NEW DELHI: With the Government’s emphasis on cashless and paper-less working, electronic governance gets the highest chunk of Rs 4.0055 billion out of the overall budget of Rs 12.1642 billion set aside for Digital India for 2017-18.
Of the total allocation for electronics governance, Rs 3.8555 billion has been set aside as programme component.
According to the budget for the electronics and information technology ministry, the objective of e-governance is to deliver all government services electronically to the citizens in his/her locality through integrated and inter-operable systems via multiple modes, while ensuring efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs.
The World Bank supported India: e-Delivery of Public Services project is an externally aided project under Electronic Governance Scheme under which financial support is extended for various e-governance initiatives of the Centre and States/UTs in the broad areas of policies, human resources, technology, project development, etc.
Manpower development gets Rs 3.0676 billion while the National Knowledge Network has been allocated of Rs 1.5 billion.
The objective of manpower development is to ensure availability of trained human resources for the manufacturing and service sectors of electronics and IT industry. Initiatives include identifying gaps emerging from the formal sector and planning programmes in non-formal and formal sectors for meeting these gaps.
The National Knowledge Network has been initiated with multiple gigabit bandwidth to connect Knowledge Institutions across the country
Promotion of electronics and IT HW Manufacturing (MSIPS, EDF and Manufacturing Clusters) will get Rs 7.45 billion. The ministry says electronics manufacturing is one of the important pillars of Digital India Programme and target to achieve net zero imports is a striking demonstration of intent.
Ministry sources said the demand for electronics hardware is expected to rise rapidly and India has the potential to become an electronics hardware manufacturing hub and contribute significantly to the GDP, employment opportunities and exports.
For Promotion of IT/ITeS Industries, the total allocation is Rs 60 million while Cyber Security Projects (NCCC & Others) get Rs 210.8 million.
Two schemes (NEBPS and IBPS) under IT for Jobs pillar have been launched under Digital India Programme to incentivise BPO/ITES operations across the country, particularly digitally deficit areas for creation of employment opportunities for the youths and the balanced regional growth of IT/ITES Industry.
The objective of the Cyber Security scheme is to adopt a holistic approach towards securing the cyber space of the country by pursuing multiple initiatives like Security Policy, Compliance and Assurance, Security, Incident-Early warning & Response, Security Training, Security specific R&D, Enabling Legal Framework and
Collaboration.
A sum of Rs 1.01 billion has been set aside for research and development in IT/Electronics/CCBT. Proliferation and absorption of emerging technology by supporting R&D is one of the important objectives, apart from creating essential R&D infrastructure and scientific & technical human capital.
The allocation for Foreign Trade and Export Promotion is a mere Rs 30 million to reimburse Central Sales Tax (CST) to Electronics Hardware Technology Parks (EHTP) and Software Technology Park (STP) units according to the Foreign Trade Policy.
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