MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 2: The Government will soon set up a committee of group ofministers to thrash out modalities for the introduction of direct-to-home(DTH) services, the union minister for information and broadcasting PramodMahajan said while inaugurating the three-day Nasscom 2000 conference inMumbai on Wednesday.The proposed group will comprise of ministers from information &broadcasting, IT, home, defence and finance. Mahajan said that PrimeMinister AB Vajpayee will take the necessary decision.
He added that his ministry nor the Centre will play the role of a regulatorbut instead will act as a facilitator for promoting growth in the ITindustry. "The Information Technology Bill, 1999, is an attempt to help outgenuine players in the IT sector and not to put it at their disadvantages,"he opined.
Mahajan hoped that the IT bill, 1999, which has been sent to theParliamentary Standing Committee will be passed in the coming budgetsession. "IT bill is an attempt in the true direction of free flow ofinformation." On Section 79 of IT bill, 1999, delegating powers to theofficer of rank of deputy superintendent of police to arrest without warrantany person involved in cyber crime, Mahajan said that he had receivedvarious suggestions in this regard. He added that the idea behind this is tofix responsibility on an officer who is well conversant with the IT industryand the changes taking place within it.
Mahajan said his ministry, by bringing out an eight-year comprehensive planfor IT industry to attain export target of $50 billion by 2008, would helpto monitor the progress and remove the hurdles.He said the eight-year planwould be reviewed annually and a plan document for the current year would beready in the near future. He admitted that to achieve the targeted softwareexports from the current level of software exports of just over $4 billionis not an easy task."Speed is the first essential component on which IT andadvances in this field are completely dependent. Obsolescence in infotechproducts is very fast and we need to be a step ahead to be able to bringabout a revolution," Mahajan said.
He also rued the fact that infrastructural bottlenecks were proving to be amajor impediment in the growth of this sector, saying there was a need toboth improve things like power supply, roads and communication links as wellas to teach subscribers to pay for services.Mahajan said that his ministrywould like to take "IT to masses" to avoid the emergence of new war betweenhaves and haves not. "It should become a compulsory subject in every schoolto be able to reach the Indian masses," he added.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.