Computers Today, November 1-15, 1999, Front End; Too Near, Yet So Far

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November 1-15, 1999 FRONT END

IT MINISTRY
Too Near, Yet So Far

Communications, information & broadcasting or commerce-no ministry is ready to shed power to accommodate the IT body.

By Sudha Nagaraj

There are some things that our bureaucracy and governments never learn. Clarity and foresight are two of them. The much-hyped creation of a new ministry governing information technology has brought with it a totally avoidable controversy. No one yet knows what exactly are the powers and functions of the new IT ministry. This has ruffled the feathers of at least three existing ministers and a technocrat who has played a pivotal role in the formulation of the country's Internet policy.

With the creation of the new ministry, the government plans to hive off certain crucial functions from the communications ministry-namely, all policy matters relating to the Internet, granting licences for private Internet Service Providers and clearances for international gateways. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, a PSU under the Communications Ministry, will have Internet services under the ambit of the IT ministry-albeit under a new division-Department of Telecommunications Services. How then Ram Vilas Paswan, the Minister of Communications, would set up cyber dhabas all over the country, that he promised to do the day he took over? No wonder, Paswan is fighting back.

Policy matters relating to E-commerce were being handled by the commerce ministry but now they will be transferred to the new ministry. Much to the chagrin of Minister of Commerce and Industry, Murasoli Maran. The third aggrieved is Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley. He has to let go reins on cable TV and DTH operations.

Conceptually, the idea may have been right, but why couldn't the nitty-gritty be sorted out before taking the plunge? The ministry comprising electronics and the National Informatics Centre would be looked after by a bureaucrat, P.V. Jayakrishnan. While Electronics always had a secretary-level officer, NIC is headed by N. Seshagiri, a special secretary rank officer designated as director general. Either his rank should be elevated or DOE should have a similar head. "I know nothing about the IT Ministry," Seshagiri feigns ignorance. Whereas strong feelers have already been sent out to the Prime Minister that NIC be retained under the Planning Commission. Naturally, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pramod Mahajan, who is rumoured to be pegged as the Minster of IT, is yet to take over.

However pious the intentions of the government may have been, wrong signals have already gone to the IT industry. President of the National Association for Software Services Companies (NASSCOM), Dewang Mehta welcomes the move with a subtle rider, "What we need is not policy but the creation of the right environment for penetration of IT. As long as efforts of the IT ministry are promotional, we are happy."

IIS Infotech chief Saurabh Srivastava however, argues that with convergence the norm in the IT industry, there is bound to be overlapping even in the functions of the Ministries. "The idea is good as long as it is not purely regulatory and helps to create an enabling environment for the industry," he stresses.

According to the government notification, the Ministry will indeed focus on the promotion of the Internet and E-commerce, IT-based education, electronics and software exports and all IT-related policy matters. Some quarters of the industry are, in fact, looking forward to the government fulfilling its unfinished agenda. With the new government swearing in, the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) has strengthened its demand for a quick implementation of the long pending IT Bill on cyber laws and E-commerce. Sure enough, India, which is on the threshold of another IT revolution in which E-commerce is the focus, can gain immensely by way of a clear policy direction backed by a structured government apparatus.

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