Centre to spend Rs 7k cr a year in IT augmentation
The government is likely to spend over Rs 7,000 crore every year for next three years to purchase computers and IT-enabled services.
By Niranjan Bharati, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to spend over Rs 7,000 crore every year for next three years to purchase computers and IT-enabled services. The Centre is considering to make it mandatory for all government departments to allocate 2-3% of their total planned expenditure on IT and IT-related services.
The proposal, initiated by the department of information technology (DIT), has been approved by the task force headed by the principal secretary to the prime minister. Currently, Plan panel is vetting the proposal.
“We have moved the proposal to the next level and it is under consideration of the member secretary, Planning Commission,” a ministry of information technology official said, adding that the matter would need the approval of the department of expenditure under the finance ministry once the modalities are finalised by the Plan panel.
The scheme will be in place for two to three years on a trial basis, he said. The government’s total plan-budget outlay for the current fiscal is Rs 2,05,100 crore excluding the Railways. Railways budget for 2007-08 is about Rs 32,500 crore.
Simultaneously, states too may be asked to allocate a total of about Rs 4,000 crore towards IT related expenditure, considering the fact that the ratio of centre to state plan budget expenditure is about 65:35.
DIT, however, feels that the recommendation is not going to put any additional burden on the government departments and ministries. “The requirement of IT related items has grown up significantly in the last few years and there is always a need to purchase new hardware items and install updated software for the completion of a project. As these things easily constitute about 3-5% of the project cost, the implementation of recommendations would not have any adverse impact on the budget of a particular department,” a senior DIT official said.
The centre is already working out on a proposal to make it mandatory for all the ministries and government departments to give preferences to the domestic manufacturers for purchase of computers and other hardware items.
The steps would give a boost to the domestic hardware and software sector, which is growing at a rate of over 25% per annum.
“These are very wonderful proposals on the part of the government and are in line with the industry’s long term demands regarding enhanced usage of IT. The move would give a great boost to the growth of the IT sector apart from making the working of the government machinery more transparent,” Manufacturer’s Association for Information Technology (MAIT) Executive Director Vinnie Mehta said.
The proposal, initiated by the department of information technology (DIT), has been approved by the task force headed by the principal secretary to the prime minister. Currently, Plan panel is vetting the proposal.
“We have moved the proposal to the next level and it is under consideration of the member secretary, Planning Commission,” a ministry of information technology official said, adding that the matter would need the approval of the department of expenditure under the finance ministry once the modalities are finalised by the Plan panel.
The scheme will be in place for two to three years on a trial basis, he said. The government’s total plan-budget outlay for the current fiscal is Rs 2,05,100 crore excluding the Railways. Railways budget for 2007-08 is about Rs 32,500 crore.
Simultaneously, states too may be asked to allocate a total of about Rs 4,000 crore towards IT related expenditure, considering the fact that the ratio of centre to state plan budget expenditure is about 65:35.
DIT, however, feels that the recommendation is not going to put any additional burden on the government departments and ministries. “The requirement of IT related items has grown up significantly in the last few years and there is always a need to purchase new hardware items and install updated software for the completion of a project. As these things easily constitute about 3-5% of the project cost, the implementation of recommendations would not have any adverse impact on the budget of a particular department,” a senior DIT official said.
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The centre is already working out on a proposal to make it mandatory for all the ministries and government departments to give preferences to the domestic manufacturers for purchase of computers and other hardware items.
The steps would give a boost to the domestic hardware and software sector, which is growing at a rate of over 25% per annum.
“These are very wonderful proposals on the part of the government and are in line with the industry’s long term demands regarding enhanced usage of IT. The move would give a great boost to the growth of the IT sector apart from making the working of the government machinery more transparent,” Manufacturer’s Association for Information Technology (MAIT) Executive Director Vinnie Mehta said.
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