markets and expanding the core markets – Access and Outreach
1.1. Market Creation and awareness
Recommendation It is recommended to launch a `Communication and Outreach Brief Campaign’ to promote the facts of India as a value added partner creating jobs, fuelling innovation and contributing to source markets. This campaign will have a multi-fold strategy that spans across - Participation in focused trade shows, B2B custom events, Creating relevant collaterals, CSR initiatives, Advertising and academia partnerships. The objective would be to demonstrate the capabilities of India and opportunities for partnership. Stakeholders DIT involved MEA Department of Commerce IT Industry Associations Components of Rs 50 crore over the 12th Plan period funding Implementation The global economic downturn has created an environment for protectionism in key markets with perceptions being created that jobs are being lost to India. It is important that DIT in partnership with NASSCOM launches a `Campaign’ to promote the facts of India as a value added partner creating jobs, fuelling innovation and contributing to these markets. This campaign can also highlight the opportunities in the Indian market and how multinational companies are leveraging these opportunities and
176 contributing to their economies.
The implementation of the campaign will be undertaken through pre- defined agencies approved by a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee.
1.2 Market Expansion and diversification in non-English speaking geographies Recommendation Start a special program for non-English speaking markets. This can include Brief language training, student exchange program, bilateral delegations and showcases, multi-lingual website etc. The focus areas to start with could be Japanese, German and Spanish. Stakeholders DIT involved MEA MHRD IT Industry Association Components of Rs 10 crore over the plan period funding Implementation The industry’s exports are largely targeted at the English speaking markets in US and Europe. However, data indicates that the future opportunity for the industry will lie across non-traditional markets wherein key capabilities will include language skills and cultural affinity.
For the 12th Plan period, it is recommended that DIT should support diversification and market expansion in Non-English speaking markets by facilitating creation of manpower for foreign language training of IT professionals in Japanese, German and Spanish.
DIT will prepare scheme for specialised language training institutes for implementing training on foreign languages. The industry interaction and content development can be done in partnership with MHRD and the industry association.
1.3 To promote SME IT companies in accessing the markets in new geographies through bilateral programmes
Recommendation In countries that are of strategic interest to India, DIT, in partnership with Brief industry associations can create a bouquet of offerings which can be leveraged by the government as it creates MOUs, and trade agreements. These offerings could include e-governance solutions, talent development, IT policies, setting up technology parks etc. These services could be offered on a commercial basis and will help India to take leadership in the technology sector and benefit other markets also. Stakeholders DIT involved MEA Ministry of Commerce & Industry IT Industry Association Implementation DIT needs to work with different ministries to identify countries that are of strategic interest to India because of their natural resources, geographical position etc. DIT also has signed a number of MOUs in different markets that are not being leveraged enough.
177 DIT in partnership with industry can identify and create a bouquet of best in class, relevant offerings from the industry which will be of benefit to the above countries, and market them to the same.
For example- In countries like Africa, India has recently committed USD5.7 billion to enhance support for institutional capacity building, technical assistance and training programmes for human resource development. The Government can ensure that these programs leverage use of Indian IT products and services.
1.4 Studies on Competitiveness Measure
Recommendation Countries like China, Philippines are emerging as significant competitors Brief for India supported by an enabling policy framework and investment in infrastructure and education. It is recommended that DIT should support in conducting studies, which can engage global consultants, think tanks and policy makers to evaluate specific measures being taken by these countries and recommend specific initiatives for India to retain and enhance its competitiveness in this sector. Activities could include tracking messaging related to India, unfair practices that can give countries an edge over India, customer surveys, visits and reports on emerging competition. Stakeholders DIT involved IT Industry Association Third party consultants Components of Rs 20 crore over the plan period funding Implementation DIT in consultation with the industry association would engage third party consultants for periodic studies - wherein select countries and issues/policies will be tracked.
1.5 Facilitate free trade, mobility for skilled workforce in key markets and counter protectionist sentiments Recommendation Labour mobility across borders has become a key concern area for the Brief industry and increasingly emerging as a non-tariff trade barrier. Protectionist bills are being introduced and implemented in key markets. A concerted effort by government and industry is required to fight these protectionist sentiments by providing factual information on the industry, engage with different advocacy groups etc. Stakeholders Department of Information Technology involved Ministry of External Affairs Ministry of Commerce and Industry Components of Rs 20 crore across the plan period funding Implementation IT Industry, Industry Associations and DIT to strengthen the current initiative.
178 Department of Information Technology to work with Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Commerce and Industry to develop and promote the concept and creation of a Non Resident Services Visa for technology professionals.
2. Accelerating the ecosystem for Emerging Companies and start-ups 2.1 Non profit linked incentives to promote small companies Recommendation The Software Technology Park scheme has played a stellar role in the Brief growth story of the IT-ITES/BPO sector in the country and helped emerging companies of the past emerge as global leaders. To provide competitive edge to small and start-up companies and to attract investments beyond Metro cities (i.e Tier II & Tier III cities), there is a need for similar enabling environment. In other competing countries incentives & benefits are extended both at Federal level and the State/Province level to attract investment and employment generation in IT-ITES sector. Hence, it is pertinent for the State Governments to provide incentives (Specimen list of incentives currently being offered by some State Governments to attract investment in this sector is attached as Annexure I) to IT-ITES companies for creating eco system and a level playing field to compete globally. At the Central Government level, it is recommended that DIT introduces a non profit linked scheme for small companies, especially in Tier II & Tier III cities (All cities beyond 7 Metros including NCR), which would be linked to investments and employment creation especially in Tier II & Tier III locations, subject to a ceiling. Stakeholders DIT involved STPI Components of Rs. 5000 crores – estimates will depend on the scope of the Scheme funding Implementation DIT in partnership with STPI can be the facilitator for disbursement of funds and define processes for small organisations that submit audited tax returns and balance sheets can get the necessary reimbursements.
2.2 Seed Capital / Start-up Funding Recommendation While the country has a healthy ecosystem of venture capital and private Brief equity firms, there is lack of seed capital for start-ups in the country. It is recommended that DIT may establish a corpus of Rs 250 crore to energise seed stage / angel funding for IT start-ups in India. As investing directly in start up firms and managing a portfolio requires competencies and skills, the corpus established by DIT should act as a ‘fund of funds’. Stakeholders DIT involved STPI State Government Financial institutions Components of Rs 1000 crore over the Plan period funding Implementation As a ‘fund of funds’, DIT should provide funds to VC funds which are focussed on early stage funding. The funds which take money from DIT
179 should agree to reserve a certain percentage of their corpus for angel funding in start-ups focussed on IP development. Other conditions could be that the VC funds who receive funds from DIT should raise matching funds from non-Government sources
A TePP for IT scheme can also be looked at to encourage software product innovation.
2.3 Market development initiatives Recommendation Branding and market development are key areas wherein small and start-up Brief companies are lacking capabilities, funds and channels. It is recommended that DIT should enable a market development scheme for small and start-up companies that will provide grants for participating in international events, research reports that identify white spaces for small companies, facilitating an SMB collaboration program globally, annual awards that recognise the best small companies etc. This would be relevant for both product and start-up companies. Stakeholders DIT involved Ministry Commerce & Industry IT Industry Association Implementation DIT in partnership with IT Industry Association can look to set up can set up a focused cell that will enable small companies to leverage and partner in this scheme.
2.4 Cluster Development / Affordable infrastructure Recommendation As cost of real estate increases in the key cities, small companies are unable Brief to find affordable infrastructure. In tier 2 cities, there does not exist clusters of office infrastructure. Similarly for start-ups, there is a need to establish incubators. It is recommended that DIT in partnership with state government should use the current Software Technology Parks infrastructure to provide affordable infrastructure for small companies; establish ‘thematic‘ incubators either directly or through a PPP with firms specializing in managing incubators. Stakeholders DIT involved STPI State Governments Implementation DIT in partnership with industry can conduct a survey to determine infrastructure requirements for small companies and then determine appropriate changes to the current STPI locations.
180 2.5 Government Procurement Recommendation All Government related procurement must have a preference for IP assets Brief (software and hardware) which have been ‘made in India’ and IP is owned by Indian registered entities. Large IT firms who execute the large contracts, should be encouraged to use IP owned by Indian registered entities without diluting quality. Special preference or credits should be given if the IP owner is an Indian SME. Stakeholders DIT( E-Gov) involved Industry Ministry of Finance Components of NIL funding
Implementation The tendering process for the government will need to be modified so that firms that collaborate with small companies for IP development are given some credit during evaluation. Large IT firms which bid for e-governance projects and have small Indian firms with IP as their partners in the bidding process should be given extra weight age without compromising on quality.
2.6 Internet, Content and Mobile Value Added Services(VAS) start-up initiative Recommendation Establishing an Internet, Content and Mobile VAS Start-up Initiative- DIT Brief to bring together a coalition of mentors, advisors, funders, major corporations and service providers to deliver strategic and substantive resources to help entrepreneurs start and scale companies. Suggested initial areas of focus areas could be Mobile VAS and Internet focused companies. Stakeholders DIT involved DIT’s autonomous bodies IT Industry Associations Industry players Implementation DIT in collaboration with IT Industry Association will lead, evangelize, and promote the development of an Internet, Content and MVAS Start-up initiative where all stakeholders within the system viz. mentors, advisors, funders, companies and service providers will come together to promote entrepreneurship, provide handholding and guidance to budding entrepreneurs.
3. To strengthen infrastructure & eco-system in other cities for regional balanced development of IT-ITES/BPO sector
3.1. New Delivery Centre Development
Recommendation It is recommended that a priority plan be built to strengthen infrastructure Brief and ecosystem in 10 cities wherein some initial activity has started and can emerge as significant locations for the industry. An end to end city development plan will need to be undertaken for these cities. Stakeholders DIT involved Ministry of Commerce & Industry (DIPP and DOC) State Government
181 Implementation Plan development from various aspects, such as macro policy plan and design, skill development, investment and comprehensive coordination, etc. An integrated physical and social infrastructure plan is funded by central and state government. Policy support of single windows clearance Fast track SEZ development in these states Marketing and investment campaign to attract companies Provide capital subsidy on all capital investments for organizations setting up in these cities subject to a ceiling
3.2. Support for the Information Technology Investment Regions(ITIRs)
Recommendation ITIR (Information technology Investment region) is envisaged as a self Brief contained integrated knowledge cluster dedicated to establishment and growth of IT, ITES, EHM units. While the scheme has been notified by the central government, the onus of implementation is on the states and lack of funds, land etc has resulted in the scheme not moving forward. It is recommended that a dual structure of funding be looked at partially by Central government and partially by the state to enable ITIR development. Stakeholders DIT(E-Infra) involved State Government Implementation While, the internal infrastructure cost can be met by the state government, external infrastructure support from Government of India needs to be provided under Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme,
3.3. Access and connectivity across the country
Recommendation Providing connectivity, along with provision for access devices, to Brief institutions and learners. Extend computer infrastructure and connectivity across the country.
Provide access to basic entry-level computer and communication resources for all students and teachers, regardless of location or socioeconomic status Stakeholders DIT (E-GOV) involved State Governments Implementation Broadband plan of connecting 250,000 villages to be completed in the plan period. CSCs/Post office to be set up in all 600,000 villages; connect panchayats to national broadband infrastructure Provide incentives for developing low-cost computing platforms that facilitate technology adoption in rural areas In smaller industrial clusters where firms cannot afford anything but basic IT, the local Government agencies in collaboration with cluster associations and technology providers can establish common facilities at the cluster levels under the shared information management services approach. The common infrastructure of the shared service centre can be used by the cluster firms and paid on a usage basis.
182 4. Enabling policy environment that encourages innovation, employment creation, skill development and domestic IT adoption for inclusive growth
4.1. Build innovation infrastructure
Recommendation Create MSTQ infrastructure: There is need for Measurement, Brief Standardization, Testing and Quality centers across the country requiring substantial capital investment. Government should also enable industry to partner with government run test labs to ensure product testing and standardization. Stakeholders DIT involved MSME Central / State Government Implementation DIT should invest in creating a MSTQ infrastructure for software products across India. While DIT can provide the initial CAPEX for establishing these facilities, they should be self sustainable over a period of time. DIT should also provide financial support to SME for achieving accreditation and certifications as these are required to do business in international markets especially in sectors like financial services. This can be capped at 50 percent of the actual cost of the certification. For specific clusters like automotive, aerospace, embedded software, test lab infrastructure should be set up in PPP basis. Government test labs should be encouraged to partner with industry for co-creation and product development.
4.2. Promote Indigenous Innovation
Recommendation Build a strategy on indigenous innovation that should focus on key areas Brief that are of strategic importance to India. In areas where technology products are already being commercially developed, look at a localization and multi- lingual strategy. Stakeholders DIT(R&D IT) involved Industry Ministry of Science and Technology Implementation DIT to empanel agencies that can identify and create roadmap for building indigenous technology solutions that is of strategic importance to the country Review regulations for IP rights, trademark registration and patents Incentivize the development of low cost solutions/products for the Indian market Develop SMEs for frugal engineering
4.3. Non profit linked incentives (Also covered under Rec. No. 2.1)
Recommendation As the Direct Tax Code will come into play from 2012, it envisages a Brief regime of investment-linked incentives. The industry which is services
183 centric and investment in plant and machinery is limited will not benefit from this. It is recommended that non-profit linked incentives that support the services sector are introduced. Stakeholders DIT involved Ministry of Finance Implementation To implement the above schemes, DIT will need to create a corpus (which is a certain percentage of the tax paid by the industry). Detailed guidelines and online forms can help the industry to submit necessary documents for reimbursements that are made within a 90 day period.
4.4. Incentivise R&D in Services
Recommendation Given the contribution of research and development (R&D) to productivity Brief growth, economic performance and the achievement of social objectives, it is generally agreed that governments have a role in encouraging appropriate R&D levels and expenditures. Considering the changing composition of the Indian economy, there should be schemes/measures in place to define and incentivize R&D in the context of services companies. The schemes can include: Definition of qualifying R&D - There is need for a clear definition of what constitutes research and development costs qualifying for the tax incentive. DIT to define various levels/intensity of R&D in the IT/ITES industry in collaboration with the industry Review the fiscal incentives offered by OECD countries and introduce provisions for tax credits and tax allowances in line with the same Introduce an SME tax credit for R&D, which includes external purchases of R&D services (from universities and public research institutes) as well as research conducted by the firm itself Stakeholders DIT(R&D Group) involved Industry Ministry of Science and Technology Implementation DIT in partnership with industry should look at R&D in IT/ITES sector – build clear guidelines and how the industry can leverage the benefits that exist already, as well as implement schemes defined above.
4.5. Inter-Ministerial Collaboration
Recommendation The industry currently faces a number of issues that are inter-ministerial in Brief nature and do not get resolved. It is recommended that DIT creates a special cell that is responsible for inter-ministerial collaboration and facilitates closure/ recommendations on specific challenges faced by the industry Stakeholders DIT involved Ministry of Finance Ministry of Commerce and Industry Ministry of External Affairs IT Industry Association Components of Nil funding
184 Implementation The Inter Ministerial Group will review all industry issues on a quarterely basis and determine bottlenecks and recommend solutions.
4.6. India as an easy place to do business in
Recommendation Ensure ease of doing business in India Brief Stakeholders DIT involved Ministry of Finance Ministry of Commerce & Industry MEA MoL&E Components of Nil funding Implementation Create a regulatory environment that is relevant from a service economy point of view (e.g., rationalization of labor laws, liberalization of employment visa rules, transfer pricing, taxation) Investment and Financing Harmonious policy structure implemented uniformly across the country in a defined time-frame
4.7. Human capital development in Tier II & Tier III Cities
Recommendation As IT adoption proliferates in India, there will be a huge demand for IT Brief operational skills by first time IT users across market segments. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop human capital skilled in IT especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and rural locations. Opening vocation training institutes in these cities for basic skills development i.e. Spoken English, typing and computer education. Tie up with institutes and colleges to run specialized courses for processes in which Indian BPO industry is engaged. Stakeholders DIT involved Ministry of Human Resource Development MSME Implementation The existing schemes of DOEACC need to be scaled up rapidly through technology interventions. DIT should also consider participation in the Modular Employment Scheme (MES) of the Ministry of Labor to provide a strong thrust on IT skill development.
4.8. Localised and simplified software solutions
Recommendation The workforce deployed in small and medium businesses largely belongs to Brief a socio-economic background where familiarity with the English language is low. The local language initiatives of the Government have been sporadic in nature and there is a strong need for a clear and unequivocal policy on local language IT applications. Cloud computing has created an
185 infrastructure of anytime access. It is recommended that key applications like basic ERP, accounting solutions and document management are enabled in local languages for adoption by SMBs. Stakeholders DIT(R&D Group) involved MSME Implementation DIT should incentivize SME technology solution providers to develop software solutions with versions that have local language interfaces and possess intuitive interfaces that reduce the dependency on language by providing graphical representations and pictorial features. The incentives for technology start-ups could include technology development grants on the TDB model of DST. DIT can also provide market access to SME technology providers by accrediting products developed by them
4.9. SMB Cluster Outreach
Recommendation It is recommended that DIT in partnership with MSME looks at Brief establishment of Resident Software Consultants at each Cluster, responsible for the following activities o Software Awareness Seminars for sensitization of MSME clusters to the value of software use in various parts of their business o Software Need Assessment survey of MSME clusters for developing appropriate software implementation strategies o Addressing specific software needs of a Cluster-based MSME through Software Consultancy Projects by the Resident Software Consultant. Stakeholders DIT involved STPI MSME Implementation Identify pilot clusters wherein technology adoption through resident software consultant can be taken forward and implement the scheme over a 12-month period.
5. Leveraging India’s demographic dividend through skill development
5.1. Soft Skills and Quality Enhancement
Recommendation The country has an adequate number of capacity intake in graduation and Brief engineering colleges in the country. However, lack of soft-skills has been identified as a key gap across the workforce. Recommendations for addressing this gap include: To improve employability and quality quotients, educational institutions need to Introduce soft-skills and life/work skills programs. Engineering Colleges need to assess each student of his/her soft skills, and life/work skills deficiencies after the first 2 semesters so as to take remedial measures, in case of skill deficiencies. DIT in collaboration with IGNOU to launch a Certificate Course in Communicative Skills for BPO / ITeS services personnel, through the Open & Distance Learning (ODL) system across India;
186 English Communication skill - Every student enrolled in a Degree Course in the General Stream should have an opportunity to improve his/her English Communication skill. Some Degree Colleges have availed funding from the University Grants Commission to finance such courses in their colleges. However the number of such colleges is limited. A concerted strategy needs to be worked out with the HRD Ministry to see that during the 12th Plan period large number of such institutes can operate similar courses. IT-ITES BPO industry associations to encourage IT-ITES companies to provide Apprenticeship/Internship to the young engineers during their graduation. In the present system of Accreditation of educational institutions, feedback from the industry must be an integral part of the Accreditation process. Stakeholders DIT (HRD) involved Ministry of Human Resource Development Implementation Draw out a detailed plan on soft skills enhancement by DIT and MHRD and implement in PPP mode.
5.2. National Standard on employability assessment
Recommendation Given the varying standards of numerous institutes, accreditation of Brief technical educational institutions offering Computer Science/Engg, Information Technology graduation courses, need to be made mandatory. Stakeholders DIT (HRD) involved Ministry of Human Resource Development IT Industry Association State Governments Implementation National Board of Accreditation (NBA) would be required to take necessary steps for accreditation of the prorammes.
5.3. Focus on specialised skills
Recommendation The next phase of growth for the IT-BPO sector will require specialized Brief skills, domain. The education system in India currently focuses on generalist skills and industry has been meeting this skill gap through specialized training and learning on the job. However, for India to retain and enhance its competiveness, it is important that a system of electives on specialized skills be introduced across the university system in the country. Stakeholders DIT(HRD) involved Ministry of Human Resource Development Implementation Define key specializations wherein electives can be introduced in the 12th Plan through an industry research survey. IT industry and industry Association to partner with government to create necessary curriculum and enable faculty development.
187 5.4. Leverage technology for education
Recommendation A series of productivity challenges exist in the typical model of teaching Brief and learning in the primary and secondary level of education. Technology enabled learning can overcome current challenges and significantly improve productivity. Suggested technology initiatives below can address key challenges. Integrated IT solutions for in-classrooms instruction Efficient document on-boarding and platform hosting services for teachers/students Innovative technology enabled ‘model’ schools Technology enabled testing and assessment solutions Technology enabled teacher training State-run online/ virtual schools for mainstream and vocational education Stakeholders DIT(HRD) involved Ministry of Human Resource Development Implementation Funding support by the government for procuring of equipment- Initially to follow BOOT model for operational purposes. To enhance Technology adoption for the following: Innovative technology enabled ‘model’ schools - Managed by the government operationally; PPP with network and infrastructure players; content prescribed by the govt Technology enabled testing and assessment solutions - Dedicated funding sanction centrally for CBSE and state level for State boards; content prescribed by the govt Technology enabled teacher training - PPP with training institutes; Content decided by government in partnership with private vendors
8. Summary Recommendations: The 12th plan policy approach will centre on a five-pronged strategy that will include:
Building new markets and expanding the core markets - Access and Outreach. Accelerating the ecosystem and initiatives for small and start-up companies. To strengthen infrastructure & eco-system in other cities/ tier II & tier III cities so as to create new hubs for industry development as potential centres of excellence. Enabling policy environment that encourages innovation, employment creation and domestic IT adoption for inclusive growth. Leveraging India’s demographic dividend through skill development.
188 9. Plan Schemes and Estimated Fund Requirements In XII Plan
Reco. INITIATIVE/PROGRAMME Amount No. (INR Crore) 1. Expanding the Market – Access and Outreach 1.1 Market Creation and Awareness 50 1.2 Foreign Language Training of IT Professionals 10 1.4 Study on Competitiveness Measures 20 1.5 Campaign against Protecionist Sentiments 20 2. Accelerating the ecosystem for Emerging Companies and start-ups Non Profit Linked Incentives based on Investments and 2.1 5000 employment creation 2.2 Seed Capital/Start up Funding 1000
Ongoing STPI related Programmes in the Plan scheme 15 TOTAL 6,115 Note : Funds for the Schemes /Programmes related to the other Sub Groups/Ministries not included in this outlay.
189 ANNEXURE – I Incentives Given by Various State Governments to Promote the IT/ITeS Industry Capital Subsidy: (i) High Tech Parks are eligible to financial assistance @50% of fixed capital investment in land, buildings & infrastructure facilities upto a maximum of Rs.25 millions. (ii) New IT/ITES as well as expansion units investing between Rs.5 crores and Rs 50 crores and employing more than 100 direct workers would be eligible for a capital subsidy of Rs.30 lakhs; (iii) Higher capital subsidy would be eligible on investment in the range of Rs. 50 crores to Rs. 200 crores and above.
Stamp Duty, Transfer Duty and Registration Fees
100% reimbursement of stamp duty, transfer duty and Registration fee paid by IT Industry & Communication technology industry companies including start-ups on sale/lease deeds on the first transaction and 50% reimbursement on the 2nd transaction. Power Tariff
For the purpose of power tariff, IT maintenance and servicing units and hardware units will be treated as Industrial and not Commercial consumers and electricity tariff as applicable to Industry consumers will be charged. IT/ITES unit will be considered eligible for exemption from statutory power cuts.
Waiver of NOC from Pollution Control Board
IT/ITES units engaged in provision and production of “IT services and IT Software” will be exempted from seeking no-objection certificate from Pollution Control Board.
Simplification of Labour Laws:
The regulatory regime of labour laws has been simplified to suit the needs of IT/ITES companies. General Permission is granted to all IT/ITES companies to have 24x7 operations/to run in three shifts. The barriers pertaining to employment of women at night have been removed. In particular, the IT/ITES companies will be permitted to self certify compliance of labour laws, maintaining the registers and forms as contemplated under the different Rules and Acts administered by the Department of Labour.
Floor Space Index (FSI):
In order to facilitate adequate availability of floor space to IT/ITES units in the urban area, State Governments would permit more than permissible FSI to IT Parks.
Venture Fund for IT/ITES Companies:
The State Governments have set up venture capital fund for IT/ITES companies which is meant for development of IT services, IT software and IT products.
Patent Filing Costs:
190 To encourage the filing of patents by IT/ITES companies, costs of filing patent are reimburse up to a maximum of Rs.2 Lakhs per patent awarded per year.
Special incentives to the Start up companies
Provide support to Start-up companies, which are promoted by budding entrepreneurs with creative ideas such as subsidy on lease rental, power bills, recruitment assistance etc. 25% subsidy on lease rentals upto Rs.5 lakhs per annum maximum upto a period of three years, for the plug-and-play built up office space ranging from 1000 sft to 5000 sft, leased by Start Ups in STPI, IT/multi-purpose SEZs/IT Parks(both Public & Private promoted). 100% reimbursement of stamp duty, transfer duty and Registration fee paid by start up IT Industry & Communication technology industry companies on sale/lease deeds on the first transaction. I50% reimbursement of stamp duty, transfer duty and Registration fee paid by start up IT Industry & Communication technology industry companies on sale/lease deeds on the 2nd transaction. Admissibility of Industrial Power category tariff. 25% power subsidy on power bills for a period of 3 years or Rs.30 lakhs which ever is earlier, from the date of commencement of commercial operations. Recruitment Assistance of Rs.2.5 lakhs for recruitment made upto 50 IT professionals within a period of one year. Reimbursement of patent filing cost to a maximum of Rs.2 Lakhs per patent awarded per annum 50% Exhibition stall rental cost will be reimbursed for participating in the notified national/international exhibitions limited to 9 sq.mts of space.
Special Incentives for setting up IT-ITES Industries in Tier II and Tier III locations
Definition: State Governments have specified Tier II and Tier III locations in their respective States for the purpose of availing these incentives. A subsidy of Rs. 10 lakhs to the first five anchor IT/ITES companies, as identified by the State Government, employing more than 250 employees in IT or 500 employees in ITES in any Tier-II/Tier-III location. Rs. 15 lakhs as recruitment assistance for employing minimum 100 employees within two/three years of commencement of commercial operations in the Tier- II/Tier-III city respectively.
191 e-Innovation/ R&D
1. Background Technological change and innovation, driven by research and development have been found to be the most important sources of increased productivity, higher growth and better welfare. As a result, there is a high correlation between those countries that have shown significant economic improvement in the past and those countries that have made substantial investment in R&D. According to a 2011 global R&D funding forecast, India’s investment in the crucial area of R&D is 0.9% of GDP (on purchasing power parity (PPP)), which is quite low as compared to other countries (Table below). It may also be noted that the ICT&E sector would account for a further small part of this investment, and majority of this R&D funding comes out of public funded R&D projects. Table: 2011 Global Forecast (excerpts) – Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD) Rank Country GERD PPP (Billions, R&D as % of US$) GDP 1 United States 405.3 2.7 2 China 153.7 1.4 3 Japan 144.1 3.3 4 Germany 69.5 2.3 5 South Korea 44.8 3.0 6 France 42.2 1.9 7 United Kingdom 38.4 1.7 8 India 36.1 0.9 9 Canada 24.3 1.8 10 Russia 23.1 1.0 Source: 2011 Global R&D Funding Forecast, Featured article, December 2010, www.rdmag.com
It is believed that economic leadership in the 21st century will be achieved by nations who possess the ability to convert internal or external scientific discoveries into commercial solutions in an economical and efficient manner. Therefore, it is imperative for our country to enhance R&D capacities so as to move higher up on the development ladder, develop and enhance indigenous technologies, and increase its share in global innovations and their commercialisation. Furthermore, increased R&D capability and capacity also plays a significant role in enhancing country’s security.
In the above background, Government of India has constituted a Sub Group on e-Innovation/ R&D under the Working Group on Information Technology sector for the formulation of the 12th Five Year Plan.
192 2. Objectives, Targets and Achievement during 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12)
2.1 Objectives and Targets set for 11th Plan
The Study Team on R&D constituted for 11th Plan with a view to make India a global R&D hub had made following recommendations:
(1) To significantly energize and strengthen the R&D efforts and also restore Electronics to its appropriate place, it was suggested that an IT and Electronics Commission may be created with administrative and financial powers in line with Space and Atomic Commissions.
(2) To strengthen the mechanism to take the technologies developed through DIT funding at academic/R&D institutes and labs to market for commercialization, it was suggested to:
(i) Show case the technologies developed by DIT funding in different cities,
(ii) Bring in changes in IPR policy defining the IPR and royalty sharing mechanism between developing institutions, inventors and the industry. Also bring in Transfer of Technology (TOT) policy so as to take spot decisions on TOT and terms of TOT should also be put in place,
(iii) Funding may be provided to all development oriented projects where prototype units to be developed and deployed in the field and are upgraded based on feedback on field testing,
(iv) DIT should work out a detailed scheme for young entrepreneurs for supporting technology innovations/incubation including providing infrastructure, legal, marketing, mentoring, grant in aid support for project, fiscal incentives and tax rebates,
(v) DIT may take an integrated view through a Technology Innovation Promotion Scheme (TIPS) and work out details of the scheme in consultation with the stakeholders after reviewing the existing national innovation system and successful models adopted in some leading countries to draw parallel,
(vi) Set up ICTE Clusters to create enabling environments to bring synergies in research and development amongst local industry, academics and research institutions after examining different models for adoption in India,
(vii) To facilitate Design led Manufacturing in the country a suitable tax credit scheme may be evolved based on R&D investment,
(viii) Government should develop replicable and sustainable models of deployment of technologies and products by taking up field deployment beyond threshold levels,
193 (ix) R&D policy of Government should facilitate outsourcing and R&D organizations must concentrate on the areas of their core competence and outsource other jobs to become global leader with internal expertise in all areas of ICT.
(3) To take care of talent crunch for DIT labs and universities and create more manpower for research and to offset attrition, the following was suggested: (i) To enhance pay scales of technical manpower in academics, Government and R&D labs to enable attracting/retention of qualified manpower, (ii) To attract more students to go for PhD, DIT should create a prestigious research fellow ship at enhanced rates, with a provision for participation of the scholar in national and international conferences for presentation of papers, (iii) DIT should involve faculty of tier II institutions in research by supporting a large number of small projects based on the strengths and interest of concerned faculty. (iv) For DIT autonomous societies earlier CDOT/CDAC model of contract manpower may be adopted in which higher level of compensation package and incentivization is possible. As other alternative the IIT kind of system could be followed where one kind of people are provided tenure position yet with number of incentives like consulting, sabbatical etc supported by contract/project manpower as mentioned above. (4) The contribution of private sector R&D in ICT has been a small portion proportion of country’s R&D expenditure and it should be increased to the level of 50 percent in next five years. (5) Direct rewards may be created for the researchers and inventors who generate the patent able Intellectual Property. A Centre for global trading of Intellectual Property may be created. (6) Government should sponsor R&D Corporation of India (RDCI) with an initial corpus of Rs. 1000 crores to help in creating, enabling environment and ecosystem for attraction of funds for R&D including private sector. R&DCI will be empowered to work with all government agencies to provide conducive regulatory and synergic environment.
2.2 Achievements made during 11th Plan
In accordance with the recommendation of the Study Group on R&D constituted for 11th Plan, a number of new initiatives were taken up by DIT, which have been described in the this report. However, some of the policy decisions could not be taken, such as creation of IT and Electronics Commission, bringing in changes in IPR Policy, putting in place terms of TOT, creation of R&D Corporation of India etc. As per the thrust areas identified in the 11th Plan, new projects/programmes were taken for promoting R&D activities in different areas of IT, electronics, and communications. Some of the important achievements are summarized below:
194 Initiatives on Nano-technology: The Centres of Excellence at IIT Bombay and IISc, Bangalore has been made operational. Major Centres are being created at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Madras. About 800 researchers across the country benefited through INUP programme. More than 30 patents have been filled, 600 technical papers published and about 300 PhDs students registered. A Nanoelectronics Innovation Council has been set-up recently. Microelectronics development: Centres for analogue and mixed design have been created. Digital Programmable Hearing Aid developed and field trials are being conducted. 6 patents and 2 copyrights have been filed. Industrial Electronics: Collaborative R&D focussed programmes on National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET), Automation Systems Technology Centre (ASTeC), Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and Electronics Applications for Agriculture & Environment (e-AGRIEN) were undertaken. NaMPET programme already completed and ASTeC is likely to be completed by March, 2012. Commercialisation of successful technologies developed has started. Some examples are: Grid Interactive Solar Inverter, Railway Application, H/w & S/w automation technology modules, etc. Four TOT done and four copyrights/patents filed. Medical Electronics/ Telemedicine: LINAC 6 MV machine developed under collaborative programme & deployed successfully at hospitals. Also being used by ISRO. TOT being processed. Pilot deployment of telemedicine technologies done in 6 States. Electronics Materials & Components: Hafnium Sponge, SiC & High power microwave substrates developed first time in country for ISRO, DRDO & DAE respectively. Pilot production facilities are being created. E-waste recycling technology (1MT Pilot facility) developed. NABL accredited Testing & Certification facility for RoHS created as the only Government facility. RF/ Microwave Electronics: State-of-the-art facilities for Millimeter Wave technologies, compact antenna test range facility and batch fabrication facility for LINAC tube established. Being used by strategic Departments. Technologies for atmospheric instrumentation, communication systems for strategic applications & microwave disinfections systems, RF driers for agricultural applications developed and demonstrated. High Performance Computing: PARAM Yuva (sustained performance of 37.8 Teraflops & peak performance of 54 Teraflops) with 200 Terabytes storage commissioned. Application developed include weather forecasting, drug designing, bio-informatics, seismic modelling. Grid Computing: Garuda grid has been deployed on National Knowledge Network. Interoperability achieved with European grid. IT Emerging Areas: National Ubiquitous Computing Research Resource Centres made operational in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Perception engineering Programme initiated. Under National RFID Programme Parcel Tracking System has been implemented for Department of Posts in six metros covering 140 post offices. Free / Open Source Software: Open Source Software (NRCFOSS) established. Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS) Desktop developed with Indian languages support. BOSS Advanced Server developed with enhanced security. 27 pan-India BOSS Support centres established for providing support. BOSS
195 deployments in education and government sectors have been taken up. R&D efforts have been undertaken in areas of mobile technologies & applications, service oriented architecture, software as a service, GNU compiler construction (GCC), FOSS lab server, enhancing accessibility of FOSS desktops and e- learning tools. Bio informatics: Tools/ databases developed for applications in Drug Delivery. Agri-Bio informatics Promotion Research Program initiated. Bio informatics Resource and Application Facility (BRAF) is an infrastructure being provided to industry and academia wherein grid enabled Bioinformatics Applications and Databases are made available to research community. Innovation Promotion/ IPR support: Under Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) Scheme, 17 TIDE centres have been supported at institutions of higher learning to promote technology incubation activities and nurture the technology start-up companies in ICTE sector. Support International Patent Protection in Electronics & IT (SIP-EIT) scheme initiated, 42 SMEs applications supported. Two prior art search centres established. More than 400 IPRs that include 60 Patents have been filed, 200 obtained. Digital Preservation: A centre of excellence for Digital Preservation has been initiated (e-District, e-Courts, Govt. Archives etc.) E-Commerce: Standards for inter-operability of mobile payments developed based on which RBI issued guidelines for mobile payments. Mobile Payments Certification Lab established at IIT Madras. Communication: TErrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) based Digital Mobile Radio, Software Defined Radio, Wireless LAN Manager, 4G Wireless standards and simulator, Smart Antenna for Wireless Applications, Resilient Packet Ring (IEEE802.17) Technology developed. Broadband: Efficient spectrum sensing algorithms for Cognitive Radio developed for Wireless Broadband Access, Wi-Max Test Bed & Quality of Service (QOS), Broadband on Power Line/ on Cable, Ultra Wide Band Transceiver with Antenna developed. Wireless Sensor Network: Intra and Inter Vehicular Communication, Real- Time Monitoring for agriculture, Tracking and Monitoring system using RFID tags for disaster management in mines and Wireless Body Area Network developed for health monitoring. Lab to Land (Media Lab Asia): ICTs for Livelihood Enhancement, Health Care, Education, Agriculture and Empowerment of Differently abled have been developed and demonstrated. Information Technology Research Academy: A Programme for capacity and capability Building of R&D in ICT&E has been initiated. The detailed achievements made under each of the above mentioned areas/programme are given in the Annexure-1.
3. Review of Performance of Plan Schemes during 11th Plan Period
During the 11th Plan period, the major R&D activities carried out by DIT were by the three R&D Groups, i.e., R&D in IT, R&D in Electronics and R&D in Convergence Communication & Broadband Technologies Group. Among these three Groups, there are eight Plan-Schemes under which annual budgets are
196 allocated. The following table gives yearly allocation from 20007-08 to 2011-12 for each of the eight Plan Schemes undertaken during the 11th Plan period:
Plan Scheme Allocations (RE) made in 11th Plan (Figures in Rs. crores)
Scheme Allocation 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total Micro-electronics 29.00 35.00 79.50 100.00 100.00 343.50 & Nano- technology Development Programme Technology 35.00 32.00 33.80 79.00 79.00 258.80 Development Council (incl. ITRA) Convergence, 25.00 22.00 22.00 25.00 25.00 119.00 Comm. & Strategic Electronics Electronics in 18.00 13.33 13.33 11.70 11.50 67.86 Health & Telemedicine Components & 15.00 12.50 18.50 25.00 25.00 96.00 Material Development Programme including C-MET SAMEER 25.00 27.50 38.00 38.00 42.94 171.44
C-DAC 75.00 115.00 142.00 180.00 203.40 715.40 Media Lab Asia 0.00 1.00 5.00 14.30 11.30 31.60 Total 222.00 258.33 352.13 473.00 498.14 1803.60
It may be mentioned that the R&D allocation during the 11th Plan was enhanced to Rs. 1803.60 Crores as compared to the figure of Rs. 824.00 Crores allocated in the 10th Plan.
The allocation indicated above has been utilized in the various projects and programmes of DIT which are carried out by its own R&D societies, namely SAMEER, C-DAC & C-MET and also by various academic institutes and other R&D labs.
The achievements against this allocation have been both highlighted and detailed elsewhere in this report.
During the 11th Plan period, nano-technology initiatives of the Department has been one of the major additions and Centres of Excellence at IIT-B and IISc are already operational with 3 other major centers at 3 IITs are being established under this funding.
197 In addition, several new projects/programme were taken up in identified thrust areas of research in IT, Electronics and Convergence, Communication and Broadcasting Technologies.
During the 11th Plan period, the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) Scheme was launched for strengthening the technology incubation activities at the academic institutions and nurturing the young entrepreneurs. Also Multiplier Grant Scheme (MGS) was initiated to encourage collaborative R&D between private industry and academic/R&D institutions for development of products and packages.
During the last one year, another major initiated called IT Research Academy (ITRA) has been undertaken for which the grant under Technology Development Council has been substantially increased. Other than ITRA, the TDC budget-head also takes care of various researches funding in the areas of industrial electronics bio-informatics, IT emerging areas, etc.
4. 12th Five Year Plan for e- Innovation/ Research and Development
4.1 Objectives and Goals for 12th Plan The objective of the 12th Plan is to make India a hub of Research, Development and Innovation in the area of IT and Electronics leading to commercialization so as to contribute in overall socio-economic growth of the country. The goals to be achieved in 12th Plan are promoting R&D for development, commercialisation and manufacturing of products, packages and services, widen the R&D base in the country, and creation/ utilization of R&D infrastructure with special emphasis on innovation promotion and development of entrepreneurs.
4.2 State of ICT in India and Challenges faced for Promoting R&D
The Indian IT industry is continuing to do very well and going up in the value chain. The Indian telecom industry is also growing rapidly and there are about 900 millions phones users in the country. But excepting for a few banking and insurance products, India has not developed any great software product. There is very little success in developing indigenous telecom products excepting the efforts made by companies like Tejas. Similarly, we have some companies in strategic sector but they have not developed any significant Indian products for this sector. The electronic component and material industry is very weak, though with a few exception in strategic sector. Though efforts have made in designing and developing products but excepting a few products in strategic and transport sector, filing of number of patents in nano-technology, microelectronics, and CEWiT - Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology- (a public-private initiative to develop indigenous world-class Next Generation wireless technology in India) leading to take over 10 percent patents in 4G wireless, most designs have stayed as prototype and there is limited success in their commercialization. Thus India has made limited impact in Research and Development and continues to import all its Hardware. There are a few IT systems companies who are mostly involved in trading and deployment. According to the recent report of Task Force on IT/ITES and Electronics Hardware, the import bill of this sector, unless domestic manufacturing is
198 enhanced, will surpass the import bill of the oil sector by 2020. According to this report, the demand for electronics in India is expected to be US $ 400 billion by 2020. Against this, the domestic production is projected to be only US $ 100 billion. Further, entrepreneurship promotion has just started in the country. Inspite of creating a few lab set up, the security knowledge and practice remain weak. Despite setting up of NIXI, India’s broadband network also remains weak. The ICT education in the country has attained quantity and equity but the quality of education is poor.
In the above scenario, to make India a hub for research, development and innovation in the area of IT and Electronics, there is an urgent need to appreciate the existence of a number of other challenges, which need to be appreciated while making a meaningful and practical plan for the next 5 years. These are briefly described below. (a) Inadequate expenditure on R&D by Government The rate of obsolescence and emergence of newer technologies in the field of IT/ Electronics is one of the fastest in the world. However, this also requires a higher amount of investment in R&D. There is inadequate expenditure on R&D in the country. As per available statistics the overall R&D expenditure in the country is only 0.88% of the GDP. There has been nearly ten-fold increase in the national expenditure on R&D at current prices from the period 1990-91 to 2007-08. However, this increase is only about three and a half times when one considers this at constant price with base as 1999-2000 in the country. (b) Inadequate spending on R&D by industry and lack of long term strategy & high risk taking attitude by the Industry The ratio of R&D funding by Government to that by private sector industry was approximately 86:14 in 1990-91, which has improved to 71:29 by 2007- 08. These figures are for the entire R&D funding scenario in the country. The improvement in the R&D funding by industry appears to be largely due to higher spending in the areas like pharmaceuticals, transportation industry, defence industries, etc. R&D expenditure by IT/Electronics industry needs to be increased further. The Report of the Task Force for Stimulating Growth of Electronics Hardware Manufacturing submitted in December, 2009 had also highlighted this point as a major challenge. Increasing R&D expenditure by industry with a long-term strategy and higher risk-taking attitude is a great challenge. (c) Inadequate skilled Manpower for R&D Even though the availability of engineering graduates annually has increased manifold over the last two decades, lack of quality of a major portion of these graduates is a concern, which is being expressed very regularly at different forums. In this situation, the problem of the R&D sector in ICT industry is far more acute. The number of graduates going into M.Tech/Ph.D programmes is quite low and, therefore, the availability of manpower for doing meaningful research is becoming very difficult. On top of this, R&D engineers to a large extent, do not find it a remunerating career because of great differential between their career prospects vis-à-vis the managers in the industry. If India has to become a source of new technologies/innovations, we need to produce higher number of post-graduates or PhDs in
199 engineering/applied sciences and then their career path has to be charted at par with the best paid in the industry. This is indeed a big challenge. (d) Inadequate Infrastructure for Incubation of Technology Unless R&D infrastructure is created for incubation of technologies, its deployment and pilot demonstration its commercialisation and mass deployment will not take place. Though some beginning has been made in this direction during 11th Plan period but R&D infrastructure needs to be further strengthened at other institutes also in 12th Plan. (e) Collaboration between R&D and Academic Institutions and Industry There is no institutional mechanism available for taking up collaborative R&D projects by the R&D/academic institutions and industry. However, during 11th Plan some beginning has been made and DIT has supported large collaborative research projects involving all the stakeholders in some of the areas e.g. Power Electronics, Automation Technologies, Intelligent Transportation System, Agriculture, Indian Languages etc. These projects have helped in creating R&D infrastructure at identified academic and research institutes, skilled manpower development and establishing a national network of experts in specific fields in the country. Such endeavours are to be encouraged during 12th Plan periods also. (f) IPR and TOT Issues There is need to bring in changes in IPR policy defining the IPR and royalty sharing mechanism between developing institutions, inventors and the industry. Also the Transfer of Technology (TOT) policy should also be put in place defining clearly the terms of TOT so that technology developed through DIT funding is transferred to interested industry well in time avoiding obsolescence. (g) Inadequate manpower/infrastructure in DIT With superannuating of large number of senior S&T officers over last five years, there is acute shortage of S&T manpower both in number and domain expertise. But there has not been fresh induction of S&T officers in DIT for several years now. This has adversely affected the R&D activities in DIT. Considering the present manpower and infrastructure availability with DIT, even the management of a large Electronics Development Fund (EDF) is seen to be a challenge in itself. For this purpose, creation of a separate organization/Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) needs to be created which can take care of the entire work of disbursement, management and reviewing of the R&D fund under the guidelines provided by the Government. This will be a challenging task for the Department during the 12th Plan period. (h) R&D Fund Management Change required in Rules for Private Funding If India has to emerge a dominant player in some areas of its strength, then private sector industry needs to be part and parcel of the entire R&D environment. Even in the present R&D funding practices by the Department, mostly the entire fund goes to government organizations. An acceptable solution is required which takes care of safety of the public money that is disbursed for R&D to various agencies including private sector industry. The relevant financial rules and audit mechanism in this regard may have to be re-looked by the Government and the fact that R&D is a risky job needs to be suitably factored in the relevant rules and regulations while drawing out
200 safety checks for public funding. This indeed is a big challenge, which has to be addressed. (i) Development & establishment of standards for emerging technologies Deployment of technologies in field or its commercial exploitation very much depends on creation of standard(s). One such example case in point is that of cloud computing. In this area though isolated development/ deployment has taken place, the issue of creating a standard remains open which if addressed will open door for its deployment in various applications. (j) Lack of mandatory standards for import of electronics/IT products Indian industry has been rightly complaining about the presence of various Electronics/IT items in the market with questionable quality at a reduced price. This puts undue competition on the genuine manufacturers in the country. So there is need for bringing in mandatory standards for some of the major items in this field and also establishing adequate test houses as per these standards. These mandatory standards are to be evolved in consultation with industry. For enforcement of these standards new testing centres may be required to be created or enhancement in the capabilities of existing testing centres in this regard is a challenge that must be met. (k) Incentives for using indigenously developed technology Government should consider giving incentives for deployment of solutions created using domestic technology. Most of the large-scale technology consumers of India including Indian defense, tend to procure technology from outside India through technology transfers. Apart from discouraging domestic R&D, these technology transfers are expensive and have very restrictive contractual conditions. This is not to say that we adopt a xenophobic mindset to technology but a more balanced evaluation of domestic versus imported technology is definitely required. There are instances when genuine technologies produced in the country are made to face undue competition as the tenders are drafted demanding products tested as per some non-Indian standards.
4.3 Implementation Plan and Institutional Framework for 12th Plan In order to ensure that there is significant change in R&D scenario in the country, the Sub Group on e-Innovation/R&D deliberated on the various aspects and recommended the following implementing plan and institutional framework for 12th Plan:
(a) Strengthen/ Create schemes The collaborative research involving academic/R&D institutions, industry and end users is to be further strengthened. Also innovation in product design, development of value added products to be encouraged. The support to incubating start-ups and SMEs is required to be further strengthened during 12th Plan. The funding for these activities to be further increased. (b) Strengthen Linkages Government support for pre-competitive research with academics-industry, enhancement of commercialisation of technologies, specific linkages of DIT’s R&D Societies with academics and industries is also to be
201 strengthened. There is need to figure out a way for Government funding of private companies for R&D. (c) Capacity Building There is a need for creation of enabling R&D environment in Tier-II and Tier-III institutions and setting up of centres of excellence in identified areas in the country (d) Infrastructure creation New R&D infrastructure at Tier-II and III institutions needs to be created, wider utilization of already existing centres and setting up of design studios is to be taken up during 12th Plan. (e) Centres of Excellence DIT should strengthen and support R&D Centres of Excellence with IPR and translational R&D focus and Government should provide funds for global patenting (f) Support Entrepreneurship Although beginning has been made by DIT with launching of Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) Scheme. But it is required to set up focused program to provide seed and start up capital for ventures undertaking product development. Also setting up of Venture funds to fund start-ups beyond seed stage is required. (g) Encourage Made in India Goods There is need to encourage use of Made in India goods in the country against the imported products. For this Government should have some short- term hit objectives by giving procurement preference and including made in India products as part of bilateral trade agreements with other countries. 4.4 Proposed Major programme for 12th Plan During its deliberations, the Sub Group discussed and identified key thrust areas and major programmes to be pursued during the 12th plan period. The key thrust areas are listed in Annexure-2. The major programmes proposed are outlined below. (i) Innovation Promotion and Nurturing Entrepreneurs To devise strategies to support technology start-up companies and to promote innovation in academic and R&D institutes leading to ecosystem for product development, the existing Technology Incubation & Development of Entrepreneurs scheme will be scaled up in terms of the number of incubation centres and scope of funding at academic institutes and other scientific/R&D organizations with active involvement at all four stages of Innovation i.e. idea stage, innovation phase, incubation phase and Business acceleration phase. The broad objectives of the proposed scheme will be as follows: Specific thrust will be on facilitating out-of-box thinking and cultivating Risk-taking attitude in academic institutes To nurture technology innovation and enable local development of Electronics and ICT products and packages in the long run
202 Provide financial support for nurturing the techno-entrepreneurs as well as for strengthening the technology incubation activity at the institutions Attract risk capital and create jobs
The broad contours of the proposed scheme will target the following: To provide support to 50 centres for selection of 20 new student innovative ideas by competition per centre. To provide support to 40 centres each with a grant of Rs 10 crore for supporting 20 innovations each. This is aimed towards creation of about 800 IPs. To provide support to 30-40 centres with a grant of Rs 10 crores for grooming 10 IP based ventures at each centre. The aim is to have 300- 400 IP based ventures. To provide support to 10 centres with a grant of Rs 50 crores for grooming 10 IP based ventures. This aims at creation of about 100 global ventures. Promotion of Virtual Incubation Centres Setting up National/regional facilitation centres for training of Incubates and Incubation Managers Setting up innovator Laboratories
Multiplier Grants Scheme Multiplier Grant Scheme is to encourage collaborative R&D between industry and academics/ R&D institutions for development of products and packages. The scheme aims to strengthen industry/ institute-linkages, encourage and accelerate development of indigenous products/ packages and bridge the gap between R&D and commercialisation. The objectives of the MGS scheme are: Establish, nurture and strengthen the linkages between the Industry and Institutes; To promote industry oriented R&D at institutes; To promote R&D for design led manufacturing of products, packages and services; and Bridge the gap between R&D / Proof-of-concept and commercialisation.
(ii) IPR Promotion Programme
To fully realize the benefits of the concentrated effort on R&D it is essential that it be translated into IPRs. Also, it is very essential that these be further leveraged to realize economic benefits out of the same. The following initiatives are envisaged:
203 A comprehensive IPR promotion programme covering education, awareness creation, related technology development and support to SMEs & start-ups may be taken up. Also, a suitable mechanism to provide funds for global patenting to Researchers, SMEs and Start-ups may be taken-up for implementation. IP Exchange: A robust framework to trade, buy and cross license IPRs on a reasonable valuation model at a global platform be initiated Workout IPR Policy measures, facilitation and framework to nurture technology incubation.
(iii) Next Generation Computing Systems
Computer hardware is changing & diversifying faster than system software. Availability of Multi-core processors (100+ cores per chip) will mark a major qualitative change in future computer system design. The architectural changes in multi-core processors will require major changes in the way the software is developed. Upcoming Cloud environments will be primarily built on top of multi-core technologies. High performance computational clusters built on multi-core microprocessors will offer unprecedented quantities of computational resources. Keeping this in view the development of the following is proposed: (a) India Microprocessor Development Initiative
Computer hardware is changing and diversifying faster than system software. The era of programming with single processors has ended and processors’ clocks have stopped getting faster. Including multiple cores on a single chip has become the dominant mechanism for scaling processor performance. The number of processor cores which fit into a single chip microprocessor is rapidly increasing. This decade will bring single chip microprocessors containing hundreds or even thousands of computing cores. Tighter interaction between software and underlying multi-core hardware is required to build scalable and portable applications with predictable performance and higher power-efficiency.
The development of India Microprocessor architecture, right from scratch, is very essential for India to gain technological leadership in hardware in the long term. Currently, the IT infrastructure, computing and communication systems are based on devices/chipsets designed and developed by companies outside India. The need for India to possess indigenously designed and developed microprocessor architecture and platforms with zero encumbrances has stemmed from the fact of possible selective denial of technology, long-term technology sustenance and obsolescence, customization, security risks, secrecy and commercial aspects. Over the past three decades, the usage of microprocessors have been growing rapidly in every field and the development activity needs to consider this wide spectrum of requirements ranging from low-end embedded processor to a high performance processor. It is very crucial for India to have its own state-of-the art design for India Microprocessor considering the size and volume, and the business expected to grow in the years to come.
204 Detailed processor technical requirements will have to be prepared based on the association with probable end users in the form of requirements, recent research trends, technological advancements and sustenance. In parallel with the design and development of the hardware architecture for the India Microprocessor, the software tool chain viz. operating system, compiler, assembler and debuggers will have to be designed and developed for the platform.
(b)Operating System Development Initiative
System software will have to change to manage resources effectively on multoicore systems while decomposing and rationalizing the system software function to provide more reliability and manageability. Making operating systems scale, designing scalable internal operating system data structures, and managing these growing resources will be a tremendous challenge. Contemporary Operating Systems designed to run on a small number of reliable cores are not equipped to scale up to hundreds of cores. The way that an operating system manages hundreds or more processors is so fundamentally different than the manner in which it manages one or two processors that the entire design of an operating system must be rethought. How to distribute computations across multiple cores is a hard problem.
The advent of multicore microprocessors marks a major qualitative change in computer system design, and one for which operating systems will have to undergo major restructuring. General-purpose computer operating systems that have not fundamentally changed since system and application software separated with the advent of time shared computers in the 1950s will change as much as development tools. Multi-processor systems have been in use for many years, but have been constrained to low numbers of processors, with the bulk being two or four processor systems. One of the major differences between desktop and server multiprocessor systems of the past and multicore microprocessors is that in the past the number of processors has stayed constant, in the 2-8 processor range, from generation to generation. In order to address the exponential increase in cores, multicore operating systems will have to scale in all aspects.
The newest classes of computing hardware, multi-core and cloud computers, need new operating systems to take advantage of the increased computational capacity and simplify user’s access to elastic hardware resources. The challenges of designing an operating system for multi-core processors are shared with those for designing Operating Systems for current-day cloud computers. The common challenges include scalability, managing elasticity of demand, managing faults, and the challenge of large system programming.
Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency and impact. Adversaries seeking to disrupt the nation’s critical infrastructures are driven by different motives and view cyberspace as a possible means to have much greater impact, such as causing harm to people or widespread economic
205 damage. There is a need for increasing the security of systems, whether they are used in defense, government, critical national infrastructure, or commerce. We must strive to defend our current systems and networks and at the same time attempt to get ahead of our adversaries and ensure that future generations of technology will position us to better protect our critical infrastructures and respond to attacks from our adversaries. Government-funded research and development (R&D) must play an increasing role to enable us to accomplish this goal of national and economic security.
Application-space access control and cryptography cannot provide meaningful security without a secure operating system. Frontier research activities are essential for such fundamental redesign of the operating system to make it more robust and secure. High robustness implies the most confidence that is realistic for a real system, even when exposed to a motivated attacker that can devote considerable resources toward a successful compromise. For this, the prototype must be subjected to heavy fault-injection and penetration testing to see how it stands up against vulnerability attacks. Nowadays many security attacks are launched against the vulnerabilities in the implementation of security functionalities. It is important that the developers perform vulnerability analysis, conduct risk-based testing and penetration testing, and then submit the reports to the evaluators as evidence. The omission of certain risks or threats may lead to incomplete coverage of vulnerabilities.
(c)HPC Initiative
HPC plays an important role in both scientific advancement and economic competitiveness of a nation because it is a powerful tool for accelerating a nation’s R&D programs by increasing the productivity of scientists and researchers. It enables scientists and researchers to produce scientific and industrial solutions faster, less expensively, and with higher quality than traditional theory and experimentation alone. It is extensively used in designing vehicles and airplanes; designing massive structures like high-rise buildings and bridges; discovery of new life- saving drugs; discovery and extraction of new energy sources like oil and natural gas; producing the weather forecasts for daily activities and sever weather conditions like tsunami and cyclones; and many more. HPC, therefore, is seen as a powerful tool of a nation to compete with other nations. This is exactly the reason why today many nations are vying for HPC leadership in-spite of the fact that HPC initiatives of a nation still need to be fully government supported.
International scenario of HPC systems and technologies is well depicted by the various technology roadmaps towards achieving Exaflop compute power by 2018 made by the countries like US, Japan, China and few more from Europe. This is reflected in Top500 list of supercomputers of the world announced every six months. It is evident from the analysis that India’s HPC share is merely 0.8% compared to 54% of US, 8% of China and around 5% each of Japan, France and Germany. This year China has leapfrogged and produced a No.1 system in the world. This
206 progress of China is attributed to meticulous national planning at the highest level with committed national funding of several billion dollars.
It is a well-established fact now that countries that do not pursue HPC seriously may continue to miss out on its benefits for driving innovations and competitiveness, and will continue to lag behind those that pursue HPC. Hence, India should continue to build higher and higher computing power systems to keep India active in the International HPC community. The world supercomputing scenario has briskly marched from GigaFlop to TeraFlop to PetaFlop systems. Major players in HPC are now working towards Next Generation ExaFlop systems (computers that can perform 1000,000,000,000,000,000 mathematical operations per second). The current major players in the Exascale supercomputing race are US, China and Europe.
India requires state-of-the-art supercomputing systems and facilities to do cutting edge R&D in their respective domains. These domain areas include - Atmospheric and Environmental Science, Bioinformatics, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Geophysical Applications, Computational Materials Science, Signal, Image and Video Processing (SIVP), and many new challenging areas that may come-up with time.
Before embarking on Exascale research, India will have to build a machine and facility that can provide a sustained petaflop performance in benchmarks and applications. The petaflop system will act as a test-bed for carrying out advanced research for building Exascale system hardware, software and applications. It will also serve as a training test- bed to support industrial and academic users in the petascaling and exascaling of their HPC applications.
Simultaneously with building the petascale system and facility on a national knowledge network, India needs to launch its Exascale supercomputing mission as early as possible to reap the following benefits: . Attain global leadership in scientific and engineering research for India’s scientific advancement and economic competitiveness. . With India’s proven expertise in software, pursue global leadership in rewriting software codes required for petascaling and exascaling of HPC applications codes. This is a major business opportunity for Indian ICT industry. . With developed R&D expertise in future HPC technologies, pursue global leadership in providing HPC training and education. The world will badly need this type of service in near future and this can become a major business opportunity for India. . Pursue global leadership in providing future HPC solutions as HPC market is increasing and undergoing major transformation. The Exascale mission will provide a sound foundation to India for building several disruptive innovations in the 21st century and gain
207 global leadership position. It will also seamlessly integrate all national ICT mission programs. (d) Cloud Computing Initiative
Cloud computing refers to both the applications delivered as services over the Internet and the hardware and systems software in the data centers that provide those services. If cloud computing is to deliver on its promise, the ease of using a cloud computer must match that of a current-day multiprocessor system. Upcoming cloud environments will be primarily built on top of multi-core technologies. Future cloud computing data centers using multi-core platforms will benefit from increased computing power, reduced rack space and energy requirement and will be highly resilient to failure.
Cloud computing offers the government an opportunity to be more efficient, agile, and innovative through more effective use of IT investments, and by applying innovations developed in the private sector. If an agency wants to launch a new innovative program, it can quickly do so by leveraging cloud infrastructure without having to acquire significant hardware, lowering both time and cost barriers to deployment. Government organizations will be able to measure and pay for only the IT resources they consume, increase or decrease their usage to match requirements and budget constraints, and leverage the shared underlying capacity of IT resources via a network. Resources needed to support mission critical capabilities can be provisioned more rapidly and with minimal overhead and routine provider interaction. The shift to cloud computing for e-governance can help to mitigate the fragmented data, application, and infrastructure hosting issues associated with federated organizational and funding models by focusing on IT services as a utility. Standards will be critical for the successful adoption and delivery of cloud computing. Standards are also critical to ensure clouds have an interoperable platform so that services provided by different providers can work together, regardless of whether they are provided using public, private, community, or a hybrid delivery model. IEEE Working Groups P2301 and P2302 are developing comprehensive standards that will address migration, management, and interoperability among cloud-computing platforms. Data migration is a major problem in cloud computing and customers cannot easily extract their data and programs from one site to run on another. Although, cloud computing is revolutionizing how information technology resources and services are used and managed, the revolution comes with new security problems. Existing processes and methods for incident handling are geared towards infrastructures and operational models that will be increasingly outdated by cloud computing. Cloud infrastructure commonly relies on virtualization. While a large amount of research has focused on improving the security of virtualized environments, existing security techniques do not necessarily apply to the cloud because of the mismatch in security requirements and threat models. The cloud users do not want to trust
208 their essential data to be stored on a machine on which they have no control.
Cloud computers and multicore processors are two emerging classes of computational hardware that have the potential to provide unprecedented computing capacity to the average user. High performance computing (HPC) clusters will also benefit from multicore computing. A cluster of multicore computers will be commonly used as an efficient computational platform in the near future. Microprocessor design is a very challenging task and also a strategic technology for the country. Considering the challenges of multicore processors, cloud computing and security requirements of the systems it is being proposed to initiate frontier research activities to develop tomorrow’s computing systems from ground up. A very important part of this research project is first building a realistic working prototype to show that the research ideas developed work in practice and demonstrate its utilities. The multicore architecture processor design will be a part of the India Microprocessor initiative and will be implemented on FPGA initially. Once the design is finalized, the fabrication part of the chip will be undertaken. The target for the XIIth Five Year Plan product will be to develop an indigenous trusted server/workstation for cloud computing data centre applications which will help in strengthening national critical infrastructure against cyberattacks from potential adversaries.
(iv) Free and Open Source Software Initiative The Department has taken major initiatives through R&D, setting up of resource centres, support & training for development of an eco- system for promotion & adoption of Free & Open Source Software in the country. India’s strength in Information Technology can be utilized to develop products using FOSS which will help in bridging the digital divide with significant cost savings and facilitating the creation of a knowledge society. Indian industry/SMEs can benefit from the liberal licensing norms of FOSS which enables softwares to be freely modified and distributed. During XII Plan, Research and development will be taken up in the area of FOSS based architectures and applications in various sectors alongwith capacity building, human resource development, expanding the support network and taking measures for incresaing FOSS adoption in various states/UTs. Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS) will be upgraded with new features and technologies and efforts will be made for its deployment in various sectors including education, government and e- governance services based on open standards. (v)Bioinformatics Keeping in view the global trends and the global opportunities, it is proposed to strengthen Country position in the field of Bioinformatics by investing in specific infrastructure, human resources, and fostering state-of-art research in the 12th plan period. Multi institutional( Academic) , multi disciplinary advanced centres for Bioinformatics are planned to be set up to foster collaborative research in Bioinformatics by integrating the isolated competence available across various academic institutes. The Advanced Centres would have
209 specific goals to be met collectively by the Institutes with focus on developing and applying computationally intensive techniques e.g., pattern recognition, data mining, machine learning algorithms, to field of sequence alignment, gene finding, genome assembly, drug design, drug discovery, protein structure alignment, protein structure prediction, etc. Also HRD in Bioinformatics is planned for skill inculcation efforts in areas such as (i)Application of parallel computing ito Bioinformatics applcations(ii)Analysis of Next Generation Sequencing data using computational methods (iii)Application of cloud computing to Bioinformatics applications etc. It is planned to support various research projects employing ICT methodologies like Statistical Machine learning tools, Genetic algorithm, artificial intelligence etc. to problems of protein folding, gene expression data analysis etc. ands also to provide infratructure for Bioinformatics Research
(vi) Digital Preservation
The second decade of the 21st century dawns, predictions of global internet digital transactions reach as high as 667 Exabyte per year by 2013. Based on this prediction, traffic levels might easily exceed many zetabytes (1021 bytes, or 1,000 exabytes) by the end of decade. There is a need to consider the nature of information being transferred, how it is encoded, whether it is stored for future use and if it will be always possible to interpret as intended. The long tern usability of digital information throughout the changing technologies and storage media is the main challenge. Following activities are proposed in this area: Establish the National Digital Preservation Infrastructure Digital Preservation Audit and Certification Long Term Usability of Digital Data and Sustainability
(vii)Ubiquitous Computing Programme
After the success of Ubiquitous Computing Programme in the 10th Plan, the next phase of this programme in the 12th Plan would lead to advanced research and applications development, publishing of research papers, development of prototypes, models for understanding the complexity, development of utilities and tools for software systems and patenting of products / systems. The following would be the objectives of this national programme: Up scaling Ubiquitous Agriculture Applications Investigation of potential applications in agriculture, by integrating Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) data with Remote Sensing (RS) data from Satellites Integrating the Internet and Mobile Networks with Low power Sensor Research in Origin – Destination (OD) for Urban Transportation Enhancements (ROUTE)
210 Building Secured Cloud based Intelligent Campus Environment Utilizing Ubiquitous Technologies Distributed Context Reasoning and Management in Large Scale Environment Context Aware Services for Mobile Recognition of Human Activities in Video Sequences Ubiquitous Healthcare ( to be jointly developed with C-DAC and other collaborating institutes) Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network Indoor Location Tracking using Ultra-wide band Development of Aware Home Technologies Design and Development of Wireless Modules for Body Area Networks (BAN) and Ubiquitous Computing Wireless Systems for Body parameters monitoring
The National initiatives already taken up by DIT’s C-DAC centres and other academic and R&D institutions in the field of Ubiquitous Computing had led to development of subsystems and components for Ubiquitous Computing systems and applications. Further the efforts towards this technology development in the 12th Plan would result in implementation of different application areas such as: WSN Architecture and Decision Support Suite for Agriculture, National Level 6LoWPAN Knowledge Centre, Correlation between WSN weather data and Remote Sensing data, Origin Destination Matrices for Urban Transportation, Intelligent University Campus, Devices and Systems for Wireless Body Area Networks and sensor networks, WSN Platform using 802.11 b/g/n, Aware Home comprising number of Smart artefacts like Smart Bed, Smart Kitchen, Activity Based Lighting and Interactive Mirror, Context Aware Services for mobile etc.
(viii) National Programme of Perception Engineering Perception engineering is an emerging field of research where technology developments are motivated by the human perception and cognition based models and algorithms. Various psycho-acoustical, psycho-physiological, neuron-physiological observations can be used for the development of engineering systems, which can meet human requirements in most efficient way. The following could be the objectives of this national initiative:
To initiate research programmes with multi-institutional collaboration integrating complimentary expertise Generate know-how for new information & communication technologies motivated by the models of perceptual & cognitive processes Multi-disciplinary investigations into the fundamental issues of Perception and Cognition
211 Development of models of perceptual and cognitive processes for technology generation–Establishment of a Centre for Perception Engineering and Cognitive Sciences Develop products based on Cognition and Perception
The initiatives in the inter-disciplinary field of Perception Engineering can lead to technology break-through in different application areas such as - Education, Medical, Surveillance-Security and Strategic, Societal applications, Entertainment, Environment and Quality Control, Reconnaissance and Disaster Management etc. In addition to this, it could also lead to significant development in Assisted and Enhanced Living encompassing the areas like Vision, Audio & Speech, Taste & Smell, Hap tics, Sensor motor, Sensory Integration, and Cognitive Robotics. Further, multi modal rendering and multi modal interaction can open-up a new world experiential environment which can play a critical role in tele teaching, tele-medicine as well as entertainment.
(ix) Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA): ITRA programme has been initiated to Build Competitive Advantage for the Country in the area of IT and Electronics, attract high quality academics/professionals to lead research activities, Build IT R&D groups, network them and connect them to industry and society and produce high quality Ph.Ds for industry, R&D labs & academic institutions (x) Media Lab Asia: Media Lab Asia will continue pursuing certain high order research areas in social sector such as Health Care, Livelihood Generation, Education and Empowerment of differently abled as well as e- Governance. Projects that will be pursued include the following: • Large scale deployment of CAD for craft • Deployment of Punarjjani- Integrated assessment tool for MR children • Enhancement & Deployment of eGalla –Retail Management System and ERP solution
• Development & deployment of District Level Integrated e-Solutions for Healthcare (Telemedicine + HMIS +EHR)
• Deployment of Shikshan™ - An intelligent tutoring system • Deployment of Pre-primary Teachers Resource Kit • Deployment of Sanyog- An iconic interface system for speech and neuro motor disorder
• Development & pilot deployment of rural content creation system • Development & pilot deployment of life skill development of tribal community
• Development & deployment of eWaste management portal
212 (xi) Smart Grid Smart Grid is a type of electrical grid is cconsidered to be an Energy Internet with increased efficiency, availability, response and security. Salient features of the Smart Grid include:
Dynamic optimization of grid operations and resources with full cyber security
Deployment and integration of distributed resources and generation including renewable resources
Deployment of smart technologies (real-time, automated, interactive technologies) for metering, communications for grid operation/ status and Distribution Automation
Integration of smart appliances/ consumer devices
Deployment and integration of advanced electricity storage technologies
Major impact is in reduction of peak demand The following would be the important technology components of Smart Grid:
Renewable – solar to smart grid, wind to smart grid Energy storage and retrieval Power line carrier communication Smart metering system Substation automation: IEDs, SCADA Wide area monitoring system: PMUs, PDCs Home Automation: Home Area Network Software Components: Middleware, Cloud enabled data analysis, self- aware systems, power system analytics and simulations
Sub-Group, however, suggested that it is important that potential impact of smart-grid projects be fully worked out prior to funding and evaluation carried out based on impact made. (xii) Electronics R&D
a) Nano-technology Development
The Department in the 11th Plan has taken steps to build institutional capacity and infrastructure for R&D in the field of nano-technology. The focus had been on human resource development in the area of nano- electronics for making India a front-runner in this revolutionary area with all pervasive applications. Towards this, the Department had initiated major projects at leading academic / research institutes in the country. However, there is a further need to give impetus to this programme. In 12th Plan the following may be undertaken:
213 – Centres of Excellences created at IISC Bangalore & IIT Bombay to be further augmented through a phase-2 programme. – Emphasis on product development, high-end research on process development and incubating start-up companies – Support to other on-going major Centres (IIT Kgp, IIT D and IIT M). Creation of few more major Centres in some of the new IITs or some Tier 2 institutions. – Enhancement of Indian Nano-electronics User’s Programme b) Microelectronics Development Programme
RF and analog mixed signal technologies – Embedded systems – EDA tools and related software – VLSI, Processors (Micro, RISC, ASP etc.)- Design/ Fabrication, Characterization, Testing and modeling etc. VLSI, Processor (Micro, RISC, ASP etc.) and Device – Design & Fabrication, Measurements of parameters, Characterization, Testing, Modelling etc. • Development of RF and Analog Mixed Signal Technologies • Development of EDA Tools and related software • Embedded Systems • Development of microstructures including Micro-Electro Mechanical Structures (MEMS) – Micro sensors, Detectors etc. • Integrated MEMS and VLSI designs solutions
Process Technologies including development of related semiconductor materials c) Electronics Materials & Component Programme
Components and materials are the backbone of Electronics and Information Technology (IT) Hardware Sector. Electronic materials are at the core of design, development of electronic component manufacturing, while electronic components are the heart of electronic equipment hardware. Realising the importance of this area, there is a need to initiate programmes in the following areas: – Integrated Electronics and 3D nano-scale packaging – Nano-scale materials and composites. – Ultra-high purity materials and compound semi-conductors – Materials for renewable energy, – Actuators, Sensors
214 – Photonics Applications (Solid State lighting, Bio-Photonics, etc.) – Technologies for electronics waste management – Testing and certification facilities for RoHS etc. d) Industrial Electronics After successful completion of National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET) Phase-I, there is a need to continue this programme in Phase-2. In Phase-2 emphasis may be on addressing major applications like Solar Inverters (from roof-top to 1MW installation), Smart Controllers for High power applications, HV solid state cross bar system required by Strategic Departments, Centre of Excellence for simulations of Power Electronics/ Power Systems and Micro-integration/ packaging techniques.
Further, the building block technologies developed under Automation Systems Technology Center (ASTeC) project during 11th Plan needs to be deployed in the field with collaboration with industry. Also, technologies developed on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Agri-electronics to be further augmented and demonstrated in field. e) Medical Electronics & Health Informatics There is a need to continue with the programme on development of ssuitable technology/ products for mass applications in medical electronics, Decision Support Systems (DSS) for hospitals, On-line courseware for health-informatics etc. In addition to this, deployment of Electronics Health Records technology in consultation with Ministry of Health and Family welfare also needs to be taken up. DIT should initiate programmes on Futuristic technologies like Neuro-technology etc f) RF/ Microwave Electronics The RF / Microwave Electronics is an important area particularly for strategic sector, where there is a pressing requirement to initiate / continue on-going programmes. There is, thus, a need to continue / initiate following programmes: – High power systems for applications in medical/ industrial sectors, food processing, high power transmitters. – Computational electromagnetic, Antenna/ Circuit Applications, Atmospheric instrumentation. – Millimeter wave (MMW) RADAR for security applications, MMW imaging systems and MMW components for strategic applications. – Terahertz (100 GHz- 10THz) Technology (security applications). – High energy LINAC Technology with electronic portal imaging system. – Applied research in EMI/EMC etc.
215 (xiii) Convergence, Communication and Broadband Technologies Programme
The R&D projects proposed to be undertaken in 12th Plan will include the following areas: Next Generation Communication & Convergence technologies (Software Defined Radio, Cognitive Radio including White spaces, Cooperative Communication, Cloud Computing/Communication over Cellular Network, Mobile Adhoc Network, Research in ‘5G’) Wireless Broadband Access, Femto Cell, 60 GHz Wireless Network and UWB Green communication and scavenging energy from ambient EM radiation. Wireless Sensor Networks- Communication algorithms, protocols, RFID applications Wireless Body Area Network Convergence of wired/wireless networks, fixed mobile convergence consumer premises equipment (CPE) and converged access devices. Wireless Technology deployments for rural connectivity (LTE-A, WiFi, WiMax, Amateur radio) Development of IP based products/services & Low Cost Broadband Internet access devices and net appliances, IP Multimedia subsystem, Digital Video Broadcast, IP Broadcast ICT applications in strategic/ mission mode activities with focus on safety, security, surveillance and navigational aids weather forecast Internet of things
(xiv) Leveraging Mobile Infrastructure With the proliferation of mobile communication, two-way communication has been made possible for masses. It is estimated that more than 500 million people have mobile phones. However, for effective and efficient use of this technology there is a need to promote development of whole host of applications using mobiles form financial services, e-governance services, health services, Agri-services, education, job-search etc. In addition to this, there is a need to promote voice-based authentication and transactions for inclusive development thereby enabling illiterate and semi- literate people to have access to this service may. Also, Local Language Standards for mobile phone need to be evolved and to be made mandatory for all mobile phones in India (xv) System on Chips System-on-a-chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) refers to integrating all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed signal, and radio frequency – all on a single chip substrate. A typical application is in the area of embedded systems. Realizing India’s strength in Embedded systems and IC design a programme to promote devices and technologies
216 in the area of SOC will be pursued keeping in mind the focus of promoting electronics manufacturing. (xvi) Initiative Focussed for students To ensure that a large resource of employable technical manpower in the area of hardware design is available in the country, new initiatives’ particularly targeted to student community in the following areas need to be initiated: Hardware board fabrication Under this programme grants for students could be provided to get their designs converted into boards on turnkey basis. Also, appropriate tax- incentive may be given to such companies, which source all components and fabricate prototype boards. Open Hardware There is a need to initiate this programme, under which hardware boards may be standardized and made available to educational institutes /startup companies on demand. Shared IC fabrication To encourage IC designing in the country, there is a need to initiate “Shared IC Fabrication” programme under which ICs designed by the students could be fabricated with support from DIT. This programme could be extended to start-up companies, SME (at subsidized cost) and also to large companies (at cost). Promote FPGA design at institutes To widen the IC Design / hardware development base in the country, there is a need to set up Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) Labs at Tier-II & III institutes where students will be encouraged to take projects in ICs designing using FPGAs. (xvii)Quick Hit Initiatives-Short Term R&D To demonstrate success and commercialization in the short term to kick- start a positive reinforcement cycle that motivates industry, policy makers and the market for taking greater strides the following initiatives need to be taken: – Identify products, where India could attain self-sustaining position in about 2 years. Need not be futuristic, but have immediate applications. – Should be primarily led by industry with proven track record in product commercialization – Identify 3 to 4 Research Labs and industry with proven credentials to develop such products and commercialization on a Mission Mode approach – DIT could take a lead role to ensure handholding and support for adoption of new products – Ear-mark R&D funds for Quick-hit Initiatives
217 (xviii) Electronics Development Fund As per the report of the Task Force on IT/ITES and electronic hardware, the import bill of this sector, unless domestic manufacturing is enhanced, will surpass the import bill of the oil sector by 2020. Thus there is a need for promoting and developing electronics and telecom R&D, Indian Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and manufacturing within the country. This could be done through a dedicated ‘Electronic Development Fund’ with a corpus of Rs. 5,000 crores for Innovations in Electronics & Telecom R&D, IPR and Product development. Though the finer details of this scheme would need to be worked out but the Electronic Development Fund could include Innovation fund, R&D fund, Seed money fund etc. A body having representatives of government, academia and industry may manage the fund. There will be a need to set up an institutional mechanism for management of this fund. The following could be the Institutional Framework of EDF:
(xix) Facilities and Programmes Following facilities and programme are needed during 12th Plan:
Create some Microwave and micro-sensor fabrication facility
Create / promote setting up of public / private test centres around academic institutions
Promote Open patents: so that ideas are registered.
Promote Fabless companies from India.
218 (xx) Launch Big Projects DIT may launch big demonstration projects in the following areas: • Use of white spaces for Communications: A demo project on use of white spaces (the frequencies allocated to a broadcasting service but not used locally) for Communications may be taken up. • Solar Village: A big project on Solar Village with advanced electronics technology components may be launched to demonstrate the benefits in the country, as renewable energy is the way of the future. It's inherently efficient, with no losses in long-distance transmission. It taps into sources of energy that are already there and will never run out. And solar, wind and micro-hydro technologies are vastly less polluting than any other available sources of energy. • Indian Satellite phone (complete Indian design): There is need for initiating a national project on design and development of India’s Satellite Phone, which could be used by all users who travel, work or live in mountains, oceans, forests, rural areas, or even in cities. • Full-fledged smart grid pilot with a utility: In India the electrical grids today account for around 27% of transmission and distribution losses. This inadequacy could possibly become an obstacle to the country’s progress in the years to come. Therefore there is urgent need for introducing smart components in the Indian power grid. This may be done through a large pilot project on full-fledged Smart Grid with a utility so that benefit of the advanced technology could be demonstrated.
4.5 Overall Recommendations
The recommendations of the Sub Group on e- Innovation/R&D are given in two parts- one concerning technology and other is related to policy issues to be looked into by the Government. Recommendations on Technical Issues 1. Primary strength of Indian R&D organizations is in developing systems. Therefore R&D activities need to be directed primarily towards design and IPR creation for various systems in the field of Electronics/IT. Government may also provide support to core R&D in a few niche areas. 2. In the field of components, our strength seems to be in IC design area. This strength must be leveraged further for creating specific application oriented ICs for applications such as telecom, industrial electronics, security etc. DIT should support procurement of FPGA design systems in tier – 2 institutions, so that students can be trained in the area. 3. To enable a culture of hardware design from the college level itself, DIT may support at least 5 suitable hardware fabrication houses (private or public) at major cities. The students at the nearby academic institutes and start-up companies/SMEs around the place can avail this facility for getting their small fabrication requirements done at low costs. 4. Similar to the above, there is also need for encouraging setting up of the standard design houses, who could supply standard boards which are required in modern day hardware design.
219 5. DIT should support projects / start-ups working on developing applications on mobile phones/ tablets and and enable commercializing them. 6. DIT may set up a suitable council comprising of members from R&D institutes, strategic departments and industries to review the current status and recommend future activities to be taken in the field of RF/ Microwave including all aspects like teaching, R&D and commercialization. This should include exploration for the need for creation of a specific Centre for Microwave Semiconductor Devices. 7. DIT may establish a centralized arrangement for fabrication of chip designs made by various SMEs/ Start-up companies or students (Prototyping service). 8. Special programme may be undertaken to develop certain products required for sectors like Telecom, Industrial Electronics, Medical Electronics etc. as short term R&D to be ‘quick hits’ in commercialization to motivate the industry, policy makers & the markets for greater strides. 9. The special manpower development programme in VLSI design needs to be continued with enhanced scope & broader objective to include Chips to System design capability in certain chosen application domains. 10. R&D in Sensor Technology has wide applications. This needs to be promoted and specifically by setting up a Centre of Excellence. 11. DIT may take a catalytic role to synergies various initiates in MEMs development by various agencies in the country to assist the researchers for realizing their prototypes and building systems around these. 12. Considering the achievements of the various R&D schemes of DIT during the 11th plan, it is recommended that all these schemes be continued during the 12th plan also in addition to a few more new schemes arising out of the 12th plan proposals.
Recommendations on Policy related Issues
13. A separate Electronics Development Fund may be created to incentivize R&D where Govt. and Industry bodies are the stakeholders. 14. A comprehensive IPR promotion programme covering education, awareness creation, IP exchange, related technology development and support to SMEs & start-ups may be taken up. 15. Primary thrust to be given for innovation promotion by providing financial support to start up companies. 16. Government may put in place a preferential procurement policy to encourage manufacturing of electronic/IT products with Indian intellectual property to provide necessary market pull. 17. To develop a holistic approach for funding socially relevant R&D projects in Public Private Partnership (PPP) modes with the participation of private sector R&D, a certain percentage of R&D allocation may be reserved exclusively for R&D in PPP modes. DIT may set up a committee to study and recommend R&D in PPP mode for undertaking socially relevant programs.
220 18. There is need to define ‘R&D in Services’ specially, R&D in ICT Services to be broad based. The present definition of R&D as accepted by DSIR and Income Tax Department appears weak to accept R&D in Services. DIT needs to setup a committee to examine the various facets involved in the R&D in services and come out with suitable definitions of R&D. 19. Terms of reference on structure of DIT and Societies associated with DIT needs a more in depth look by the Government. It is therefore suggested that DIT may set up a Committee to examine this so as to optimize delivery on programmes/policies. 4.6 Plan schemes and Fund requirements Considering the requirement of funds for ongoing and new programmes, an outlay of Rs.8850.0 crore has been recommended by the Sub Group on e-Innovation/R&D as per the following details. (Figures in Rs. Crores) Project/Programme Proposed Outlay Next Generation Computing Systems 4000 Innovation Promotion and Nurturing Entrepreneurs 1000 National Programme on Perception Engineering 200 Programme on Chips to Systems 150 IPR Promotion Programme 50 Ubiquitous Computing 100 Smart Grid 600 Nano-technology & Microelectronics Development Programme 750 Industrial Electronics & Medical Electronics Programme 150 Electronics Components & Materials Programme 155 RF/Microwave Electronics 620 Convergence, Communication & Broadcasting Technologies 500 Programme IT in Emerging Areas including Media Lab Asia (MLA) and 575 Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA) etc. Total 8850
The above budget requirements have been mapped in the ongoing schemes and proposed new schemes as follows: Project/Programme Proposed Outlay Micro-electronics & Nano-technology Development 750 Programme (including SICLDR) Technology Development Council (incl. ITRA) 1495 Convergence, Comm. & Strategic Electronics 500 Electronics in Health & Telemedicine 50 Components & Material Development Programme including 155 C-MET SAMEER 620 C-DAC 4000 Media Lab Asia 280 Sub Total 7850 Proposed New Scheme: Innovation Promotion and Nurturing 1000 Entrepreneurs (part of EDF) Total 8850
221 222 Annexure-1 Major Achievements made in the 11th Plan through R&D Support by DIT 1. Achievements made in R&D in Information Technology (i) High Performance Computing PARAM Yuva (sustained performance of 37.8 TFs & peak performance of 54TFs) with 200TB storage commissioned. Application developed include weather forecasting, drug designing, bio-informatics, seismic modelling. (ii) Grid Computing Garuda grid deployed on NKN. Interoperability achieved with European grid.
(iii) IT Emerging Areas • Ubiquitous Computing Programme Some of the developments are in agricultural crop yield monitoring and home appliances like - intelligent mirror, smart kitchen etc. Ubiquitous Smart Parking got an award. Five patents have been applied with Patent Authority in DIT. Smart parking system has been deployed in Hyderabad Municipal Corporation parking area and awards have been received in e-India 2010 exhibition etc. This is a Multi-institutional Programme – other institutions involved are - Amrita University, Kerala; IISc- Bangalore; IIT-Kharagpur in addition to the main agencies involved, which are C-DAC Centres at Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. • Perception Engineering Programme This is a Multi-institutional Project, by – IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, Jadavpur University, C-DAC, Kolkata, CEERI-Pilani, IIIT-Hyderabad. Some of the Perceptual models have been developed and being tested. Satisfactory results have been obtained. Several workshops were organised by all the agencies involved, inviting participants from educational institutions and R&D organisations. Development of Perceptual systems for multimedia / video conferencing are being progressed with collaborative research among the participating institutes. Video mediated conferencing and perceptual robotics subsystems and components have been developed. E-nose and e-tongue have been developed by CDAC-Kolkata and are being tested with standards for calibration. NBRC Gurgaon has joined as the 7th participating institute recently with 4 part projects on human brain perception and sensory behaviour including performance assessment. • Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) 500 GFs, 64 processor PARAM Padma Super computer with Linux cluster was made operational at National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF). Software for scheduling and managing parallel computer applications was used. Storage of vast data was important issue. Several weather/ ocean models were ported on the machine for carrying out research in weather and climatic applications. This project has been completed successfully during this year and the second phase of this as a continuous project is under process for approval after being recommended by the Working Group.
223 • Virtual Observatory India Developed by Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune and Persistent Systems, Pune is in operation. Data visualization and Data mining software tools will address many terabytes of data for making astronomical estimations and study on their co-relations. Mirrors or very large Astronomical data have been created. Software for plotting and statistics etc. has been made and these are used nationally and internationally. There is close collaboration with related foreign organisations in this work. 3D Visualisation, Grid computing will be integrated. Advanced data mining will be emphasised in the currently ongoing phase II of the project. Phase I of this project have been completed earlier with some of the software tools as mentioned above. In the phase II part, 3D data mining and visualization, Grid computing, other special applications, refinement of earlier software are being progressed. • National RFID Programme National RFID Programme with an outlay of Rs. 489.60 lakhs was being implemented jointly by IIT Kanpur, C-DAC, Noida and SAMEER Mumbai. Under National RFID Programme Phase I, Parcel Tracking System has been implemented for Department of Posts in six cities i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore covering 140 post offices. Under the programme CDAC Noida has also implemented in-house people attendance system and Bio Medical Waste Management system. The proposals under second phase are already considered by the Working Group. SAMEER has carried out RF testing and characterization of the RFID system procured by C-DAC Noida. SAMEER participated in the field trials for the Parcel Tracking system Project, which were carried out at Speed Post Centre, Mumbai. Various planar and helical antennas have been developed at UHF range of 866 MHz, which can be used as interrogator antenna. IIT, Kanpur carried out research on the effects of intervening, interfacing, and enclosing material on the RFID performance in the RFID environment The efforts were made to analyse and gain a comprehensive understanding of the dielectric constant (electrical permittivity), the magnetic susceptibility (magnetic permeability), the electrical conductivity, the absorption coefficient, their complex conjugates, and the related constants, and their dependences on the variable parameters, and have tried to obtain a comprehensive set of the values of the material constants for a diverse set of materials The project has been successfully completed by CDAC, Noida and SAMEER, Mumbai. The project has been extended at IIT Kanpur to pursue the R&D activities and training of faculties in the area of RFID technologies.
• Self Recording Image Surveillance System (SRISS): Self Recording Image Surveillance System (SRISS) is being designed and developed by CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram. The standalone embedded system for surveillance can be used in many areas, where image processing can be applied. The system when integrated with bio-metric devices and connected to the back end system can be used for applications like preventions of frauds in ATMs and intrusion detection in restricted, high security and strategic areas.
224 (iv) Free / Open Source Software The National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software (NRCFOSS) has been established to provide design, development and support services to the FOSS community in the country and also strengthen the global FOSS ecosystem by contributing to the open source pool. Several milestones have been achieved including indigenised GNU/Linux Operating system distribution “Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS)” with Indian languages support, National Help-Desk for FOSS, National FOSS portal, BOSS support centres and HR development in FOSS. BOSS has been released under GPL (General Public License) and is available on http://bosslinux.in for free download. BOSS GNU/Linux has been certified for LSB (Linux Standard Base) compliance by Linux Foundation. BOSS Desktop ver 4.0 supports all 22 Indian languages. BOSS Advanced Server 1.0 with enhanced security features, EduBOSS ver 2.0, educational variant for Schools have also been brought out. Data centre with capacity of 2 Terabytes stores BOSS repository for access by users. 27 pan-India BOSS support centres have been established to provide technical support to users. BOSS deployments have been made in Indian Navy, NIC, BSNL, Punjab, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Tripura, Kerala and Tamilnadu in e-governance, education, productivity and office applications domains. BOSS has been installed in over one lakh Desktops in schools in Punjab and Haryana under Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan programme. Over Rs.100 crores have been estimated to be saved by using BOSS in place of proprietary software. 80000 BOSS CD/DVDs have been distributed and 143000 downloads have been reported from the BOSS website. NRCFOSS Phase II projects are being implemented in consortium mode at C-DAC (Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi), AU-KBC Research Centre, Chennai, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras, (Ref http://www.nrcfoss.org.in), where development work is going on in areas of GNU compiler construction, software as an architecture, e-learning, mobile platforms/ applications and FOSS knowledge banks. Regular awareness and training programs have been organised in major cities for government and academic users. FOSS elective courses have been introduced as part of M Sc, CS and IT courses in around 20 Engg. Colleges in Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu benefiting over 4000 students so far. Draft Device Driver Policy for procurement of hardware in e-Governance has been developed along with NRCFOSS, NIC, OTC and e-Gov division. The draft policy has been put up on DIT web site for public review. A project titled “CBSE Trainers Training & Students Talent Transformation” has been initiated jointly with CBSE for FOSS based education in schools, content development and training 5000 CBSE teachers.
(v) Bio informatics • Software Tools & Data Bases: 31 projects initiated in various institutes under this category with total outlay of about Rs. 31.0 crores in 11th plan period. Some major output of these projects are: - Research publications in national and international journals- 20 nos. - Novel Software tools / algorithms generated/databases generated -10 nos. - No. Copyright taken for 3 software's rest hosted as open source AT Supercomputing facility of CDAC, Pune for free access by whole national bio
225 informatics community (researches, academicians, industry). - Novel Drug molecules in process in-silico for malaria, cancer, Leishmania
Some example of softtwares , Databases, Algorithms developed are (I)Prediction of 3D structures of viral proteins (ii)Development of immune epitopes Database for Viral proteins(iii)An integrated drug target database developed which is designed to include all the information regarding the targets found in Plasmodium Falciparum ( malaria) (iv) Small molecular inhibitors against three therapeutic targets involved in cancer (WWP1,Stat3, Stat5 ) identified in- silico etc • Agri Bio-informatics: 5 Centres set up for Agri Bio informatics Promotion with total outlay Rs 11.45 crores. Some major Databases and Software tools developed under this programme are: - Development of Database on Indian Wheat Genotype Analysis of genomic and proteomic data of pathogen of coconut and araecanut for root wilt and yellow leaf disease - Database development in progress for molecular characterization and annotation of pigeon pea using comparative and structural genomics - Insilco characterization and classification of endangered and rare medicinal plants used by tribal in Gujarat - Analysis, Identification of Resistant/Antivirulance gene in crop genome with potential role in increasing their disease resistance • Bio-informatics Infrastructure: Bio informatics Resource and Application Facility (BRAF phase II) set up at CDAC, Pune wherein Bio informatics applications utilize the Garuda grid infrastructure and a grid-enabled Bio informatics Resources (Computing Power, Databases and the Software) provided to industry, academia. Usage Statistics: There is a sizeable no. of users of BRAF both national and international. The usage percentage of machine is about 95%.
(vi)Innovation Promotion/ IPR support
• Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) scheme Department of Information Technology has also launched a scheme for Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) in the area of Electronics & ICT to strengthen the technology incubation centers at the institutions of higher learning. The Scheme was initiated in 2008 with an outlay of ` 23.40 Crores for a duration of 4 years. Further the scheme was expanded to additional 12 TIDE Centres and 2 virtual incubation Centres in year 2009 with an outlay of ` 25.934 crores for a duration of 3 years. Under the scheme 27 TIDE Centres will be set up with total outlay of ` 49.334 crores. Each TIDE center will be given ` 155.00 lakhs as grant-in-aid over the scheme duration. The scheme aims to nurture technology innovation and enable local development of Electronics and ICT products and packages in the long run. The scheme provides financial support for nurturing the techno-entrepreneurs as well as for strengthening the technology incubation activity at the institutions. The proposals were invited from the premier institutions having a strong potential to take up Technology Incubation activities. Institutions located in North Eastern region and Jammu& Kashmir are also requested to submit the applications for TIDE centres.
226 Under the Scheme, first installment of grant-in-aid has been released to 17 TIDE Centers. • Multiplier Grant Scheme (MGS) MGS is to encourage collaborative R&D between industry and academics/ R&D institutions for development of products and packages. The scheme aims to strengthen industry/ institute-linkages, encourage and accelerate development of indigenous products/ packages and bridge the gap between R&D and commercialization. Under the scheme, if industry supports R&D for development of commercializiable products at an institution, the Government may provide financial support up to twice the amount provided by industry. The proposals for providing financial support under the scheme were to be submitted jointly by the industry and institutions. The total scheme outlay is ` 36.0 crore including the government contribution in the form of grants-in-aid of ` 24.0 crore. The 6 proposals as received under the MGS were examined and considered by Working Group, however could not be recommended. A study was conducted on “Collaborative R&D between Industry and academic /R&D institutions”. The MGS was reviewed based on the recommendations made in the study report and extended for two years. • IPR Promotion Patent & IPR division of DIT has been continuously trying to address the ICT specific IPR issues. The main objective and target of the division is to develop requisite technologies, tools, utilities, processes, mechanisms and infrastructure so as to facilitate industry, R&D organizations as well as individual(s)/ professional(s) in acquiring, protecting, and globally commercialising Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the E&IT sector. The major activities include facilitate technology development, provide facilitation services, and create awareness. Major achievements in the various ongoing activities in the XIth are highlighted below. - A Scheme to Support International Patent Protection in Electronics & IT by SMEs and Technology Start-Ups so as to encourage indigenous innovation and to recognize the value and capabilities of global IP and capture growth opportunities in the area of information technology and electronics has been initiated. Under this scheme, 50% of the total costs towards filing international patent by SMEs / Start Ups will be reimbursed by DIT. Till date 42 ICT based international patents from various companies have been supported; - Facilitation services are being provided by filing Patents (including International Patents), Copyrights, Designs and Trademarks in respect of creations / innovations of DIT scientific societies and institutions which are implementing R&D projects funded by DIT. More than 400 IPRs that include 60 Patents have been filed by DIT in the XIth plan and 200 obtained. - Various technology development projects, which can augment IPR infrastructure, add efficiency to the IPR process, reduce piracy and help the IPR implementing agencies have been initiated/completed. The completed projects include: IPR management System-CDC New Delhi, Development of Electronics Resource for Optimal Choice of base S/w and tools for computers S/w developers particularly in category of small and medium Enterprise – IISc. Bangalore, Software IPR Protection tool –Punjab university Chandigarh, Text Plagiarism detection S/w tool- Amrita Univ. Coimbatore. Further Deployment and commercialisation of these is being explored. Projects on Web Based Patent Analysis and management- CDAC, Pune, Development of Semantic Web Portal for TKDL-MNNIT, Allahabad and Development of web based plagiarism detection tool for source code-Amrita
227 University, Coimbatore are being implemented. A Prior Art Search Centre have been set-up at DIT Delhi and CDAC Pune and started giving services to ICT innovators and researchers. - Towards creating awareness to enable the country to absorb modern IPR Culture and its benefits around 50 IPR clinics were organized. . A comprehensive programme for creating IPR awareness in the ICT sector has been initiated by the department. Under this programme department will support 60 IPR awareness workshops targeted towards academia. Researchers and SMEs. Also, under this programme CDAC Pune, in collaboration with World Intellectual Property Organization will be customizing WIPO’s IP panorama for Indian ICT Sector. IP Panorama is a 10 module awareness creation animation tool targeting SME sector developed by Korean Intellectual property office for WIPO. Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT Kharagpur has also been supported for developing a multimedia IP teaching tool for students and academia under this programme.
2. Achievements made in R&D in Electronics
(i) Initiatives on Nano-technology: During 11th Plan Indian Nano-electronics Users Programme (INUP) was initiated at IIT Bombay and IISc Bangalore. As part of this project two Nano-electronics Centres have been created at IISc Bangalore and IIT-Bombay. The facilities created at these Centres have helped in generation of expertise and knowledge in nano-electronics through participation and utilization by external users. This Programme has supported more than 50 R&D projects at more than 40 organizations across the country, which has led to generation of more than 800-trained manpower from more than 200 organizations across India. Three more Centres of Excellence are being established at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi, and IIT Madras on different aspects of Nano-electronics. Another infrastructure project has been supported at National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi to facilitate development of Nano-technology Standards, and establishment of a nano-metrology lab.
Some of the Nano-technologies developed under DIT’s sponsored projects are (i) R.F. Oscillator for mobile communications, (ii) Molecular Rectifiers based on Organic Thin Films, (iii) Microwave ring resonator using Ferro electric materials, (iv) A chip has been developed to carry out Polymerise Chain Reaction (PCR chip) for DNA amplification. The chip consists of a small reservoir for DNA containing fluid reaction. The rest of the system supplements the chip by micro-heaters, control electronics, and fluorescence detection to serve as a diagnostic kit, (v) Micro-stereo lithography system, Pulsed Laser Deposition system, Dual Ion Beam Sputtering system and Electro-optics characterization systems have been developed, (vi) A novel multi ferroic system (Bi0.7Dy0.3FeO3 or BDFO) which exhibits magnetism and ferro electricity at room temperature with a coupling between these two phenomenon has been developed and (viii) Piezoelectric MEMS devices with a novel SU8/ZnO polymer composite have been developed which are low cost and promising candidate for sensor & energy harvesting applications.
228 (ii) Microelectronics Development Programme During the 11th Five-year Plan, 19 new projects were taken up in the areas of research, technology development, human resource development & infrastructure development. The notable achievements are listed below:
A Digital Programmable Hearing Aid has been designed and fabricated using130 nano-meter technology by CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram. After successful testing for its functionality, the hearing aid has been given to AIISH Mysore, AIIMS, Delhi and AYJNIHH, Mumbai for field trials. Two patent applications are being filed for this technology. A Facility for Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics has been created at CMET, Pune with joint funding by NPMASS-DRDO and DIT. Using this facility it would be possible to handle the advanced applications such as high density interconnects, micro fluidics and micro-sensor packaging. Centre of excellence for R&D of analog and mixed signal integrated circuits has been created at IIT Madras to focus on development of ultra high-speed data communication and data conversion. Five ICs have been designed & fabricated. Two national patents and an international patent have been filed. Another Centre of excellence has been created at IISc Bangalore to focus on wireless systems. Four ICs have been designed and fabricated. Two international patents have been filed for Low noise amplifying mixer and Adaptive digital base band. Design of Mixed Signal circuits at CEERI Pilani: This project focuses on low and medium speed (up to 5 MHz) medium resolution (10 to 12 bit) data converters required in low power instrumentation applications. . 2 ICs - 10 bit SAR based ADC operating at 5 MHz sampling frequency and 10 bit DAC for conversion time less than equal to 1 microsecond have been designed. DIT has supported a project on Feasibility Report on development of Indian Microprocessor at CDAC Bangalore. A sub-Group consisting of members from Academic & Research Institutes, Industry (including private industry), Strategic users, Societies etc. was constituted to carry out this feasibility report. A detailed report has been submitted to DIT. A general purpose FPGA based 8 bit secure micro controller with 32 KB flash memory has been successfully designed by BEL Bangalore. Patent has been filed for the design developed. An Embedded Processor for Smart Camera Systems has been designed at IIT Delhi and CEERI Pilani for object detection and tracking. This can be used for applications like surveillance and traffic monitoring. The processor has the capability to facilitate intelligent processing of captured images and purposive movement of the camera based upon visual feedback. Advertisement in leading newspaper has been given seeking expression of interest for Transfer of Technology from interested industry. MEMS based Gas sensor has been designed and developed by, BEL Bangalore along with control circuitry for sensing LPG. BEL has assembled 3200 sensors and sold to M/s Eureka Forbes. In Synthetic Jet Based Cooling for High Heat Flux Electronics Components project at IIT Bombay, a synthetic jet based assembly has been designed, fabricated and successfully tested for removal of hotspots from electronics ICs.
229 Air has been used as a medium for the synthetic jet. IIT Bombay has filed patent on the technique developed under the project. Semiconductor Integrated Circuits layout-Design Registry was made operational for protection of Intellectual Property of Integrated Circuits by bringing into force relevant Sections of Semiconductor Integrated Circuits layout-Design Act. The IC designers can protect their IPR by registering their Layout-Design of integrated circuits at the Registry Two projects on development of database for layout-Design at CADC, Noida and Pune University will be completed in 2011. Specialized Human Resource Development in IC Layout-Design at Pune University is on going. (iii) Industrial Electronics: Through National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET) programme infrastructure required for carrying out research in Power Electronics have been created at 11 leading academic institutes including IITs/IISc and at nodal Centre CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram. As part of collaborative endeavour to develop design capability in power electronics in the country, twenty projects were jointly taken up for research and technology development by the nodal agency CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram with other academic institutions. NaMPET had supported ten projects, while five projects were jointly funded with other agencies and five projects were fully funded by external agencies like Railways, Ministry of Power etc. Technologies such as IGBT Gate Driver, Hall effect Current Sensor etc. have been commercialised. Technology of Grid Tie Inverter for Solar PV Power Plant has been offered for TOT to seven identified industries. Project was completed in August, 2010 ASTeC as an umbrella project was started in April, 2007 with a broad vision of undertaking R&D in Automation Technology area to strengthen indigenous capability and skill with particular emphasis on Hardware development contributing to design led Automation System development in the country. A number of cost effective technologies such as Colour Sensing System, Multiloop Controller, General Purpose Controller, Low Power Controller, Common Communication Gateway, Wireless Sensor Nodes, Open Flexible SCADA/HMI Software, Phaser Measurement Unit, Process Simulation Platform, Real time Expert System etc. have been developed and field- tested. These technologies are now ready for transfer to industry. The developments are generic in nature and can be implemented in all the process industries at an affordable cost with less maintenance problem. The above technology modules from ASTeC are being deployed in two demonstration projects being implemented at two industrial sites to demonstrate the deliverables to the end users. ASTeC is likely to be completed in March, 2012. A Collaborative Intelligent Transportation System Endeavour for Indian Cities (ITS) was initiated in October, 2009 with 3 years duration for development of eight different technology modules of ITS. Prototypes of Wireless Traffic Control System, Intelligent Parking Lot Management System and Red light Violation System have been developed and going through field trials. Another project on Application of Electronics for Agriculture & Environment (e-AGRIEN) was initiated in March, 2010 to strengthen local base for carrying out research and promoting application of electronics and IT in the field of Agriculture and environment.
230 (iv) Medical Electronics/ Telemedicine: Under the Jai Vigyan phase I programme which was undertaken during the 10th Plan, two 6 MV medical LINnear ACcelerator (LINAC) have been developed and commissioned by SAMEER, Mumbai at MGIMS, Wardha and RCC Adyar. These two machines are being used for treatment of cancer patients. In phase-II of this project initiated during the 11th plan, deployment of four more LINAC machines at four hospitals has been undertaken. The four machines are under various stages of development and would be installed when the hospitals are ready. A facility for batch fabrication of LINAC tube and LINAC machines is being established at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. Using the infrastructure created at this facility it would be possible to assemble, test and evaluate the complete medical LINAC machine. Also
Development of dual photon energy and multiple electron energy LINAC system for cancer treatment was initiated at SAMEER Mumbai. DIT has also initiated projects to develop LINAC-related equipment like Radiation Field Analyzer, Multi Leaf Collinator, Electronics Portal Imaging Device and 2.6 MW S-Band Tunable Pulse Magnetron. Development of Radiation Field Analyzer for Quality Assurance has been completed at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Department of Atomic Energy, Kolkata and field-tested in the hospitals having Medical LINAC. The system has been transferred to SAMEER, Bombay for final trials and technology transfer. Pulse Oximeter, a non–invasive device to measure oxygen saturation, which is the percentage of hemoglobin saturated with oxygen, has been developed and the technology has been transferred to M/s Rajasthan Electronics Instruments Ltd., Jaipur for commercialization. Under Telemedicine pilot projects, Telemedicine Centres have been established in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Tripura and patient consultations are being undertaken through these Centres. The Telemedicine Centres in Punjab, Tamilnadu and West Bengal have been taken over by the respective State Governments. A Mobile Tele-Oncology system was implemented for extending the coverage of ONCONET- Kerala to the rural masses. Using the system, 43 medical camps have been conducted so far covering a population of about 87000 over three districts. A new project for deployment of telemedicine at remote CHC/PHC in Tripura was also initiated.
A Decision Support System (DSS) for Oncology has been developed after comprehensive consultations with doctors and the system enables the clinicians to access the complete medical record of patients at their desktop. CDAC, Pune has developed software libraries, which can be used to make any software or equipment compliant to DICOM and HL7 standards. These libraries are being used by C-DAC in the development of several healthcare applications. National Resource Centre (NRC) for Telemedicine and Biomedical Informatics has been established at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. Lucknow Under this project, short-term training programmes in Telemedicine has been conducted for various State Governments staff and candidates from abroad. The NRC has also been made the National Resource Centres for the National Medical College Network (NMCN) being set up by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
231 (v) Electronics Materials & Components Programme : This programme has following three elements:
(a) Electronics Materials Development Council (EMDC) (b) Photonics Development Programme (c) Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology • Electronics Materials Development Council (EMDC) New technologies used for miniaturization of electronic hardware are driven by innovations in new materials and associated process technologies. Understanding of physics and chemistry of new materials is vital for these developments. Electronic Materials Development Programme is aimed at sponsoring R&D programmes at leading academic institutions such as IITs, IISc, CSIR labs. etc. for realizing this objective. Several initiatives on the emerging areas of components and materials had been pursued at research organizations with active participations of industries. Few successful collaborative projects included (i) Tuneable microwave dielectric devices, (ii) organic light emitting diodes, (iii) magnesium oxide coatings for Plasma display device, (iv) multi-layer coatings for high density optical storage devices, (v) optically active polymers to replacing polycarbonate data storage applications, (vi) oxide films nano- structures based energy systems, (vii) nano NTC material based chip in glass thermal sensors etc. A cost effective electronics waste recycling processing technology had been developed. NABL accredited testing and certification facilities have been established for the hazardous substances as per European Union (EU) Directive of Restricting the use of hazardous substances (RoHS). • Photonics Development Programme Several initiatives on Photonics had been successfully implemented at research institutes and industry participations. The successful projects included fibre bragg grating, a matlab-based software, Optical fibres, biophotonics for health care centre, installation of fluorescence correlation spectrometers, photonics based fibre optic sensor cable, Mid-stage access optical amplifier (EDFA), packaging centre facility for photonic devices etc. A base for photonic manpower has been created and photonic research fellowship had been introduced. • Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology Various projects initiated in 11th Plan had successfully been completed. Few such achievements were packages for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems based explosives detection sensors, LTCC based four layer microwave communication circuits, high dielectric PTFE/ceramic substrates, chip in glass fast response thermal sensors, prototype apron with nano-composite coating for efficient X-ray absorption, 7 N purity Zinc, Cadmium, Tellurium and Gallium etc. MoU had been signed with DMRL, Hyderabad, for establishing infrastructure to grow single crystal SiC, and also for establishing facilities for extended pilot plant production of Hafnium. (vi) RF/ Microwave Electronics State-of-art facilities for millimeter wave technologies, compact antenna test range facility and batch fabrication facility for LINAC tube established. Being used by strategic Dept. Technologies for atmospheric instrumentation, communication systems
232 for strategic applications & microwave disinfections systems, RF driers for agricultural applications developed and demonstrated 3. Achievements in R&D in Convergence, Communication & Broadcasting Technologies A number of technology development projects successfully completed. Some of these are:
TETRA based Digital Mobile Radio, Vehicle mount compact Tetra base-station for which demos were given to NDMA, NDRF, MHA, NIC, BSNL, Tactical Communication System , Defence Expo. Developed terminal, gateways for external communication. Dual standard base station and terminal for TETRA and WiMAX developed to support high data rate Technology transferred to TATA Power SED and ADTL. 4G Wireless standards and simulator were developed. Contributions were made to the features of IEEE 802.16m and to LTE-A standards, developed Indoor Personal Relays for 4G system and 4G LTE Test Bed at IITM campus with industry participation, 10-12 companies are participating with one third contribution, several patents were initiated in 4G technologies) Wireless LAN manager system was developed and Indian Patent filed Developed underground mines communication systems. Patents were filed and also authored a book. A Prototype of Software Defined Radio was developed for multiple channels running legacy waveforms. Prototype demonstrated to various customers and backpack version development is in progress. Indian Navy has recognized DIT efforts – Naval version of SDR being developed with funding from Navy. A test bed for Wi-Max QoS developed. Test beds were set up to demonstrate the feasibility of monitoring through wireless sensor access network for agriculture & transportation and applications. Tracking and Monitoring system using RFID tags was developed for disaster management in underground mines . Ultra Wide Band Transceiver with Antenna was developed and demonstrated with Wireless links. Smart Antena for Wireless Applications was designed and tested 4x4 array.
On-going Projects: Following are some of the on-going projects in progress:
High Performance Cognitive Radio Networks Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Rapidly deployable Wi-Max Wireless Mesh Network Fiber to the Home Vehicular Sensor & Mesh Network based Intelligent Transportation System Building Delay Tolerant Peer to Peer Network Amateur Radio Advanced Digital Communication Network
233 Landslide Monitoring System for NE region using WSN Low-cost WSN Monitoring System for Detection of Harmful Gases WSN for underwater detection system Android based application for Geo Profile Multiple Language subtitles on DTH Ultra-low Cost Microwave Imaging System using active RFID Wireless Body Area Network for health monitoring Relays for Fourth Generation Broadband Wireless Networks Interference Mitigation methods through Base Station cooperation in 4G, IMT-A and LTE-A Front-end for wireless data link at 60 GHz Broadband and dual band antennas for modern wireless communication system
234 Annexure-2
Thrust Areas identified by the Sub Group on e-Innovation/R&D for 12th Plan A broad indicative list of thrust areas identified for promotion of e-Innovation/R&D activities during 12th Plan period (2012-17) are given below: 1. R&D in Information Technology • Innovation Promotion and Nurturing Entrepreneurs • IPR Promotion • Next Generation Computing Systems - India Microprocessor Development Initiative - Operating System Development Initiative - High Performance Computing - Cloud Computing • Electronics Development Fund • National Programme on Perception Engineering • Ubiquitous Computing • Bio informatics o Next Generation Sequencing applications o SVM /Machine learning tools based algorithm development o Cloud computing based Bioinformatics Applications o Multiple sequence Alignments using AI methods. o Databases on protein structures and protein structure prediction o In silico target identification o Protein folding in silico
• Information Technology Research Academy
2. R&D in Electronics • Nano-technology - Strengthen existing facilities and create facilities at other organizations, - Innovations, application development and incubation facilities for product development, - Facilities for enhancing the activities on computation Nano-electronics, - Enhancement of Indian Nano-electronics Users Programme. • Microelectronics - RF and analog mixed signal technologies - Embedded systems
235 - EDA tools and related software, - VLSI, Processors (Micro, RISC, ASP etc.)- Design/ Fabrication, Characterization, Testing and modeling etc. - Micro sensors, Detectors etc. - Integrated MEMS and VLSI designs solutions - Process Technologies including development of related semiconductor materials • Electronics Materials and Components - Integrated Electronics and 3D nano scale packaging - Nano scale materials and composites - Ultra high purity materials and compound semi conductors, - Materials for renewable energy, - Actuators, Sensors - Photonics Applications (Solid State Lighting, Bio- Photonics) - Technologies for electronics waste management - Testing and certification facilities for RoHS. • Industrial Electronics & Automation Technologies - NaMPET Phase-2 to be continued to address major applications: Solar Inverter, Smart Controllers for high power applications, High Voltage Solid State Cross Bar System for Strategic Departments, Centre of Excellence for Simulations in Power Electronics/Power System at IIT Bombay and Micro Integration/ packaging Techniques. - Field applications of Automation Technology modules, - Technologies developed on Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and Agri-electronics to be further augmented and demonstrated in field. • Smart Grid Following technology components of Smart Grid: - Renewable – solar to smart grid, wind to smart grid - Energy storage and retrieval - Power line carrier communication - Smart metering system - Substation automation: IEDs, SCADA, - Wide area monitoring system: PMUs, PDCs, - Home Automation: Home Area Network, - Software Components: Middleware, Cloud enabled data analysis, self- aware systems, power system analytics and simulations • RF/Microwave Electronics, - High power systems for applications in medical/ industrial sectors, food processing, high power transmitters,
236 - Computational electromagnetic, Antenna/ Circuit Applications, Atmospheric instrumentation, - Millimeter wave (MMW) Radar for security applications, MMW imaging systems and MMW components for strategic applications. - Terahertz (100 GHz- 10THz) Technology for security applications - High energy LINAC Technology with electronic portal imaging system - Applied research in EMI/EMC etc. • Medical Electronics & Health Informatics - Medical and Imaging equipments - Online courseware in Health Informatics - Deployment of Electronic Health Records ensuring data security and privacy - Decision Support System (DSS) for hospitals using advanced technologies - Futuristic R&D projects using new generation technologies
3. R&D in Convergence, Communication & Broadband Technologies - Next Generation Communication & Convergence technologies (Software Defined radio, Cognitive Radio including White Spaces, 60 GHZ Wireless Network, Research in 5 G etc), - Green Communication and Scavenging energy from ambient EM radiation, - Wireless Sensor Network (e.g. Communication algorithms, protocols, RFID applications, Vibration Imaging and applications), - Convergence of wired/wireless and cloud communication networks, fixed mobile convergence Consumer Premises Equipment (CPE) and converged access devices, - Wireless Technology deployments for rural connectivity (LTE-A, Wi-Fi, WiMax, Amateur Radio) - Satcom products for use in distance education, telemedicine and other e- government applications as most of these are being imported.
237 e-Inclusion
1. Background
1.1 E-Inclusion: The Concept and Objectives
The accumulation transformation and distribution of information with the help of ICTs is a central element of the structure of the information society. Thus, the danger of social exclusion in the information society, and of exclusion from its resources, should not be underestimated. As the gap between the information-rich and the information- poor widens, the digital divides between them and within societies grow. ‘E-Inclusion’ has been identified as a concept that can be used to counter this development and to support, in the words of the Global E-Inclusion Movement, “the realization of the full potential of the digital opportunities”.
A 2004 Working Group on E-Inclusion, which was established within the e- Europe Advisory Group, defined the notion as follows:
“E-Inclusion refers to the effective participation of individuals and communities in all dimensions of the knowledge-based society and economy through their access to ICT, made possible by the removal of access and accessibility barriers and effectively enabled by the willingness and ability to reap social benefits from such access”.
Further, ‘e-Inclusion refers to the degree to which ICT contribute to equalizing and promoting participation in society at all levels’.
Thus the objective of e-Inclusion is to achieve a truly inclusive Information Society. E-Inclusion policies are aimed at:
Removing barriers that prevent access to tools and services of the Information Society for people who cannot afford ICT, people with functional restrictions and people who lack required skills,
Avoiding exclusion, forms of which can be directly linked to ICT, including risks of social and economic deprivation among people who do not use ICT as more e-Services are established,
Harnessing opportunities offered through ICT in order to support exclusion- prone communities in terms of better access to education and employment, and
Exploiting ICT for the purposes of empowerment, motivation and networking among individuals and utilizing technologies that contribute towards the development of social capital.
238 1.2 Early Initiatives
India has long recognized the inequities that a digital divide can cause, as also the potential of ICT to bridge the many divides – rural/urban, literate/illiterate, rich/poor – in our society. In the early days of the arrival of this technology in India, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi initiated a programme of using computers in education right at the school level (through the CLASS project), as also to provide better governance through the introduction of computers in government.
This thrust on using ICT as a tool for inclusion has continued through the subsequent years. For example, the Working Group for the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-07) on IT sector constituted seven study teams. The study team in its Report on “Application Development” suggested various measures. *
In the measures to address issue of Digital Divide and taking the benefits of IT to the Masses, it was mentioned that it is necessary to keep in mind that the new technology only reflects the situation of society of today; the digital divide is only a reflection of the divides that exist in society be they social, economic, educational, etc. The Ministry of IT had commissioned a Working Group IT for Masses on the subject. The Working Group has classified issue related to spread of IT to masses into the following categories:
Infrastructure and Services Electronic Governance Education Mass Campaign for I T Awareness
The thrust on inclusion was taken further forward in the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), as outlined below.
2. Objectives, Target & Achievements of Eleventh Five Year Plan
2.1 Inclusion Agenda
The Eleventh Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) sought to build on the gains achieved in the Tenth Plan and shift the economy to a path of faster and more inclusive growth. Inclusiveness, a critical element in the strategy was to be achieved by ensuring that growth is broad-based and is combined with programmes aimed at overcoming deficiencies in critical areas which affect large number of the vulnerable sections of our population, particularly the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), women and the minorities. The Plan sought to deal with these deficiencies through programmes aimed at providing access to health, education and other essential services and programmes of livelihood support.
It was recognized that ICT could play an important role in the “inclusion” agenda, and the Working Group Report of the 11th Five Year Plan identified many
239 thrust areas. Some of the e-Inclusion related thrust areas are: Increase IT adoption in the small and medium business segment, Education and Skill Development, Increase PC and internet penetration, Increase development and deployment of multilingual products, Enhancing usage of Free/Open Source Software, etc. It made the following key recommendations:
* Working Group report on 10th Five Year Plan (2002-07) for IT sector, page 72.
Education: IT enabled teaching and IT teaching in education IT Enabled Energising of Rural India Telemedicine Towards Affordable Computing for Home IT for Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) and Social Sector E-governance Internet Penetration : A key to PC penetration and domestic IT growth Multilingual Software, Applications and Content
2.2 Target and Achievements: Performance of XI Plan Schemes
The Department of Information Technology is implementing various Plan Schemes for creation of e-infrastructure, Innovation, R&D and Human Resource Development in the electronics and IT sector. These plan schemes directly and indirectly impact e-Inclusion. A brief description of these schemes and their achievements are as follows :-
2.2.1 Electronic Governance
A major initiative of the Government for ushering in e-Governance on national scale, called National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was approved on 16th May, 2006. Vision of National e-Governance Plan is “Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.”
2.2.2 Common Services Centres (CSC) Implementation Status The Government has approved the Common Services Centres (CSC) Scheme in September 2006 for providing support for establishing 100,000 Common Services Centres in 600,000 villages of India. As on 31st July 2011, a total of 96,163 CSCs have been rolled out in thirty three States/UTs. 100% CSCs have been rolled out in 12 (Twelve) States (Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura).
240 The various G2C Services offered are: Agricultural services, RTI Services, NREGA MIS Data Entry service, Postal Products, Land Records, Issuance of Birth and Death Certificates, Utility Services, Electoral Services, Transport Services, Grievances, e-District Services, etc. Financial Inclusion has started in the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya.
2.2.3 India Portal
India Portal is a Mission Mode Project in the integrated service category under the NeGP. This Portal is envisaged to be a unified portal that will provide ‘single window access’ to information and services to be electronically delivered from all state sector institutions and organizations.
2.2.4 Open Technology Centres (OTC)
The overall vision of OTC is to facilitate adoption of Open Technologies in e- Governance for strategic applications and services and also to offer various knowledge- based Services & Products effectively. It enables e-Governance Services to reach vast majority of Citizens effectively, even if they live in remote rural areas.
2.2.5 India Development Gateway
India Development Gateway (InDG) is a nation-wide initiative, supported by DIT and executed by C-DAC, Hyderabad. InDG facilitates rural empowerment through provision of credible information products and services in local languages that respond to the real and strategic needs of the unreached especially women and poor. InDG is currently offering the following content related services and products. Region specific content in 6 sectors, viz., Agriculture, Health, Primary Education, Social Welfare, Rural Energy and e-Governance in 8 regional languages. Value added Services like Ask an Expert, Dynamic Market Information, Buyer Seller Platform, Real Time Weather Forecast, E-Learning courses, etc. Multilingual Multimedia products, training for kiosk operators, etc.
2.2.6 National Knowledge Network
On 25th March 2010 the Government approved the establishment of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) at an outlay of 5990 crore, to be implemented by NIC over a period of 10 years. The objective of the National Knowledge Network is to bring together all the stakeholders in Science, Technology, Higher Education, Research & Development, and Governance. A total of 384 links have been allocated to the Institutions. Out of this, a total of 252 connections to the Institutions are operational. A total of 78 Core links have been allocated, out of which 65 core links have been commissioned and operational. NKN Point of Presence (POPs) at Mumbai and Bangaluru are operational.
241 2.2.7 Technology Development in Indian Languages
To enable wide proliferation of ICT in Indian languages, the Department has taken a major initiative to make available Software tools & fonts in various Indian languages freely to the general public. Software tools & fonts for 22 constitutionally recognized Indian Languages have been released in public domain for free mass usage.
2.2.8 STPI: Incubation services
Department of Information Technology has been promoting growth of small and medium entrepreneurs by creating a conducive environment for software exports. Towards this end Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has been promoting SMEs and their cause by offering Incubation services, Organizing events, Sponsoring/Co-sponsoring events, Participation in events, human resource development and exports promotion efforts. STPI has been providing incubation facilities to start-up units at its various centers. This has been of immense help to start up companies and entrepreneurs.
2.2.9 Digital Library
The Department has taken the Digital Library Initiatives and as part of this, copyright free books, manuscripts, and theses, etc., have been digitized. Around 160 Million pages of data have been digitized under Digital Library Initiatives of DIT. Most of the digitized data has been web enabled on Digital Library of India web site - http://www.dli.ernet.in/
2.2.10 IT for Masses
“IT for Masses” is a Plan Scheme of DIT. It was introduced in the Tenth Five Year Plan and continuing in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Under this scheme, project proposals of various States Govt. / UTs and autonomous societies of the Department were considered for financial assistance. Projects are provided grant-in-aid for Training, Infrastructure creation and Entrepreneurship development in the field of IT for empowering Women and SC/ST communities. Approximately 2.5 lakh women and 30,000 SC/ST have benefited so far from this scheme and 51 Projects have been implemented in 25 States/UTs.
2.2.11 Human Resource Development
The Department of Information Technology through DOEACC Society has initiated projects for setting up Regional Institutes for e-Learning and Information Technology (RIELIT) at Kohima (Nagaland), Agartala (Tripura); and DOEACC Centres at Shillong (Meghalaya), Gangtok (Sikkim) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh). These institutes/centers are aimed to create skilled manpower in the area of Computer Science and Information Technology and related disciplines for making available
242 industry ready professionals and also cater to the needs of the respective states and in the North-Eastern region. A Scheme for Manpower Development for the Software Export Industry had been initiated under which various projects are being implemented. As per the National Skill Development Policy, a target of 10 million manpower to be skilled in ICTE sector out of the over all target of 500 million skilled manpower to be trained by 2022 was assigned to DIT. It was felt that ICT basic skills are required in all the sectors and this skilled population may also require IT literacy. Hence IT Mass literacy activity has been initiated.
Vocational Centers for Skill Creation for the Children with Disabilities: 20 ICT Vocational Centers in National Capital Region (NCR) and TamilNadu for training the physically challenged children were set up in Phase-I (2008-09). The less privileged children in the proximity of these centers have learnt ICT skills enabling them to seek employment and earn livelihood.
2.2.12 DOEACC Society
The Society has 15 Centres and is engaged both in the Formal & Non- Formal Education courses ranging from M. Tech to short-term in the area of IECT besides development of Industry oriented quality education and training.
2.2.13 C-DAC
C-DAC has been at the forefront of IT revolution, constantly building capacities in emerging/enabling technologies and innovating and leveraging its expertise, caliber and skill-sets to develop and deploy IT products and solutions for different sectors.
Software Technologies including FOSS: The agenda of developing eco-system for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) was progressed. Deployment of BOSS at schools across the country was initiated.
Health Informatics: Network of leading hospitals established with ‘Sanjeevani’ (e.g. PGI, AIIMS,SGPGI, IGMC, PGI Rohtak, SCB Cuttak). Telemedicine Networks established in Punjab (19 sites), Himachal (21 sites). ‘e-Sanjeevani’ application launched on CSC on June 2009. Deployment of Telemedicine solutions for eight hospitals and Cancer Institute (WIA) Adyar, Chennai has been completed. The network is currently being used for Tele-consultation and Tele-Education activities.
2.2.14 Media Lab Asia
Media Lab Asia works on the paradigm of collaborative research in the task of developing relevant and sustainable technologies and bringing them to the daily lives of people. Media Lab Asia’s application development is focused on use of ICT for healthcare, education, livelihood generation, empowerment of the disabled and
243 providing rural connectivity. Many of these products and solutions have been deployed in the field.
2.2.15 Development of North-Eastern Region
In view of the Government focus on development of North-Eastern Region, it has been requested by the Planning Commission to earmark at least 10 per cent of the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the North-Eastern States. In the Annual Plan 2011- 12 (BE) of DIT, the earmarked Outlay for North-East States is Rs. 300 Crore.
2.2.16 SCSP and TSP
Planning Commission has earmarked Plan outlay under SCSP/TSP for 2011-12 as below:- For SCSP: 2 % of Annual Plan outlay of DIT.
For TSP: 6.7% of Annual Plan outlay of DIT.
As per these recommendations, the Scheme wise earmarking under SCSP & TSP are as below:-
Sl. Scheme SCSP TSP No. BE 2011-2012 BE 2011-2012 (Rupees in crores) (Rupees in crores) 1 National Informatics Centre (NIC) 22.62 67.86 2 E-Governance 21.75 92.42 3 National Knowledge Network 7.50 22.50 4 IT for Masses (Gender, SC/ST) 5.58 7.37 Manpower Development (Incl. Skill 2.55 10.85 5 Development in IT) 6 Total 60.00 201.00
3. Private Sector Initiatives
The private sector and community based organizations (CBOs) have taken many initiates for promotion of e-Inclusion in the areas of computer literacy, internet proliferation, rural BPOs, agri-marketing, etc. Various studies / reports have documented the contribution of private sector and CBOs.
4. The Global Scenario
4.1 The Lisbon Strategy
In March 2000 and in response to new challenges of globalization and technology, the EU set out a strategy based on a consensus among Member States to
244 become by 2010 the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.
The Lisbon Strategy covered a range of policies that promote direct action through scientific research, education, vocational training, ICT accessibility, jobs improvement and environmental sustainability.
4.2 i2010: A European Information Society for Growth and Employment
The i2010 policy framework was launched by the European Commission in June 2005 to address the progression and development of the Information Society and the media. Adopted under the renewed Lisbon Strategy, the i2010 initiative promotes an open and competitive digital economy which emphasizes ICT as a driver of inclusion and better quality of life.
4.3 Riga Declaration
At the 2006 Riga Ministerial Conference the Riga Declaration was issued, proposing to halve the digital divide by 2010. EU Ministers adopted a Declaration on e- Inclusion in response to the challenges experienced as ICT services are increasingly accessed by electronic means.
The Riga Declaration places a strong emphasis on 'cross-cutting' issues such as current enforcement, standard development and implementation of the Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines.
For e-Inclusion development, the Riga Declaration identifies disabled people, less developed regions, lower education groups, older people, unemployed people and women.
In November 2007, the European Commission adopted the European i2010 Initiative on e-Inclusion Communication to raise awareness, demonstrate progress and reinforce commitment to the Riga Declaration through a strategic framework for action.
4.4 European e-inclusion policy
e-inclusion features prominently in the Digital Agenda for Europe adopted by the European Commission in May 2010. Under Pillar 6 (Enhancing digital literacy, skills and inclusion) of the Digital Agenda, the Commission proposes a series of measures to promote take-up of digital technologies by potentially disadvantaged groups, such as elderly, less-literate, low-income persons. Improving access for people with disability is another policy action set by the Digital Agenda.
An important part of the e-inclusion agenda is also tacking demographic ageing with the help of ICT. Under Pillar 7 (ICT-enabled benefits for EU society) the
245 Commission will reinforce the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme to allow older people and persons with disabilities to live independently and be active in society. e-Inclusion is closely related to European policies on social inclusion, education and culture, regional development, innovation, industry and internal market.
4.5 Millennium Development Goals
The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), from 20-22 September 2010, concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty goals by the year 2015. Target 18 of goal 8 mentions the following: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technologies. In addition, ICT can play an important role in facilitating and accelerating the achievement of other MDGs too.
Various countries in the World have taken initiatives on e-Inclusion. Examples of two countries, namely Mauritius and Lithuania, are given in Annexure-I.
5. Current State of Digital Divide in India
ICT infrastructure is the backbone of modern society. It is the biggest enabler of change and process reforms with minimum resistance. India is one of the countries where telecommunication development activities have gained momentum in the past decade or so. However, internet penetration has been more modest, though it has been growing steadily and the magnitude of digital divide is significant between rural and urban India.
5.1 Teledensity
Far from being a lifestyle product, Mobiles have now become a necessity. It has penetrated even to the rural areas of India to a good extent. Over and above with the STD rates and the call rates reducing day-by-day and new competitors entering, the mobile market has flung open high growth prospects. Globally in terms of mobile subscriptions, India is the world's second largest wireless market after China. It is the fastest growing, and has amongst the lowest tariffs in the world.
This growth of the sector can be clearly attributed to the favourable and improved regulatory structure, declining handset prices and innovative pre paid tariff structure.
The total telephone subscribers in India as on June, 2011 is 885.99 million, which translates to a teledensity of 73.97. Out of the total telephone subscribers, wire line subscribers are 34.29 million (teledensity of 2.86) and wireless subscribers are 851.70 million (teledensity of 71.11). These huge numbers, however, disguise a disturbing reality, which is the enormous variation within India. The rural telephone subscribers are 298.05 million which reflects teledensity of 35.60. However, the urban telephone subscribers are 587.94 million which indicates a teledensity of 163.13. Many
246 of the less developed states have state-wise average penetration rates of below 20 per cent.
Clearly, there is huge divide between mobile phone users in urban and rural areas, with the overall rural penetration remaining far below the mobile density in urban areas.
5.2 Internet
As per the Internet World Stats data source, the Internet Penetration in Asia by 31st March 2011 is 23.8% population. The world average is 30.2% and the rest of world is 38.4%. The Internet World Stats places India in 2nd position among 35 countries and regions in Asia with Internet user base of 100 million of users. The Internet users in China are 477 million. The broadband subscribers as on June 2011 are 12.32 million.
5.3 e-Readiness Assessment of the States/UTs
e-Readiness is a multidimensional concept that measures a State’s ability to participate in an increasingly networked world. It can be viewed as the ability of the States/UTs to pursue value creation opportunities facilitated by ICT and their readiness to use technology skillfully at the level of the individual, business and Government.
In the ranking of States/UTs by their e-Readiness, the Report “India: e-Readiness Assessment Report 2008 for States/Union Territories” differentiates between different levels:
Leaders-Karnataka, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh Aspiring Leaders –West Bengal, Kerala, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab. Expectants – Andaman and Nicobar, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Orissa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar. Average Achievers – Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Rajasthan. Below Average Achievers – Tripura, Nagaland, Puducherry, Meghalaya. Least Achievers – Manipur, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu.
5.4 Digital Divide From the above, it is clear that while India has made good progress and many of the numbers – in absolute terms – are impressive, there is a serious divide between rural and urban, as also amongst States. These divides are further exacerbated if one looks at digital access on the basis of income and gender.
247 6. Constraints
There are some serious constraints which inhibit the use of ICT in the country. Amongst these are the following:
6.1 e-Access
Connectivity is a serious problem in rural India. Even with the expansion of the mobile telephony network, many areas have poor or no connectivity. This is particularly so in more remote and hilly regions of the country, especially in the North East. Limited Internet accessibility: In rural India, it is almost non-existent, with only 1.2 per cent people having Internet access. The picture in urban areas is better only in comparison, with access available to a paltry 12 per cent.
Limited Bandwidth: There is a growing need for more bandwidth to support the spectacular growth in cellular telephony. Besides, catering to the sheer increase in the number of subscribers, greater bandwidth is also needed for value added and better quality service. In this context, broadband is yet to make a mark in India. The lack of broadband severely constrains a host of possible services, including health, education and training.
6.2 Infrastructure
Infrastructure barriers: Electricity is the most basic condition for using ICTs and many studies have established the relationship between the level of electrification and digital divide. Rural India has low electricity coverage. Almost 10 per cent villages of India have no electricity. In “electrified” villages too, actual availability is often limited to a few hours a day.
6.3 Skill
Literacy & skill barriers: Improved training and skill development has to be a critical part of an employment strategy. Both Tenth and Eleventh Plan noted the large gap between the number of new entrants to the labour force and inadequate availability of seats in vocational and professional training institutes. Basic computer literacy must, in today’s world, be regarded as an essential skill for all. Unfortunately, its absence adds one more barrier to ICT access and use.
6.4 Price Barriers
Economic barriers: As per ITU Report “Measuring the Information society 2010”, India ranks 81 in ICT Price Basket in the year 2009. High costs, relative to income, make this a very serious constraint.
Content barriers: Relevant content and its availability in local language are both major barriers. For example, as per the MTA Document of The Eleventh Five Year Plan by Planning Commission, the scheme which have
248 not picked up after initiation during Eleventh Five Year Plan is e-health (including tele-medicine)
External Factors: Technological Developments such as Cloud Computing and Open Source Software, Indian language software tools and contents are some times barriers, though these also present positive opportunities..
7. Important Stakeholders
State Governments/ UTs. SC, ST, gender and other weaker sections. Differently-abled persons. People who are deprived from ICT opportunities. State Governments/ UTs in the North East. Projects Implementing Agencies. Ministries/ Departments in Infrastructure and Social Sector including – Department of Telecommunication, Woman and Child Empowerment, Tribal Affairs, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Minority Affairs, DONER etc. Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
8. SWOT Analysis
8.1 Strength
e-Infrastructure and e-Services under NeGP, NIC and NKN; and planned broadband programs of DOT and those of MHRD through NMICTE.. Indian IT-ITES Industry. Availability of IT Skilled human Resource. High wireless teledensity • World’s lowest call rates (1-2 US Cents) • Fastest growth in wireless phone subscribers (about 14mn per month) • Total wireless subscribers as on June 2011 is 851.70 million which means 71.11 wireless teledensity. Growing number of e-Services such as Banking, Travel, job portals etc. Plan Schemes such as Electronics in Health and Telemedicine, Technology development for Indian Languages, IT for masses, E-Governance, DOEACC, Manpower Development, STPI, CDAC and other R&D organizations.
8.2 Weaknesses
Lack of focus on e-Inclusion in IT Policy policies of State Governments/ UTs Lack of legal policy framework for remote healthcare and consultation and electronic health records Lack of standards for Information Systems, Data management, security, software localization and interoperability Poor availability of e-Content Poor availability of e-Services
249 9. Challenges and Opportunities Today, India has 11 million citizens in the high-income segment, 58 million in the middle-income segment and 1,090 million in the low-income group*. If India‘s GDP continues to grow at 7 per cent a year, in 2020 the number of citizens in the high- income segment will rise to 52 million and in the middle-income segment to 372 million. The number of households in the low-income group will drop to 933 million. As a result, India has the potential to add around 4 million citizens every year to the high-income segment and 26 million citizens every year to the middle-income segment up to 2020.
ICT-enabled solutions in healthcare, education, financial services and public services can drive socio-economic inclusion faster, cheaper and more effectively than traditional models. To achieve growth, India needs to address demand supply gaps in four key areas - Healthcare, Financial Services, Education & Skill development and Public Services.
* ‘Report of Task Force to suggest measures to stimulate the growth of IT, IITES and Electronics Hardware manufacturing industry in India’, pages 35-38.
9.1 Challenges and Opportunity for ICT enabled Solutions – Financial Inclusion
ICT enabled solutions can overcome challenges faced by traditional solutions in financial Services.
Challenges ICT-enabled solutions Higher credit risk and Unique ID for all citizens to track information at fraud individual level Database on credit history of citizens with payment based sharing of data and subscription based access. ICT-enabled warehousing and supply chain management systems enabling use of warehouse receipts as collateral and securitization of loan Prohibitive Mobile banking and remittance distribution cost Internet kiosks for distribution of selected financial products Low-cost ATM Inadequate operational Standardized MIS scale economies Shared services back-office infrastructure Mobile payment solutions to reduce cash and manual effort between MFIs and SHGs and lenders Structural ICT solutions, such as an effective MIS, can reduce inefficiencies in costs and increase transparency industry Source: NASSCOM-McKinsey Perspective 2020
250 9.2 Challenges and Opportunity for ICT enabled Solutions –Educational Inclusion
India has made significant progress in education with respect to access and enrolment in the past decade, largely driven by the government flagship programme in elementary education - the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The number of schools increased by 40 per cent between 2002-2003 and 2006-2007, approximately 98 per cent of habitations have access to a primary school and 86 per cent have access to an upper primary school. The Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) at the primary level stood at 92.75 per cent in 2006- 2007 compared to 84.5 per cent in 2005-2006. Approximately 1.5 million teachers have been added to the system between 2002-2003 and 2006-2007.
Five challenges remain in education in India: performance, teacher capacity, teacher quality, administration and private participation. ICT-enabled solutions can address four of these five challenges.
Performance: Standardized online performance assessment of students will help in monitoring and assessing the performance of students. Graded questions of progressively increasing complexity and a focus on understanding and analytical thinking rather than on memorizing facts can be created centrally and administered at rural school level.
Teacher capacity: Virtual classroom settings in which a teacher delivers online coaching to students in an individual or group setting can help increase teacher capacity. Students can be given access to CDs containing recorded lectures by faculty.
Quality: Teacher training by a master teacher through interactive and instructor- led methodology will help increase the quality of teachers. The quality of content can be improved by providing interactive, multimedia-based content.
Administration: An effective MIS can help improve school administration. Also, information availability at the country level will help in planning access to education for all.
9.3 Role of ICT for inclusive growth in the area of Healthcare
ICT solutions can enable scaling up of public health services without the necessary investments in physical infrastructure and medical staff, especially in rural areas. A McKinsey analysis suggests that less than 10 percent of demand for outpatient visits in rural India requires face-to-face interactions with a doctor. More than 90 percent can be addressed through a combination of trained paramedics and ICT enabled intelligent solutions. This will also reduce the cost of consultation and the direct and indirect cost for the patient to visit the doctor.
Telemedicine: Local paramedics capture the images including X-rays of the patient and transmit them to a central hub where the specialists analyze the information and prescribe treatment through interactive video-conferencing.
251 Preventive disease surveillance: Local health-workers can use mobile phones to collect and transmit data on local disease conditions regularly and enable reduced cycle time for epidemic monitoring and prevention.
Electronic health records.
Call centre to provide advisory services.
9.4 Challenges and Opportunity for ICT enabled Solutions – Public distribution system, Government to citizen services and Citizen Identification
ICT can overcome challenges faced by traditional models.
Area Challenge ICT-enabled solution Public distribution Ineffective distribution Targeted distribution of system system leading to leakage food using proper (only 42% of total identification disbursement reaches poor Automated households) warehousing and inventory management Government to Significant time taken for E-government citizen services processes such as tax solutions, e.g., online payment, land registration land registration, filing Lack of transparency of tax return Community service centres with broadband connectivity to provide all government to citizen services Citizen No single identification card Unique ID for all Identification currently – multiple ids citizens widely differing in quality and purpose exist today (e.g., ration card, PAN card) Source: NASSCOM-McKinsey Perspective 2020
India has already experienced multiple ICT-enabled solutions across all the four areas, most of which have been successful in the geographies in which they are implemented. These solutions need to be scaled up to the national level.
Mobile and broadband and Internet connectivity are critical to increase the reach of ICT enabled solutions. Mobile connectivity will allow the rural population to access call centres and use telemedicine, mobile banking and public services. Broadband and Internet connectivity will enable kiosk-based delivery of healthcare, education and public services.
252 10. 12th Five Year Plan
The Approach to Twelfth Five Year Plan has set the goal “Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth”. Going by this broad objective of the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the strategic plan on e-Inclusion aims at more Inclusive Growth enabled by e-Inclusion to ensure – social justice and alleviation of poverty to the extent possible with the help of ICT during the Twelfth Five Year Plan.
10.1 Vision
“Towards an e-inclusive society – Charting inclusive progress, breaking barriers”
10.2 Mission
Using ICT as a driver of inclusive development, with a strong focus on disadvantaged groups and less-developed regions. Promotion of equal access to ICT, digital content and services, and the use of these by all. Promoting technical and content-related skills for using ICT. Promoting pluralism, cultural identity and linguistic diversity in the digital environment in order to integrate everyone. Promoting quality of life through ICT.
10.3 Objectives
E-inclusive services – providing, through ICT, critical health, livelihood, training, education and citizen services to create a more inclusive society e-Accessibility - make ICT accessible to all, meeting a wide sections of people's needs, in particular any special needs. e-Competences - equip citizens with the knowledge, skills and lifelong learning approach needed to increase social inclusion, employability and enrich their lives. Socio-Cultural e-Inclusion - enable minorities, migrants and marginalised young people to fully integrate into communities and participate in society by using ICT. Differently-abled - Differently-abled people to fully participate in the economy and society, continue independent lifestyles and enhance their quality of life. Geographical e-Inclusion - increase the social and economic well being of people in rural, remote and economically disadvantaged areas with the help of ICT.
10.4 Strategy
The Strategy for the 12th Plan is to be an enabling and empowering strategy, with key interventions as necessary, and a focus on disadvantaged groups and identified backward areas.
253 10.5 Components of e-Inclusion
During the 12th Plan, e-Inclusion will focus on implementing the following components:
Using ICT for skill development Training for IT Skill Development IT infrastructure creation primarily at schools/colleges Development of entrepreneurial skills in the identified target group Capacity Building Development of electronic products, software tools and e-services. Creation of e-Inclusion centres for development and deployment of IT products and solutions for differently-abled persons. Conducting studies and advocacy of e-Inclusion initiatives. Content creation in Indian languages. Application development by NIC and others for various schemes of Central and State Governments targeting BPL households such as NREGA, PDS, IGNOAP, etc. Develop appropriate systems and software for applications in areas like health, education, training and governance, which will facilitate inclusive development.
10.6 Target Groups
In order to create the maximum impact, there is need to focus on specific target groups for e-Inclusion. The identified ones are SC, ST, minorities, gender, differently- abled, Senior Citizens and BPL households.
10.7 Target Areas
Like focussed target groups, there is need to concentrate efforts in a few selected geographical areas so as to bring about greater equity and inclusivity. The identified areas are:
North East Region SC and ST concentration areas i.e. in the villages, blocks and districts having more than 40% of SC/ST population respectively. The backward districts.
11.8 Monitorable Targets and Evaluation
A study team will be constituted to examine and set specific, outcome-realted, monitorable targets in consultation with all the stakeholders. It will also identify ICT indicators for e-Inclusion and propose policy and programme evaluation mechanism for the projects in the 12th Five Year Plan.
254 11. Institutional Framework
The institutional framework for implementation of e-Inclusion initiatives will consist of organizations and stake holders from Government, Industry and academia and research labs. Consultations meetings will be held with all the stake holders to assess the needs and opportunities for e-Inclusion. Institutional framework for initiation, appraisal and monitoring of specific projects under e-Inclusion will be as per existing guidelines of DIT such as Working Group & PRSGs. Involvement of State Governments, civil society organisations and Private Sector will also be targeted for effective promotion of e-Inclusion. To create the maximum impact and to have an appropriate institutional framework, it is recommended that e-Inclusion be made a major programme, with specific projects to be executed in mission mode (by concerned Ministries or State government/Local authorities. The NeGP framework could serve as the model for this.
12. Funding
Earmarking of allocations in Plan Schemes of DIT for various target groups and areas will be done as per the guidelines of Planning Commission.
As per the guidelines of Planning Commission.
• For SCSP: 2 % of Annual Plan outlay of DIT for various schemes.
• For TSP: 6.7% of Annual Plan outlay of DIT for various schemes.
• For NE Region: 10% of Annual Plan outlay of DIT for various schemes.
Under the Plan Scheme - IT for Masses, fund requirement during the 12th Five Year Plan period is estimated to be Rs. 160 Crore.
13. Summary Recommendations
The Strategy for the 12th Plan is to be an enabling and empowering strategy, with key interventions as necessary, and a focus on disadvantaged groups and identified backward areas. In order to create the maximum impact, there is need to focus on specific target groups for e-Inclusion. The identified ones are SC, ST, minorities, gender, differently-abled, Senior Citizens and BPL households. The target areas identified for implementation of e-Inclusion initiatives are North East Region; SC and ST concentration areas i.e. in the villages, blocks and districts having more than 40% of SC/ST population respectively; and the backward districts. Initiate key programmes and projects in identified components of e-Inclusion as part of a major government programme modelled along the lines of NeGP..
255 A study team will be constituted to examine and set the monitorable targets in consultation with all the stakeholders. It will also identify ICT indicators for e- Inclusion and propose policy and programme evaluation mechanism for the projects in the 12th Five Year Plan. Identify schemes of DIT for earmarking plan allocations under SCSP and TSP and for NE Region as per guidelines of Planning Commission.
256 Annexure-I Country Initiatives e-Inclusion in Mauritius
The Government of Mauritius (GoM) recognized early that its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is important to future development of the country. GoM sees ICT as a tool to support business processes and information flow within and across economic activities, leading to increase in value added at the national level.
The budget 2008-09 provided for the setting-up of a National e-Inclusion Foundation on a joint public private partnership. The object of the Foundation is to facilitate access to ICT tools and raise awareness on their economic and social benefits, train users and trainers, and collaborate with NGOs to reach the poor and those at the margin of the digital society. To achieve the above objectives, the Foundation will donate refurbished PCs pre-installed with Microsoft free licences to 20,000 poor families within the next five years. Another 10,000 PCs will be given to NGOs for the setting-up of IT classes for the poor. The Foundation will also operate an NGO IT Academy with the help of Microsoft for free classes in IT to be delivered specifically to IT teachers willing to acquire more precise knowledge, as well as to the staff of NGOs and to trainers.
Other budgetary measures regarding ICT comprise:
Lowering of telecommunications tariffs; Extension of DBM computer loan scheme to include Net PCs from Mauritius Telecom for inexpensive computers costing Rs 7,000 through concessionary loans over 5 years for the full cost of the equipment and three year's worth of internet; and Development of hotspots for educational institutions and public places and expansion of IT school programme by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with Mauritius Telecom. e-Inclusion in Lithuania
There is a certain interest from the government bodies to promote e-inclusion in Lithuania. The specific body of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania – Information Society Development Committee – is engaged in this sphere. E-inclusion covers the programs related to training and education. The main goal is to ensure that people can use information technologies and telecommunication, be more flexible, and adjust to changing circumstances. The programs of training include computerization of schools and libraries, creation of public internet access spots, digital community projects, raising the qualification of information technologies educators, use of open code, promotion of remote studies, and development of qualification of the unemployed people through the use of ICT. Public administration area also includes several e-inclusion oriented programs: development of computer literacy of civil servants, integration of disabled persons in information society. The main target of the latter program is fulfillment of Web Accessibility Initiative.
257 APPENDICES
Working Group on Information Technology for the Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) Terms of reference
1. To review existing policies and evolve an approach for the Information Technology sector for the Twelfth Plan keeping in view the Strategic Plan of DIT for next 5 years. 2. To examine the organizational structure under the Department of Information Technology and suggest measures to make it more relevant to the emerging needs. 3. To evolve a pan India Enterprise Framework for services delivery on the basis of matured projects of NeGP and MMPs and to leverage the emerging technology trends in Cloud Computing and linking up with the UIDAI for on line ID services. 4. To extend the accessibility of e-enable services by linking the Banking correspondents and financial institutions to the citizens through mobile and to reposition CSCs as Bharat Nirman Common Services Center in order to cover all Panchayats of the Country. 5. To drive the National e-Governance Programme with all stake holders for implementing the Mission Mode Projects in a time bound manner and put in place the requisite infrastructure for providing web enabled e-governance services before 2017. 6. To assess and project year wise capacity, export and production potential for the different sub-sectors of electronics and IT industry taking into account domestic and international markets. 7. To identify gaps in existing skill sets in different ITES – BPO/KPO verticals and suggest programs for bridging them through formal and non-formal sectors. 8. To evolve a policy and make specific recommendations for achieving the following during the Plan period a. Create one million jobs in the sector. b. Establish ten world class manufacturing facilities in collaboration with MNCs in the country. 9. To promote the domestic manufacturing in electronic hardware sector and formulate Special Incentive Package scheme II (SIPS II) in order to provide competitive edge to IT-ITeS and electronics industry by pursuing the recommendations of the Task Force 2009. 10. To make India as a leading hub of innovation in cost-effective technology, services and process reinvention by collaboratively transforming the eco-system and creating enablers of innovation. 11. To enhance collaborative research between academics, industry and R&D institutions and enhance the research capabilities in electronics, information technology and IT. 12. To develop programs to facilitate software product development through active participation of industry and academia with adequate incentive framework. 13. To implement the initiative of Prime Minister’s National Skill Development Policy by skilling 10 million youth in IT sector and launching courses/training programmes in order to address the dynamism of market needs, initiative for faculty/master trainer development etc., through PPP. 14. To interconnect all Universities, Libraries, Laboratories, Hospitals and Agricultural institutions on National Knowledge Network and leverage NKN to connect every village on OFC to facilitate GIS based location specific planning and e-governance.
258 15. To promote the development of country-specific applications and facilitation of content development specific for rural and semi-urban areas for the broadband access in realizing its positive impact on infrastructure and economic development. 16. To follow a holistic approach in order to secure Indian Cyber Space by including legal framework, R&D in different aspects of cyber security, security practices compliance and assurance, international cooperation and training. 17. To assess the impact of IT sector and suggest measures to improve use of IT in various fields for increasing productivity, bringing in socioeconomic development and services like e-medicine, e-education, e-entertainment especially to the rural areas. 18. To define deliverables as National goals for the sector for Twelfth Five Year Plan period as well as Annual Plans, and formulate guidelines for deployment of resources optimally for relating outlays to the specified outcomes. 19. To evolve monitorable targets, implementation mechanism (including financial resources) and suggest mechanism to measure and track the targets. 20. Any other item that the Working Group deems necessary to be included for making recommendations useful.
Composition
1. Secretary, Department of Information Technology -Chairman
Members
2. Secretary, Department of Telecommunication 3. Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion 4. Secretary, Department of Commerce 5. Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology 6. Secretary, Department of Secondary & Higher Education 7. Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs 8. AS & FA /Director (Finance), Department of Information Technology 9. GC (e-Gov), Department of Information Technology 10. DG NIC, Department of Information Technology 11. DG CERT-In, Department of Information Technology 12. Group Coordinator (IC& IP), Department of Information Technology 13. Group Coordinator (E-learning & E-Infrastructure), Department of Information Technology 14. Group Coordinator (R&D in IT), Department of Information Technology 15. Group Coordinator (R&D in Electronics), Department of Information Technology 16. Group Coordinator (CC&BT), Department of Information Technology 17. Adviser (Industry) Planning Commission 18. Senior Adviser, CIT&I, Planning Commission 19. Economic Adviser, Department of Information Technology Member Secretary
20. Dr. D N Reddy, Vice Chancellor, JNTU, Hyderabad 21. CEO, NISG, Hyderabad 22. Prof. Sadagopan, IIIT, Bangalore
259 23. Dr. Gautam Barua, Director, IIT, Guwahati 24. Shri Sameer Kochhar, SKOCH Consultancy, Gurgaon 25. Shri Saurabh Srivastava, President TiE, New Delhi 26. President, MAIT 27. President, ELCINA 28. President, NASSCOM 29. President, TEMA 30. Director General, CII 31. Director General, FICCI 32. President, ISA, Bangalore 33. President, CETMA 34. Chairman, ESC, New Delhi 35. Secretary General, ASSOCHAM 36. President, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Mumbai
260 e-Government
Terms of Reference:
(i) To review existing policies and evolve an approach for e-Governance keeping in view the Strategic Plan of DIT for next 5 years.
(ii) To examine the organizational structure under the Department of Information Technology and suggest measures to make it more relevant to the emerging needs To examine the organizational structure under the e-Governance Division of Department of Information Technology and suggest measures to make it more relevant to the emerging needs.
(iii) To evolve a pan India Enterprise Framework for services delivery on the basis of matured projects of NeGP and MMPs and to leverage the emerging technology trends in Cloud Computing and linking up with UIDAI for online ID services To suggest strategies to reduce duplicate effort for building similar e- Governance applications by different Departments and States by leveraging the advancement in technologies such as cloud based platform, GIS and enterprise architecture for integrating services across departments in order to be able to create a unified Government. To put in place a policy framework and fiscal incentives for promotion of innovation and for project preparation fund in e-Governance To create a framework for putting data in public domain To create a framework for data management and analytics with the objective to provide strategies for leveraging value of date through data archiving , data mining, data privacy, data de-duplication To make specific recommendations to promote adoption of common standards for reference by the administrative units To make specific recommendations to create an institutional mechanism to lay down and enforce adherence to laid down standards
261 (iv) To extend the accessibility of e-enable services by linking the Banking correspondents and financial institutions to the citizens through mobile and to reposition CSCs as Bharat Nirman Common Service Centre in order to cover all Panchayats of the Country To assess the status of availability and adoption of e-services and suggest measures for increasing the same by promoting mobile based technologies To suggest measures to consolidate and converge the front end kiosks being setup by multiple Departments To suggest measures to improve the viability of service delivery access points
(v) To drive the National e-Governance Programme with all stakeholders for implementing MMPs in a time-bound manner and put in place the requisite infrastructure for providing web enabled services before 2017 To suggest new Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) that can be added to the NeGP Umbrella in sectors such as Health, Education etc. To review the availability and utilization of the core infrastructure created under NeGP and to work out the modalities for technological upgradation and capacity enhancement, based on the needs and the Twelve Strategic challenges identified for the Twelfth Plan To suggest measures for sustainability and continuation of completed/on the verge of completion infrastructure projects
(vi) To follow a holistic approach in order to secure Indian Cyber Space by including legal framework, R&D in different aspects of cyber security, security practices compliance and assurance, international cooperation and training To suggest measures to create a safe cyber world and to make e- governance applications safe and secure To make specific recommendation on effective anti-piracy, data protection, IPR, copyright laws
(vii) To assess the impact of IT sector and Suggest measure to improve use of IT in various fields for increasing productivity, bringing in socioeconomic
262 development and services like e-medicine, e-education, e-entertainment especially to the rural areas. To suggest ways to use ICT for citizen engagement and empowerment with emphasis in the areas of health, education, food security, and allied areas, financial inclusion and skills upgradation To preserve and utilize knowledge in areas of traditional medicine, culture, arts and sciences To review penetration of IT across sectors, identify sectors where the full potential of IT is not being leveraged and suggest measures to increase the penetration of IT in such sectors To review the adequacy of the capacity development efforts (including those of Government officials) and to identify areas to augment the same including strategies to improve the capacity of the citizens to leverage IT in their day to day lives. To benchmark Indian e-Governance practices with the rest of the World and suggest strategies to improve India’s e-Government ranking To suggest ways to promote international cooperation in the areas of e- Governance with a view to leverage India’s software capabilities for greater global footprint in the sector. To suggest measures to promote knowledge based society through the use of ICT
(viii) To define deliverables as National Goals for Twelfth Five Year Plan period as well as Annual Plans, and formulate guidelines for deployment of resources optimally for relating outlays to the specified outcomes To define deliverables of e-Governance project and make specific recommendation on guidelines for linking funding to achievement of outcomes. To define DIT's role in IT project deliverables and outcome based funding
(ix) To evolve monitorable targets, implementation mechanism (including financial resources) and suggest mechanism to measure and track targets
263 (x) Any other item that the Study Team deems necessary to be included for making recommendations useful
Composition
1 Sh. Rajeev Ratna Shah -Chairman
Members
2 Sh. R. S. Sharma, DG & Mission Director, UIDAI 3 Sh. S. R. Rao, Addl. Secretary, DOT 4 Dr. C. Chandramouli, RG & Census Commissioner 5 Sh. B. K. Gairola, DG, NIC 6 Dr. Amitabh Rajan, Addl. Secretary, DAR&PG 7 Sh. Shankar Aggarwal, Addl. Secretary, DIT 8 Dr. N. Vijayaditya, Controller of Certifying Authority 9 Sh. D. P. Dash, Addl. DG (S&DM), CBEC 10 Ms. Lekha Kumar, Commissioner, Income Tax 11 Sh. A. K. Dash, Dy. DG (PMU), Dept of Posts 12 Sh. Sanjeev Gupta, JS, Dept of Agriculture & Cooperation 13 Sh. J. Satyanarayana Rao, Special Chief Secretary to CM, Andhra Pradesh 14 Sh. P. K. Jena, Comm.-cum-Secretary(IT), Orissa 15 Sh. Santosh Babu, MD, ELCOT, Tamil Nadu 16 Sh. D.P. Wahlang, Mission Director, NRHM & Commr/Secy.(IT), Meghalaya 17 Sh. Sanjay Malhotra, Secry (IT&C), Rajasthan 18 Sh. Rajeev Chawla, MD, Mysore Sales Intl.Ltd., Karnataka
Non-Official Members
19 Sh. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM 20 Sh. Sanjeev Mittal, CEO, NISG 21 Sh. Sandeep Nair, President, MAIT 22 Sh. Arvind Rao, Chairman/CEO, On Mobile 23 Sh. Kiran Karnik, Chairman, Satyam Computer Services 24 Sh. Mohandas Pai, Ex-Director, Infosys Technologies 25 Sh. Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman, CA Technologies 26 Sh. Anand Parthasarathy, Editor, IndiaTechOnline.com 27 Sh. S Gurumurthy, IT for Change 28 Sh. Ravi Gupta, CSDMS 29 Sh. Sameer Kochar, Skoch Foundation 30 Sh. Pankaj Pachauri, NDTV Special
264 31 Sh. Sandeep Pandey, ASHA Parivar 32 Sh. Narendra Ahuja, IT Research Academy, Media Labs Asia 33 Prof. Ashok Agarwal, CSI 34 Prof. S. Sadogopan, IIT, Bangalore 35 Sh. Ravi Pandit, Chairman, KPIT Cummins 36 Representative, ISA 37 Representative ASSOCHAM 38 Dr. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, DIT - Member Convener
265 e-Learning Terms of Reference
1. The e-Learning sub-group will cover the topics of HRD and Skill Development, Technology Development in Indian Languages, e-Learning Technologies and Digital Library Initiatives, e-Infrastructure, Internet Governance, National Knowledge Network, Activities of DOEACC, ERNET and NIXI.
2. To evolve strategies to become world leaders in providing highly skilled manpower for Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology (IECT) sectors.
3. Plan, assess and prepare a framework for manpower development by assessing the present and future needs of the industry including emerging areas in IECT related disciplines.
4. Strategy for collaboration between the industry and the academia would be worked out; this collaboration would not only look into the changing needs of the industry but also focus on R&D by harnessing the possibilities of the synergy between resources of industry and academia. The possibilities of Public Private Partnership (PPP) would be explored in detail.
5. To examine the existing infrastructure and constraints for developing high quality manpower and to recommend measures to meet the needs of the industry in the global perspective including strategies for continuing education for professionals.
6. To study the role of new educational technologies, e.g., Distance Education, Multimedia etc. and to recommend modalities for their integration in the present educational/training system. To suggest measures necessary to improve teaching of non- IECT subjects by using computers and the Internet for all students.
7. To make recommendations regarding the modalities for achieving mutually beneficial cooperation between educational institutions in IECT in the formal sector and those in the private sector.
8. To assess the impact of IECT sector and suggest measures to improve use of IECT in various fields for increasing productivity, bringing in socio-economic development and services like e-medicine, e-education, e-entertainment especially to the rural areas.
9. To assess the need of IECT infrastructure to fulfil the above goals including for inclusive growth, web accessibility for disadvantaged, Internet Governance etc.
10. Development of Technology for Indian Languages to enable the reach of e- governance services to the masses.
11. A Sub-sub-group for Electronics Hardware would be formed under the e-Learning Sub-group to suggest measures and formulate strategies in order to help India to grab the opportunity to become electronics hardware manufacturing hub to meet its domestic demands as well as to cater to the global market.
266 Composition
1. Prof. N. Balakrishnan, Associate Director, IISc., Bangalore - Chairman 2. Prof. S.V. Raghavan, Scientific Secretary to PSA - Co-Chairman
Members
3. Prof. D.N. Reddy, VC, JNTU, Hyderabad 4. Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT, Madras 5. Shri Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman, Rediff. 6. Prof. Rajeev Sanghal, IIIT Hyderabad 7. Prof. S. Sadagopan, Director, IIIT Bangalore 8. Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharya, IIT Bombay 9. Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, IIT Delhi 10. Prof. Mangala Sunder Krishnan, IIT Madras 11. Prof. N.J. Rao (Retd. IISc., Bangalore) presently IIIT Bangalore 12. Dr. H.K. Kaul, Director, Delnet 13. President ISPAI 14. Dr. Subho Ray, President IAMAI 15. Dr. Sandhya Chintala, NASSCOM 16. Shri Sandeep Nair, President MAIT 17. Shri Rajeev Malhotra, President TEMA 18. Dr. Y V Verma, President CETMA 19. Shri Pankaj Mahindroo, President ICA 20. President ISA 21. President ASSOCHAM 22. Shri Y S Mayya, CMD, ECIL 23. Shri Ashwani Kumar Datt, CMD, BEL 24. Dr B. K Gairola, DG, NIC 25. DG, CERT-IN 26. Shri N RaviShanker, GC (e-Learning/e-Infra & HCC) 27. Dr. Debasheesh Dutta, GC (R&D in IT) 28. Dr. Ajay Kumar GC (Hardware Manufacturing) 29. Shri T.K. Sarkar, R&D in Electronics 30. Prof. Rajat Moona, DG, CDAC, Pune 31. Shri N Mohan Ram, DG, ERNET, New Delhi 32. Dr. N. Valiwadekar, ED, DOEACC 33. Dr Govind, HOD (e-Infra & IG), DIT 34. Ms. Swarn Lata, HOD (HCC) 35. Shri A. K. Arora, HOD (EL) 36. Dr. B. K. Murthy, HOD (NKN, HRD & PEG) Member Convener
267 e-Security Terms of Reference 1. Deliberate on current status of cyber security preparedness in the country and various security measures in place 2. Define the scope of cyber security initiatives 3. Review the policies as per the Strategy Plan. 4. Identify potential strategies and initiatives (Action Plan) to address cyber security issues in a holistic manner to become Global leader (Legal framework, R&D, Security practices compliance and assurance, international cooperation, awareness, skill development and training). 5. Identify key priorities for implementation of action plan and deliverables during 12th plan. 6. Implementation plan 7. Institutional arrangement and Role of DIT
Composition 1. Shri N. Sitaram, DS & Former CC(R&D), DRDO - Chairman 2. Dr. Gulshan Rai, GC, DIT - Co-Chairman Members 3. Representative of Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt. of India 4. Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) 5. Director, CAIR, DRDO, Bangalore 6. Representative of Integrated Defense Services (IDS) 7. Representative of Department of Telecom 8. Representative of National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) 9. Representative of National Informatics Centre (NIC) 10. Director, Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology (IDBRT), Hyderabad 11. Representative of Ministry of Railways 12. DG CDAC 13. ED CDoT 14. Representative of NATGRID 15. Representative of CMD, ECIL 16. Prof. C E Veni Madhavan, IISc., Bangalore 17. Shri Vakul Sharma, Advocate, Supreme Court of India 18. Dr. K K Bajaj, DSCI 19, Representative of CII 20.Representative of ASSOCHAM 21. Representative of IAMAI 22. Representative of Symantec 23. Representative of Mcaffe 24. Representative of MAIT 25. Shri Sanjay Bahl, Microsoft 26. Representative of Asian School of Cyber Laws 27. Dr. P.S. Nageswara Rao, Director, DIT - Member Convener
Co-opted Member 28. Representative of NTRO
268 e-Industry –Electronics Hardware
Terms of Reference
1. To review existing policies and evolve an approach for the electronics sector for the Twelfth Plan keeping in view the Strategic Plan of DIT for next 5 years.
2. To evolve a policy and make specific recommendations for establishing ten world class manufacturing facilities in collaboration with MNCs in the country during Twelfth Plan period.
3. To assess and project year wise capacity, export and production potential for the different sub-sectors of electronics taking into account domestic and international markets.
4. To promote the domestic manufacturing in electronic hardware sector and formulate Special Incentive Package Scheme II (SIPS II) in order to provide competitive edge to IT-ITeS and electronics industry by pursuing the recommendations of the Task Force 2009.
5. To develop strategies to achieve progressively increasing value addition in domestic electronics hardware manufacturing.
6. To examine and put in place the policy package and incentives for setting up of semiconductor wafer fabs in the country and work out the implementation strategy.
7. To assess the adequacy of data on domestic production, consumption, import/export of electronics hardware sector.
8. To assess the requirement of mandating standards and adequacy of infrastructure for various electronics products and providing for their implementation/enforcement.
9. To suggest measures for creating a world class eco system and infrastructure for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Sector.
10. To assess and suggest specific measures required to create sustainable ecosystem for promotion of innovation, R&D and Indian IP in collaboration with industry, academia and Government, including providing support for start-ups and other innovations.
11. To suggest a coordinated, simplified and speedy decision making process for all issues relating to electronics hardware manufacturing.
12. To assess the requirement of human resources for achieving targeted growth of ESDM and developing strategies for creating the requisite skill base for the sector.
13. To suggest ways to create a globally recognisable “Made in India” brand for ESDM and communication strategies aligned with overall sectoral priorities.
14. To suggest ways to enhance export of electronics hardware and to study the impact of Free Trade Agreements/ Preferential Trade Agreements on the sector.
269 15. To suggest measures to promote the growth of semiconductor design and embedded software industry.
16. To suggest ways and measures to promote development of electronics hardware products/devices suitable for unique Indian requirements (low cost, local language support, low power consumption, ruggedized and suitable for prevailing climatic conditions).
17. To suggest ways and measures for mobilization of funding requirement of the ESDM Sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan.
18. To suggest measures for promoting manufacture of energy efficient Electronic Products and management of e-waste.
19. To suggest measures to leverage international collaboration for technology acquisition and attracting investments in high tech areas and leverage the Indian Diaspora in this regard.
20. To suggest ways and measures to engage public sector facilities and capabilities for strategic electronics.
Composition
1. Shri Ajai Chowdhry - Chairman Chairman, HCL Infosystems Ltd.
Members
2. Dr. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, DIT 3. Shri T.K. Sarkar, GC (R&D in Electronics), DIT 4. Dr. Debashis Dutta, GC (R&D in IT), DIT 5. Shri B.M. Baweja, GC (R&D in CC&BT), DIT 6. Shri Inderdeep Singh, MD, Continental Device India Ltd. (CDIL) and Chairman, CII National Committee on ICTE Hardware Manufacturing 7. Dr. Pradip K. Dutta, Chairman, Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA) 8. Dr. R.C. Chopra, Senior Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 9. Shri S.S. Raman, CEO, TVS Electronics Limited 10. Shri Sanjay Nayak, CEO & MD, Tejas Networks Ltd. 11. Shri B.V. Naidu, Chairman & CEO, Sagitaur Ventures 12. Shri Robert D. John, President, Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) 13. Shri Vinod Sharma, MD, Deki Electronics Ltd. and Past President, ELCINA 14. Shri Sanjeev Narayan, MD, SGS Tekniks Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. and Past President, ELCINA 15. Shri T. Vasu, Director, Tandon Group, Mumbai and Past Chairman, Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs 16. Shri Pradeep Kumar, Vice President, ST Microelectronics Pvt. Ltd. 17. Shri Sandeep Nair, President, Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) 18. Shri Rajendra Kumar, Executive Vice President, HCL Infosystems Ltd. and Past President, MAIT
270 19. Shri Rajiv Mehrotra, President, Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA) 20. Shri Pankaj Mohindroo, National President, Indian Cellular Association (ICA) 21. Shri Amitabh, Secretary General, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) 22. Shri Rajoo Goel, Secretary General, ELCINA 23. Shri Rajiv Jain, Associate Director (Government Affairs), India Semiconductor Association (ISA) 24. Shri Ravi Pandit, Chairman & Group CEO, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. 25. Representative of ASSOCHAM 26. Representative of CII (Health Sector) 27. Shri P.S. Narotra, Senior Director & HOD(IPHW), DIT - Member-Convener
271 e-Industry – IT-ITeS Terms of Reference
1. To review existing policies and evolve an approach for the IT sector to enhance global competitiveness and stimulate domestic growth for the next five years keeping in view the strategic plan of DIT.
2. To assess and project year wise export and domestic revenues for the IT-ITES industry taking into account domestic and international markets.
3. To create one million jobs for the entire sector including Software.
4. To make India as a leading hub of innovation in cost effective technology and services.
5. To suggest steps required fostering enabling IT ecosystems relevant to the domestic sector including e-Services, e-Health and e-Commerce.
6. To review competitiveness of the IT-ITES industry and suggest appropriate strategies for ensuring sustenance of SMEs.
7. To review and suggest strategy to encourage growth of IT-ITES industry in existing locations and to other urban areas for ensuring balanced regional growth.
8. To review the existing institutional system in the light of current and emerging scenario.
Composition
1. Shri Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM - Chairperson 2. Dr. Anita Bhatnagar Jain, Joint Secretary, DIT - Co-Chairperson
Members
3. Representative, Department of Commerce (DOC) 4. Representative, Ministry of Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) 5. DG, National Informatics Centre (NIC) 6. DG, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) 7. Representative of Planning Commission 8. Shri P.S. Narotra, Sr. Director, DIT 9. Secretary IT, Govt. of Karnataka 10. Secretary IT, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh 11. Secretary IT, Govt. of NCT of Delhi 12. Secretary IT, Govt. of West Bengal
272 13. Secretary IT, Govt. of UP 14. Secretary IT, Govt. of Gujrat 15. Secretary IT, Govt. of Rajasthan 16. Secretary IT, Govt. of Uttarakhand 17. Chairman, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) 18. Representative, Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology (MAIT) 19. Representative, Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA) 20. Representative, Business Process Industry Association of India (BPIAI) 21. Representative, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) 22. Representative, Wipro 23. Shri S.S. Garg, Director, DIT – Member Convener
Co-opted Members
24. Shri Vishnu R Dusad, Nucleus Software Exports Ltd. 25. Shri Nitin Seth, MD & Country Head, Fidelity International 26. Dr. Subho Ray, President, Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)
273 e-Innovation/ R&D
Terms of Reference
1. Review of 11th Plan with respect to R&D in Electronics and IT 2. To consolidate objectives/aims and expected achievements during the 12th Plan. 3. To identify future technological areas for contributing to overall socio-economic growth of the country. 4. To identify specific thrust areas in electronics and information technology and possible identification of a few Centres of Excellence in niche areas. 5. To suggest mechanism/strategies to promote R&D for design led manufacturing of products, packages and services; and also to suggest mechanisms to widen the R&D base in the country.
6. To devise strategies to support technology start-up companies and to promote innovation in academic and R&D institutes leading to eco-system for product development. 7. To suggest incentives and mechanism for enhancing creation and protection of intellectual property. 8. To identify possible mechanism to increase contribution of R&D exercises carried out in the civilian sector towards specific applications in defense, atomic energy and space. 9. To identify a few user-specific large technology development/demonstration projects in the country during the 12th Plan period to establish and demonstrate the country’s real technological capabilities. 10. To arrive at an estimate of R&D funds required in the Electronics and IT Sector with break-ups under major technology areas.
Composition 1) Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT Madras Chairman 2) Prof. U.B. Desai, Director, IIT, Hyderabad Co-Chairman
Members
3) Dr. Chandra Sekhar, Director, CEERI, Pilani 4) Prof. Rajeev Sangal, Director, IIIT, Hyderabad 5) Dr. A.S. Rao, Director-Innovations, CIIE, IIM, Ahemdabad 6) Prof. Madhav Desai, IIT, Bombay 7) Prof. D.N. Reddy, VC, JNT University, Hyderabad 8) Shri Pradeep Kumar, Vice President, ST Microelectronics 9) Rep DSIR 10) Rep. of BHEL, EDN, Bangalore
274 11) Member (Tech.), DoT 12) Shri V. Sridhar, M/s. Sasken Communication Technologies 13) Rep. of NASSCOM 14) Rep. of CEHA / ISA 15) Rep of TEMA 16) Rep. of ASSOCHAM Member 17) Rep. of CII 18) DG, C-DAC 19) Director, SAMEER 20) ED, C-MET 21) Shri V.V.R. Sastry, ED, C-DoT 22) Rep UGC 23) Rep. of DRDO 24) Rep. of Department of Atomic Energy 25) Rep. of Department of Space 26) Rep. of Railways 27) Rep. of Department of Power 28) Rep. of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) 29) GC, R&D in IT, DIT 30) GC, R&D in Electronics, DIT 31) GC, CC&BT, DIT 32) Shri Ashok K. Sharma, Scientist ‘G’, DIT Member-Convener
Co-opted Member
33) President, IAMAI
275 e-Inclusion Terms of Reference
1. To review schemes, strategy and achievements towards e-inclusion in the 11th Five Year Plan.
2. To identify challenges for e-inclusion in 12th Five Year Plan & propose a strategy for 12th Plan.
3. To suggest measures for digital literacy of target groups.
4. To suggest a broad outline for National Policy on e-Inclusion for the identified target groups namely SCs, STs, Minorities, Women, differently abled, etc.
5. To identify various schemes of DIT which are suitable for implementing SCSP, TSP and gender budgeting.
6. To identify, develop and deploy appropriate technologies, products and e-Services including financial & health services as a part of e-Inclusive initiative.
7. To promote the development of applications and facilitation of content development in Indian languages specific for rural and semi-urban areas.
8. To identify the institutions and domain areas to establish R&D centres for e-Inclusion.
9. To suggest modalities for international cooperation and training to promote e- Inclusion.
10. To suggest institutional framework to implement policy and programmes under e-inclusion during 12th Five Year Plan.
11. To estimate the outlays for the national programmes of e-Inclusion for the Twelfth Five Year Plan period as well as Annual Plans.
12. To evolve monitorable targets, implementation mechanism (including financial resources) and suggest mechanism to measure and track the targets.
13. Any other item that the Sub Group deems necessary to be included for making recommendations useful.
276 Composition
1. Shri Kiran Karnik - Chairperson 2. Shri B. N. Satpathy, EA, DIT -Co-Chairperson
Members
3. Prof. Rekha Jain, IIM, Ahmedabad 4. Joint Secretary (e-Governance), DIT 5. Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Orissa 6. Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Tamilnadu 7. Representative of Ministry of Women & Child Development 8. Representative of Ministry of Social Justice& Empowerment 9. Representative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs 10. Representative of Department of Telecom 11. Representative of Department of North Eastern Region 12. Representative of Ministry of Minority Affairs 13. Representative, Indian Institute of Public Administration, Delhi 14. Prof. Aradhna Aggarwal, University of Delhi 15. Shri Sameer Kochhar, CEO, Skoch Foundation 16. Representative of NASSCOM 17. Mr. Sandeep Nair, President , MAIT, Thane 18. Dr. Rajeev Kumar, Secretary General, FICCI, New Delhi 19. Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, New Delhi 20. Representative of ASSOCHAM 21. Shri S. Sivakumar, Chief Executive, ITC-Agri Business Division, Secunderabad 22. Shri Rajendra S.Pawar, Chairman & Managing Director, NIIT, Gurgaon 23. Shri Amit Sircar , General Manager, Microsoft Global Services, India 24. DG (NIC) 25. MD, Media Lab Asia 26. DG, C-DAC 27. ED, DOEACC 28. HOD (HRD), DIT 29. HOD (EPD), DIT - Member Convener
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