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IT & ITES POLICY
2007 |
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BACKGROUND |
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The “Information Technology (IT)”
and “Information Technology Enabled Service (ITES)” sectors have emerged as
engines of India’s booming economy. This sector is poised to reach US$ 70
billion software market in 2009, providing direct employment to more than 2.2
million (and nearly twice the number by way of indirect employment). India as
a nation with its qualified technical work force has made a name for itself
on a global scale in IT and ITES. This is, therefore, the right time for
Rajasthan to make an attempt to ride on the favourable tides of a booming
knowledge economy and take itself into the forefront of the country’s IT thrust.
The State Government’s primary
concern is to deploy the benefits of Information Technology in such a manner
as to facilitate the main objectives of e-Governance. The vision of the
National e-Governance plan is 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 to realise the basic needs of the common man”. The three
main pillars of the NeGP are: State Data Centre, State Wide Area Network and
Common Services Centres. Rajasthan State is now engaged in aligning the
e-Governance strategy to create synergy with NeGP. State Government is also
undertaking a holistic approach to reengineer its business practices to
facilitate a citizen-centric system of e-Governance that can overcome
geographical, time and physical limitations and provide a 365x24x7,
anywhere-anytime access to the common man, particularly to those people
living in the rural areas. This will help achieve the broad goals of the NeGP
and facilitate the common man in accessing public services through the power
of technology in a transparent and hassle-free manner. What is equally important, and what
this new IT and ITES policy 2007 shall attempt to facilitate, is to encourage
the private sector to make investments in the IT sector in the State. A
careful analysis of Rajasthan’s present set of circumstances will reveal its
strengths and opportunities as well as its weaknesses and threats. On the negative
side, there is a general perception that it is a conservative state with
traditional social infirmities that tend to act as a retarding factor in its
growth. The comparatively low skills of its youth in communication in English
and in computer associated capabilities have led to a resultant difference in
cultural requirements normally associated with the metros. The emergence of
other similar destinations in the burgeoning ITES sector and the fact that
Rajasthan till late has been slow in capitalising on the growth of the IT
sector have acted as threats for the future development of the State in this
important area of the economy. On the other hand, there are
positive indications of a surge of interest in this sector in the State. The
favourable response received from the new Special Economic Zone in IT that
has been recently set up augers well as IT majors such as Infosys and Wipro
are investing in this area. This and the proximity of the State to the
National Capital Region, especially Gurgaon and Delhi, could act as a trigger
for many IT corporate to invest in the State as a second centre of growth for
their business activities. Further, the low cost of living and employee costs
with an academically sound untapped talent pool along with the perception
that they have strength in finance and accounts skills indicate the State’s
potential to encourage companies to invest in Rajasthan. There are over 64
engineering colleges and about 70 business management institutes currently in
the State that are working on building human capital and transforming our
youth in such a manner as to grant them access to the best available job
market. In fact, the third and very vital
thrust area of the IT & ITES Policy 2007 is to focus on the need for
developing the human capital of our youth and propel them in the direction of
this sector so that they can attain fulfilment for their aspirations and find
gainful employment. The political stability of the State and the relatively
better law and order scenario here also acts as a major factor when
investment decisions are taken by business. Keeping these economic and social
factors in mind, it is necessary to put in place an eco system that will
encourage the private sector to make investments in the State and create
employment. State Government is also committed to the development of the
talent pool of the youth in the State so that they are empowered to improve
their capabilities and get employed in the industry. A well articulated
policy, as has been attempted here, will encourage business to take a close
look at the State and make the right decisions that will boost the economy,
while at the same time encouraging the youth of our State to actively pursue
an academic IT oriented curricula that will help them in getting an assured
future. The State Government had launched
its first IT Policy in the year 2000. Since then, several steps have been
taken to implement the IT Policy initiatives as envisaged in the “IT Policy
2000”. The list of various notifications issued in pursuance of the earlier
policy is at Annexure A. The “IT Policy 2000” and the list of notifications
can be downloaded from the website www.rajasathan.gov.in. For points that
were covered in ‘IT Policy 2000’ have not been repeated in ‘IT & ITES
Policy 2007’, the declaration as in ‘IT Policy 2000’ prevails over ‘IT &
ITES Policy 2007’. This Policy document attempts to
take forward the earlier initiatives and to put in place the overall
framework necessary for achieving the above objectives. It is our expectation that the IT
and ITES Policy 2007 will propel the State into a higher orbit of growth in
this sector. The State Government shall do all in its power to ensure that
the announcements of this document are fulfilled in letter and spirit. |