"Punjab would be spending about Rs25 crore on IT deployment in the coming financial year."

-N Kalsi, Director,
Department of Information Systems and Reforms, Government of Punjab.

IT finally seems to be getting its
place in the country. For the first time this year, Punjab is going to have its IT policy.
Gagandeep Kaur of DATAQUEST talked to the man who made it happen, N Kalsi, Director,
Department of Information Systems and Reforms, Government of Punjab. Excerpts:

What are the initiatives of the
Punjab government regarding the development of IT industry in the state?

Basically the Government of Punjab is thinking in terms of four thrust areas: IT
industry, IT infrastructure, IT in governance or e-governance and human resource
development. These are the four key areas that we are focusing on.

What exactly is the government
doing in these four areas?

First of all there is the infrastructure required for the development of IT in the state.
For this, we have created a full-fledged department, Department of Information Systems and
Reforms, which falls under the direct charge of the Chief Minister. We have integrated IT
deployment with reforms. The deployment of IT is not possible without reforms and that's
why we call it as Department of Information Systems and Reforms. I am not talking of
technology but of systems because that what is going to make all the difference in the
life of the common man. We are not concentrating on technology, as technology is a means
and not an end in itself.

What are the initiatives of the
state government regarding e-governance?

The state government has taken a big initiative with regard to e-governance. Earlier, the
work in this direction was not going on as per the desire of the people. But now, with the
coming up of this department, things would improve. In fact, the CM has announced that we
would be spending about Rs100 crore in the next three years and about Rs25 crore in the
coming financial year-which is 1% of the total budget of the government. The state
government has also created a group called IT Vision Group, which already has chalked out
its detailed action plan. So far, we have not created a hype like Andhra Pradesh or
Maharashtra. We don't believe in creating a hype, but we have an entire action plan ready
for the development of the IT industry in the state.



At STPI, we have excellent connectivity available. Now, we are thinking of giving the
companies readymade space at the Software Town of Punjab in Mohali, plug-and-play kind of
facilities, where the companies can set up their equipment and start operations.



Regarding the IT infrastructure, I would like say that we are already in the process of
creating the Software Town of Punjab in Mohali. In fact, we are in the process of forming
JVs with some of the IT giants.

Can you name them?

No, I can't, because the decision would be taken by the CM and out of the six IT companies
shortlisted we are going to finalize one. It is going to be finalized by the middle or the
end of this month.

When does the Punjab government
plans to computerize its own operations?

We will be starting with a limited number of departments initially, but the process will
continue. Excise, transport, and accounts are the departments selected for the initial
round of computerization. We are trying to concentrate on either the revenue generation or
the public relations department.