Odisha in fast-forward mode of development!

Please tell us about your State's IT vision and plan. What have been some of the major e-Governance (G2C, G2B, G2G) initiatives of Odisha in recent years?
In the last two and a half years, Odisha has witnessed a massive deployment of e-Governance services in the State. The response from various stakeholders and beneficiaries has encouraged us to become more enthusiastic on this front. In the coming two years, we would like to position Odisha among the top three states in the country in terms of successful implementation of e-Governance projects. In five years, Odisha should emerge as No. 1 state with the best e-Governance infrastructure and practices.

We will complete three major and core components, namely OSWAN, CSC and SDC under the aegis of NeGP in the current financial year. We have already started project formulation activities for the State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) and Gap Infrastructure project, which is the fourth crucial component of core NeGP. A large number of Mission Mode Projects encompassing G2C services of various Departments have been completed. Examples are Transport, Treasuries, Higher Education, Mass Education, Revenue, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Women & Child Development and many more. Quite a few innovative projects like Punarbas, Nandini, SAMS, e-District are under way and will soon see through the current pilot phase. 

Infosys Technologies has decided to invest Rs.300 crore in a second project in Odisha. What are your major IT initiatives aimed at attracting major IT companies? What are the incentives that the Government would be offering to these companies?
We are committed to extend external infrastructure linkages and necessary inputs to ensure that the second Development Centre of Infosys becomes operational from inside the Infovalley, Bhubaneswar from April 2011 with at least 1,000 professionals as planned by them.

We intend to hold road shows in the US, Europe and identified countries to attract investment into the IT sector. We have been participating in international and national IT exhibitions, seminars and conferences to enhance the visibility of the State to prospective investors. We are also working on the concept of a Brand Ambassador for the IT sector.

The Government currently offers a very attractive package of incentives and a range of concessions to IT and ITeS companies setting up business in the State. We are reviewing the ICT Policy 2004 currently in force vis-à-vis those of other leading states to come out with one which would be further investors’ friendly and actionable.

Odisha has recently introduced e-Registration of land records termed Dharani Yojana. Please tell us something about the initiative?
177 Registration Offices spread across the State have been equipped with requisite hardware and software, besides giving a facelift to the general infrastructure and facilities. These offices are now geared to deliver the sale deeds to the Executants in less than an hour’s time which typically used to take more than a month. This has been made possible because of meticulous business process re-engineering carried out. More than 50 varieties of deeds could be processed electronically in theses offices with transparency, reliability, speed and efficiency. The e-Registration initiative has been named Dharani and was launched by the hon’ble Chief Minister on 4th January, 2010.

Tell us about the status of implementation of NePG, including that of Odisha State Data Centre (SDC) project?
I have already spoken about the implementation of OSWAN and CSC, both of which would be completed to a large extent by 31st March, 2010. As far as the State Data Centre is concerned, WIPRO is our consultant and SPANCO is the implementing agency. The building and physical infrastructure for housing of the main servers, cooling system, power conditioning system are in place. We are expecting hardware installation to be completed by the middle of March 2010. The migration of applications from various distributed locations, deployment of new applications and storage of data, etc. would commence in a properly phased sequence. 

The spread of information technologies to a select few is widening the gulf between the e-haves and the e-have-nots. What is your plan to bridge the digital divide in your State? What are some of the challenges in achieving this and how would they be overcome?
The more the number of e-Governance projects become successful in delivering the desired level and quantum of service to the target groups, which to a large extent are the e-have-nots as per your terminology, the digital divide would start closing. In my opinion, e-Governance is a powerful equalizer. The challenge lies in the change management and sustainability of these e-Governance projects. 

What is the administration's take on the SEZ policy?
The SEZ Policy of the State is already in the draft stage prepared by the Industries Department. Other Government departments have offered their responses to the draft policy in terms of suggestions, amendments, etc. The policy could be declared anytime after it goes through due diligence and approval process in the Government.

Where do you see the state of Odisha on the e-Governance front in five years from now?
We would certainly like to see Odisha at the top.