The Eighth Five Year Plan of the National Informatics Centre is a blueprint of action of the Organization. Each 'Leaf of NICPLAN' presents an extract from the Plan to provide the Reader with an insight of just how the Organization visualizes the future. We take off with the Grass Root-level Information Development (GRID) Programme.
With the implementation of DISNIC, the National Informatics Centre has already initiated an information revolution at the district level through its various databases to provide demographic, socio-economic and development indicators. With the quick availability of information, the administrators can now devote more time to actual planning and decision-making. As the next important step, the Grass Root Level Informatics Development (GRID) programme has been initiated with the following sub-projects:
i. Tehsil/Block level database project. ii. Land Records Informatics project. iii. Panchayatiraj Informatics project. iv. Nagarpalika Informatics project.
As the Block is the smallest developmental unit, especially in implementing development programmes, and the Block generates basic information, the development of block level information system will go a long way in increasing the availability of information for decision-making, monitoring, evaluation and planning. Therefore, in 1990-91, a pilot project was taken up for computerized information at the block level in certain pilot districts. With the Packet Radio Network extension to NICNET, the first step in the investment required for implementing the GRID programme would be covered.
The Plan describes the Packet Radio Network Project as follows:
It is proposed to enhance NICNET to Tehsil/Block level. For each of the 3,300 Tehsils with an AT-386 5X computer with 150 MB Disk, integrated AC Cabinet and four terminals costing Rs 1.2 lakh per Tehsil, the total cost for all the Tehsils comes to about Rs 39.6 crore. A Packet Radio Master will be located in each of the 450 districts with a slave unit in each tehsil or important blocks. Typically, a Master would cost Rs 1 lakh and a slave unit will cost Rs 20,000. The total cost of the project would therefore come to Rs 50.7 crore.
For taking up the above projects for the GRID programme on a nationwide basis, the following additional manpower is required at the level of Programme Assistants in the scale of pay of Rs 1,640-2,900. In the first instance, the requirements would be confined to the level of tehsil, and gradually extended to all the blocks:
Tehsils 3300 Districts 450 State Hqs 375 Delhi 200 Total 4325
The additional salary budget will be Rs 50 crore during the Eighth Five Year Plan period.