Business Line 09.05.2013
TN to strengthen IT infrastructure, e-governance
The Tamil Nadu Government will provide Rs 100 crore
to Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu to improve IT infrastructure in
Government departments, set up an e-governance fund and create an IT
cadre to improve information flow and service delivery.
These initiatives were among the announcement the Chief
Minister J. Jayalalithaa made in the Assembly on bringing in use of IT
for the benefit of administration and the public.
The Tamil Nadu State Wide Area Network is a dedicated
facility for linking government departments to provide voice, data,
Internet and audio-visual link. The State-run Electronics Corporation
has provided over 708 points-of-presence linking a range of government
offices including district headquarters and 1,853 government offices.
A number of these offices including commercial taxes,
water supply and healthcare utilise the IT infrastructure for delivering
services to the public. More such horizontal connectivity are needed to
expand e-governance and a redundant connectivity, an alternative
facility in case of breakdown of the existing network, is also needed.
The Rs 100-crore will be used to fund a Rs 50-crore
second phase expansion of IT network to more government offices, Rs 10
crore for creating redundant connectivity and Rs 40 crore for horizontal
connectivity, she said.
The IT cadre, a pool of personnel skilled in IT, will be
deployed in the Secretariat and government department headquarters to
strengthen use of IT.
Cloud computing
A cloud computing facility will also be created at the
State Data Centre at a cost of Rs 11 crore. Enhancing the computing
capacity of various departments using over the Internet through cloud
computing will also enable government departments get IT hardware and
software capacity and save on costs, she said.
A common geographical database will be created at a cost
of Rs 6 crore for the use of various departments that need spatial and
non-spatial information.
Specific government departments that deliver a range of
services to the public will be identified on a mission mode basis and be
computerised fully. A Rs 10 crore e-governance fund will also be
created to expedite such online delivery of services.