National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development

Aiming towards making India an Information Technology "Super Power" in the years to come, the Government has set up a National Task Force on IT and Software Development. ("IT Action Plan - Highlights") During the past few decades, an unprecedented advancement in the field of computers and telecommunication has constituted possibly the greatest scientific revolution in human history. With its vast 'knowledge base', India is already making a major headway in the world arena of Information Technology. For India to emerge as a global infotech superpower, the Prime Minister Sh.Atal Behari Vajpayee has given a top priority call for evolving an appropriate action plan. As an initiating step, a high powered National Task Force on IT and Software Development was set up on May 22, 1998 under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Sh. Jaswant Singh. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Sh.Chandrababu Naidu and the former Union Minister for Science and Technology, Prof. M.G.K. Menon, have been named co-chairpersons. The Director General of NIC, Dr. N. Seshagiri is the Member-Convener of the Task Force. The IT Task Force, comprising of a sixteen member expert panel and five co-opted members, has a mandate to formulate the draft of a National Informatics Policy. In its endeavour, the task force will also be guided by an "info-tech vision group" comprising eminent infotech professionals, academicians, Non Resident Indians and foreigners.

The Tasks Ahead According to the Government Notification issued by the Prime Minister's Office, the Force would aim to accomplish the following:

• This Task Force will formulate the draft National Policy on Informatics whose aim will be to enable India to emerge as an Information Technology Superpower within the next ten years. It will submit the draft policy to the Prime Minister in three months.
• The Task Force will recommend an appropriate empowered institutional mechanism to implement this policy as a National Mission with the participation of the Central and State Governments, Industry, Academic Institutions, and the Society at large.
• This Task Force will recommend, within one month, immediate steps that the Government needs to take to remove bottlenecks and give a big boost to India's Information Technology industry.
• This Task Force will prepare a Vision Statement that will excite and energize the people of India, creating the faith in them that Information Technology vitally aids personal growth and national growth. It will also suggest a strategy for the effective articulation and dissemination of that Vision, so as to create an ethos, an ambiance, a mindset, and a work culture consistent with the needs of the emerging knowledge-driven global civilisation.
• This Task Force will prepare a blue print for making the adoption of Information Technology into a national movement, with a wide network of empowered task forces at all governmental and non-governmental levels.

Terms of Reference The Terms of Reference of the Informatics Task Force provide a comprehensive charter of action and can be listed as below:

• Recommend a strategy for the extensive use of Information Technology in all areas of national economy - agriculture, industry, trade and services - as a critical input in making India a global economic power.
• Prepare the design for building a world-class physical, institutional and regulatory IT infrastructure, which is appropriate for India. This design will embrace the growing convergence of telecommunications, computers, consumer electronics and the media infrastructure (minus its content).
• Towards this end, determine the means for creating a National Informatics Infrastructure (NII) backbone, bridging it to the Local Informatics Infrastructure (LII) and the Global Informatics Infrastructure (GII). The design of the NII will be dynamic, taking into account the rapidly changing nature of Information Technology.
• Recommend how NII can be created at an optimal cost by using the existing resources of the various wings of Government such as the Department of Telecommunications, Prasar Bharati, Railways, Power Grid Corporation of India, etc.
• Suggest measures for achieving a massive expansion in the use of the Internet by all sections of society, especially in business and education, and development of Indian content on the Internet.
• Recommend a strategy for boosting the learning and use of Information Technology in Indian languages. The policy will suggest measures to promote the development of software, especially educational and commercial software, in Indian languages.
• Develop a strategy for a twenty-fold increase in India's software and other IT service exports in the next ten years. In particular, the Policy will focus on the development of world-class software products and brands that can quickly establish global dominance.
• Suggest measures to catalyze the growth of exports through the extensive use of e-Commerce and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).
• Suggest ways in which the use of IT can be maximised in the Government at all levels, so as to make its functioning people-friendly, transparent and accountable.
• Develop a strategy for dramatically increasing the PC density in the country and, to that end, ensure that every household and commercial establishment that has a telephone also has a computer. The strategy will aim to facilitate the availability of computer hardware, software and connectivity at the lowest possible cost.
• Devise a strategy for establishing a strong and internationally competitive domestic manufacturing base for computers, computer components and peripherals.
• Design a training and manpower development plan involving Government agencies, private business, voluntary organizations, educational institutions and others to quadruple the number of IT professionals in the country in the next two years. The Task Force will suggest a plan to implement the commitment made in the National Agenda for Governance to ensure universal computer literacy in all secondary schools in the country. The plan will also aim at making available IT education to all those sections of the economy where it serves as a productivity multiplier.
• Develop a strategic plan to raise the necessary financial resources to realise the objectives of the National Informatics Policy. This plan will rely on innovative means of funding that minimise government outlay.
• Suggest an appropriate legal framework for the creation of an IT-based society, with due focus on intellectual property rights (IPR), secrecy, security and safety of information.
• Recommend how India can leverage its global competitiveness in Information Technology to play a prominent role in the development of IT in other countries, especially those that are underdeveloped.

The establishment of the Task Force is a clear indication of the growing realization that Information Technology is an area where India can speedily establish its global pre-eminence. Once the New Informatics Policy comes into being, it is hoped that IT would prove immensely useful in all areas of National Economy - Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Services - and would contribute significantly in making India a global economic power.

For Further Information, please contact : Dr.N.Seshagiri, Member Convener, National Task Force on IT & Software Development, Task Force Secretariat c/o NIC Headquarters A-Block, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road New Delhi - 11 00 03 Email : ittf@hub.nic.in