Addressing the Nasscom'99, Mehta said Nasscom has prepared an application format to seek such licence from the department of telecommunications. This will end the monopoly of VSNL and Software Technology Parks of India, an autonomous society under the Department of Electronics of providing international gateways. Such licences will be largely used by the private ISPs in the liberalised ISP policy announced by the Vajpayee government at the centre.

The panel headed by the Infosys chairman, NR Narayana Murthy, on knowledge- based IT industry, has suggested implementation of computers for students and teachers and setting up of National Internet Centre forExcellence. Computer will be made available at prices as low as Rs 20,000, Mehta said. However, he added that it would be closely watched that there would not be misuse of this facility.

Narayana Murthy who was present on the occasion said that funds should be diverted to primary schools instead of colleges. He also stressed the need for setting up private universities to be managed by industries with thrust on research and development. Benefits should be given on the basis of economic criteria and should not be caste-based. The benefits should discontinue once the recipient becomes a professional, Murthy said. Such benefits should not be passed down to next generation.

Mehta said that as high as 97 per cent secondary schools in the country have no computers, while 46 per cent have no power, 37 per cent have no walls and 34 per cent schools have no teachers. According to the National Task Force on Information Technology and Narayan Murthy panel, an attempt will be made to provide computers, telephone andinternet to these schools within the next five years.

Mehta said that it was unfortunate that only 4 per cent of the India's total population can read and write English. He stressed the need for localisation of software and appreciated efforts made in this direction by software giants such as Apple, IBM and Microsft.

He, however, called for certain standards to be set for localisation of software and added that it should be upgraded time to time.

In a bid to achieve telephone for all, Mehta said that ISDN connections will be provided to ISD booths all over the country to get internet connectivity. There are more than 6 lakh STD/ISD booths in India.

He said that Video-E-mail facility will be provided using compression and decompression technology. According to him, such service will be available at Rs 15 for three minutes.