The
Union Minister of Communications & IT, Shri Kapil Sibal today held a press
conference to present the Progress Report of the Ministry in terms of
achievements made against 100-days Plan of Action announced by him on January
01, 2011. The point-wise Report Card
presented by the Minister is as under:
Department
of Telecommunications
Action Point - 1
We will hold consultations
with key stakeholders to evolve a clear and transparent regime covering
licensing, spectrum allocation, tariffs/pricing, linkage with roll out
performance, flexibility within licenses, spectrum sharing, spectrum trading,
MVNOs, unlicensed bands, M&A, etc. in a technology agnostic environment
after due consideration of TRAI recommendations in this regard.
Interest of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ would be the prime consideration.
The
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) received Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) recommendations dated
8.2.2011 on spectrum pricing in continuation of the earlier TRAI
recommendations dated 11.05.2010 on spectrum management and licensing
framework. A Round Table Conference was held on 8.3.2011 by the Minister of
Communications & IT with the key stakeholders on issues of licensing and
spectrum. After the Round Table
Conference, the verbatim of the discussions held was posted on website of DoT. The views expressed by the stakeholders
during the Round Table Conference are being examined in DoT by the Internal
Committee under the Chairmanship of Member (Technical) of the Telecom
Commission.
Action Point – 2
To ensure availability of spectrum
for telecom industry, we will initiate a dialogue with Department of
Space/Information & Broadcasting/Defence, PSUs on vacation of spectrum and
for identification of Defence Band and Defence Interest Zone. National Frequency
Allocation Plan 2011 (NFAP) shall be released. Spectrum allocations,
availability and status of pending applications for spectrum shall be published
on the department’s web site.
(i)
Draft National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP)
2011 has been finalised.
(ii)
The list of pending applications for spectrum in
respect of 2G and 3G have been uploaded on the website on 10.02.2011.
(iii)
To ensure the availability of spectrum for telecom
industry, the consultations with Department of Space and MIB are in progress.
The Expert Committee will be submitting its report shortly.
(iv)
Discussions are on with Power Grid Corporation of
India Ltd. (PGCIL) for vacation of 10 to 12 MHz in different circles to make
one chunk of 20 MHz.
Action Point - 3
Immediate steps will be taken to resolve
outstanding security issues. Steps will be taken to enable operators to launch 3G
services in their entire plenitude
without delay.
Security issues regarding telecom equipment procurement, messenger
services and subscriber verification will be resolved. Steps will be
taken to establish the Central Monitoring System which will facilitate and
prevent misuse of lawful interception facility.
(i)
The DoT has already issued letters to the service
providers for giving their undertaking with regard to launching of 3G
Services. Reliance, Tata and Airtel have
already given its undertaking.
(ii)
Proposal for establishing Central Monitoring System
(CMS) has been put up for approval of competent Authority.
(iii)
With respect to the issues pertaining to the
messenger services, Research in Motion (RIM) has offered a solution in
February, 2011 which are under examination.
(iv)
Regarding security template the feedback has been
obtained from telecom service providers and vendors which is being examined in
DoT.
(v)
Draft amendment of licence to take care of security
issues has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on March 24, 2011 for
their comments and will be finalised soon after.
Action Point - 4
11
years have passed since NTP ’99 and many changes have taken place thereafter.
Action will be initiated to formulate a comprehensive Telecom Policy 2011
including the recognition of Telecom as infrastructure and as an essential
service, encouraging Green Telecom, steps to accelerate migration from IPv4 to
IPv6 at the earliest, release of IPv6
standards by Telecom Engineering
Centre for implementation in
the country, etc.
(i) DoT has already initiated the
process to formulate a comprehensive National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2011. This will take into account the changes that
have taken place in the industry since NTP 1999. A Committee has been
constituted with Additional Secretary (T) and Advisor (T) as the co-chairman
and DDGs as Members. Two rounds of the
meetings have already taken place since then and eight teams have been constituted
to work on specific areas.
(i)
IPv6 standards have been released to accelerate the
migration from IPv4 to IPv6.
Action Point - 5
All possible efforts will be made to
fill up Board Level vacancies in PSUs and for greater participation of BSNL/
MTNL and C-DOT in national and socially important programmes, while addressing
structural issues, improving internal efficiency and financial performance of
BSNL/ MTNL.
Close monitoring
and follow up is being done to ensure filling up of board level vacancies in
PSUs. Filling up the post of CMDs of BNSL and MTNL has been taken up on
priority basis and will be finalised shortly. The post of Director (HR), BSNL
and Director (F), ITI have been filled up. The proposal for non-official
Directors in BSNL/MTNL/ITI/TCIL have also been drawn up. Both BSNL/MTNL have been given roadmap for
improving their internal efficiency.
The proposal of
Director (F), TCIL and Director (HR), ITI are also in advanced stage.
Action Point - 6
Country-wide launch of Mobile Number
Portability (MNP).
The Prime Minister
of India launched MNP on Pan India basis on January 20, 2011 in Delhi.
Action Point - 7
Vigorous measures will be taken to
address public concerns about health hazards due to the EMF radiation from
Mobile towers including laying down relevant standards, supplementing equipment
with Telecom
Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells and ensuring adequate
field-testing.
The report of the
Inter-Ministerial Group on EMF radiations has been put up on the website of the Ministry for seeking comments.
Feedback has been received which is being examined and will be finalised
shortly.
Action Point - 8
Formulation of a package of measures to
promote manufacturing of telecom equipment in the country.
TRAI has circulated a consultation
paper on promotion of manufacturing of Telecom equipment in the country. After receiving the recommendations of TRAI
in this respect, DoT will organise Round Table Conference with key stakeholders
to formulate the package of measures for promoting manufacturing of Telecom
Equipment. Sectoral Innovation Council
has been set up under the Chairmanship of ED, C-DOT with participation from the
Industry representatives to give impetus to innovations and R&D in telecom sector within the country.
Certain initiatives taken by Department
of Information Technology (DIT) in this regard are as follows:
(a)
Policy initiatives for setting up of Semi-Conductor
Fabs
(b)
Special incentive/package to promote electronic
manufacturing
(c)
Inter-ministerial consultation is being done to
provide preferential access to “Indian Electronic
Products/Manufactured-in-India Electronics Products” for all government
procurement and procurement by Government licensee/PSUs.
Action Point - 9
Launch of a Wireless Broadband Scheme
scheme by USOF to provide wireless broadband coverage to about 5 lakh villages,
leveraging the existing passive infrastructure created for mobile
telephony in rural and remote areas.
The wireless broadband scheme
for providing wireless broadband coverage to about five lakh villages
leveraging the existing PSUs infrastructure has already been approved and will
be launched shortly.
Action Point – 10
Concrete steps towards finalization of National Broadband Plan
including strategy for implementation and initiation of steps for roll out
of Optical Fibre
After receiving the recommendation of
TRAI on National Broadband Plan on 08.12.2011 as well as the
report of the CII on broadband, the Round Table Conference was held by Hon’ble MOC&IT on 19.01.2011. Thereafter a scheme for creation of National
Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) for providing broadband connectivity to the
panchayats by extending the existing optical fibre network to panchayats
utilising the USO fund has been formulated.
This proposed scheme has also been deliberated by Hon’ble MOC&IT
along with Shri Sam Pitroda, Adviser to PM on Public Information, Innovation
and Infrastructure, on 30.03.2011 with key stakeholders including telecom
service providers. Under this scheme it is proposed to set up a High Level
Committee to steer and coordinate all the activities related to the creation
and implementation of NOFN.
Department
of Information Technology
Electronics
Hardware Manufacturing
In
order to promote Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) in the
country, Department of Information Technology has taken up 5 Key Initiatives.
The progress on these initiatives is as below:
1. Setting up a
National Electronics Mission (NEM) with the objective to facilitate
development of ESDM capability to meet the target of USD 400 Billion in the
next 10 years. Draft paper on setting up of NEM has been finalized.
2. Modification
of Special Incentive Package Scheme to enhance investments in the Electronics
Ecosystem with the objective to promote entire ESDM sector i.e,
products and inputs required for manufacturing of these products in Electronics
Manufacturing Clusters. Draft scheme has been prepared after consultations with
stakeholders.
3. Working out modalities to attract investment to set up
Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) Units:
An Empowered Committee (EC) with a mandate to identify potential investors and
technologies is proposed to be set up. The EC after interacting with the
potential investors will crystallize the nature and quantum of Government
support in physical/financial terms and recommend to the Government the course
of action to attract investments in the sector. Cabinet Note for
setting up of an Empowered Committee has been finalized. In order to facilitate EC, India
Semiconductor Association (ISA) has entrusted Keystone Strategies LLC,
USA with the study on attracting investment for setting up of semiconductor
wafer fabrication facilities in the country in February 2011. The study shall
be completed by the end of April, 2011.
4. Setting
up an Electronics Development Fund to promote innovation, R&D, Indian IP
and development of Indian Microprocessor with the objective to create an
eco-system to promote domestic innovation and manufacturing in the highly
dynamic electronics industry. The draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) is under preparation.
5. Prepare a
proposal to provide preferential access to domestically produced electronics
products for government procurements and procurement by Government Licensees,
PSUs etc.: The proposal to provide 30% preference in value terms to
“Indian Electronic Products”/ “Manufactured–in–India Electronic Products” in
Government Procurement (except Defence Procurement), with an objective to
promote indigenous manufacturing of electronics hardware has been finalized.
The clearance of Committee of Secretaries (COS) has been obtained. The draft
Cabinet Note has been prepared and sent for Inter-Ministerial consultations.
Human
Resource Development (HRD)
DIT
has framed schemes for enhancing the capacity of its institutions viz., CDAC
and DOEACC Society with focus on North-Eastern Region as well as setting up of
ICT Academies across various States/UTs.
The views of other Departments/Ministries are being obtained to finalise
the schemes.
These
schemes are being framed in the context of a target of 10 million people to be
trained in IECT by 2022 by the Department as part of the National Skill
Development Initiative.
Cyber
Security
The Information Technology
(Amendment) Act, 2008 was notified on October 27, 2009 alongwith the rules in
respect of certain important sections in respect of information, blocking of
information from public access, rules & regulations for the Chairman and
Members of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal and constitution of Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team. The rules in
respect of section 43A pertaining to protection of sensitive personal data and
implementation of best security practices by body corproates, Section 79 –
Safeguards and due diligence to be observed by service providers and other
intermediaries and e-Governance public private partnership – service charges
have been framed and were put on the website on February 05, 2011 and public
comments were invited upto March 15, 2011.
The draft rules were widely covered by media and lots of comments were
received. These comments have been incorporated
and the rules have been finalized. These
rules aim to provide rules for protection of sensitive personal information and
help in promotion of services being provided by the service providers.
A set of three manuals for
creating basic awareness and standard procedures for seizure, acquisition and
analysis of digital evidence during investigation of Cyber Crimes have been
prepared. The manuals adequately address
the various legal provisions, Dos and Don’ts and best practices. The manuals have been evolved in a generic
tool specific manner and the content is presented in a simple format so that it
can be used primarily by Law Enforcement Officers and Computer Forensic
Scientists who would be doing the investigation in the field. The manuals can also be used by Lawyers,
Prosecutors and Judges who are making efforts to become more familiar with
technical, legal and evidential aspects of investigating and prosecuting cyber
crimes. The copies of the manuals would
be made available to all Police Stations, Central and State Forensic Labs and
Courts.
STQC- SPV Lab
Standardisation, Testing, Quality & Certification (STQC)
Directorate, Department of Information Technology, Govt. of India has been
working in close collaboration with and support of Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE) to provide testing and qualification services to the
Solar Photo Voltaic industries in the country.
To meet these objectives, facilities have been created for testing of
Solar Photo Voltaic modules and other solar products namely solar inverters,
lantern, home light, street light and battery as per national and international
standards. STQC test laboratories at Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad now serve
the testing requirements to varying degrees.
The
test facilities cover the electrical and optical performance of the products
under a variety of environmental conditions, mechanical loading etc, as per
applicable standards. The test schedules establish the quality and reliability
of the products for a wide range of application environments.
STQC- Biometric Lab
The
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been mandated to issue
Unique IDs to every resident of the country. UIDAI has selected biometrics as a
primary method to check for duplicate identity record. For the purpose of
enrolment, large number of biometric devices (cameras, finger print scanners
and iris cameras) will be used across the country. The quality of Biometric
information will depend on the quality of device and processes employed in
obtaining biometric images. Testing of Biometric Devices will provide assurance
of device quality, as these devices are
required to operate consistently in various harsh environment conditions .The tests carried out to ensure the quality are Physical, Image
Quality, Environmental (Durability /Climatic), Safety, Electro Magnetic
Compatibility, Security, Functional, Performance, Interoperability, and Ease of
use .
The
objective of Testing and Certification of Biometric Devices for UID project is
to facilitate availability of quality assessed Biometric Devices to enrolment
agencies. This testing & certification provides confidence that certified
devices are reliable, seamlessly integratable with the system and are
interoperable.
A
Biometric Devices Test Laboratory has been established at electronic centre and
Development centre Mohali to test devices as per UIDAI requirements and
International standards. The laboratory is equipped with the state of art test
facilities to test these devices. Test Engineers are trained for conducting
multidisciplinary test like Image quality, Environmental test, Performance and
Electro Magnetic Compatibility Tests etc
Department of Posts
[
I.
IT
MODERNIZATION PROJECT
India Post has an approved Plan Project with an
outlay of R.1877.2 Crore for IT Modernization Project.
The project has following components:
i.
Development of integrated modular scalable
applications for mail, banking, Postal Life Insurance advanced financial
services and ERP solutions for accounts and HR Operations of the Department.
ii.
Provision of ICT devices in rural post offices with
required applications for performing postal, banking, insurance, retail
operations.
iii.
Establishment of IT infrastructure of Data Centre
and Disaster Recovery Centre and networking of all Post Offices including
Branch Post Offices in the rural areas.
iv.
Provision
for training, change management, capacity building of the employees of the
department along with setting up of the Project Management units of Department,
Circle, region and Division levels for smooth and timely implementation of the
project
(a) 100 Days Agenda finalized on January 01, 2011
included selection of vendors for the following solutions:-
1. Customer Interaction Management Solution
2. Mail Operation Solution
3. Human Resource Management Solution and Finance and Accounts Solution
4. Banking and Postal Life Insurance Solution
5. Change Management
6. Establishment of Data Centre
7. Rural ICT Service Integrator
8. Network Integrator
(b) Status
of compliance
(i)
Customer Interaction
Management Solution
Objectives:
To enable
24x7 transactions for customers through web portal, call centres and ATMs.
Status:
Vendors have been shortlisted. RFP will be issued on April 15, 2011.
(ii)
Mail Operations
Solution
Objectives:
a) This will provide full article visibility across the supply of chain –
from booking to delivery
b) It will help improve revenue generation through new
services/products e.g., Logistics Post.
c) The solution will increase number of delivery
channels for services/products, e.g. web portal and call centre.
Status:
Vendors have been shortlisted. RFP will be issued
on April 15, 2011.
(iii)
Enterprise-wide Human
Resource Management Solution and Finance & Accounts Solution
Objective:
a) The solution would enable one single source of data across Department of
Posts by online data capture and real time reconciliation
b) The solution would enable centralized payroll processing.
c) The solution would help the Department of Posts move from cash based to
accrual based accounting system.
d) The Department Recruitment process would be streamlined.
Status:
Vendors have been shortlisted. RFP will be issued by April 15, 2011
(iv)
Banking and Postal Life
Insurance Solution:
Banking Solutions objectives
It will
lead to Centralized processing of transactions/data, ATMs, Mobile Banking and
Real time Banking. This will also enable
e-commerce and web channels for customers.
Postal Life Insurance Solution objectives
a) It enables the complete insurance solution by eliminating delays and
errors.
b) This will enable the interaction through multiple channels,
c) The solution would also enable safer and faster transactions including
premium collection and disbursement.
Status:
RFP has been issued. Technical evaluation of
Banking Solution will be completed by April 30, 2011.
(v)
Change Management
Objective
Change Management for the India Post 2012 program
will focus on effective management of change in technology and business process
as a result of introduction of the IT solutions.
(vi)
Establishment of Data
Centre
Objective
Networking of all 1.55 lakh post offices
Status
RFP has been issued. Process of evaluation of bids
is going on.
(vii)
Rural ICT Service
Integrator
Objective
To provide ICT services of Postal, Banking and
Insurance in rural post offices
Status
RFP has been issued. Technical evaluation of bids
will be completed by April 30, 2011.
(viii) Network Integrator
Status
RFP has been issued on April 06, 2011
II.
COMPUTERIZATION OF 9,600 POST OFFICES
Orders have been placed for supply of computers to
9,600 post offices. Supply has
commenced.
III.
WHITE LABEL PRE-PAID CARDS
The Department is going to introduce White Label
Pre paid cards in collaboration with banks.
Objective
The objective of launching this card is to leverage
cash handling expertise and the network of India Post in order to facilitate
non-cash based transactions for purchase of products and services at retail
outlets across the country and to earn revenue through value added service.
This card will be magnetic strip based loaded with
pre-determined amount in rupees and could be operated at merchant locations,
ATMs and designated post offices.
Status
Department of Posts has got approval from the
RBI. Partner banks are awaiting the
approval from RBI.
IV. FLAT RATE
BOXES
100 days agenda to introduce Pre-paid parcel boxes
for domestic parcels for 1 Kg, 2.5 Kg and 5 Kg.
The boxes will be sold through more than 800 post offices across the
country.
V.
PASSENGER RESERVATION SYSTEM (PRS) - 100 days Agenda
Railway Passenger Reservation System (PRS) to be
provided through 71 more post offices (in addition to the existing 120 post
offices) by March 31, 2011 to benefit people who are living away from Railway
Booking Counters.
Status
Railway Passenger Reservation System has been
provided to 12 more post offices.
VI.
UP-GRADATION OF SPEED POST CENTERS - 100 days Agenda
17 more Speed Post centers to be equipped with
handheld scanners and bar code readers to provide better track and trace
facility to the customers.
Status
All 17 Speed Post centers have been up-graded.
VII.
MICRO-INSURANCE POLICY – 100 days Agenda
To underwrite 45 lakh Micro-Insurance policies in
Rural Areas.
Status
46.62 Lakh Micro-insurance policies have been
underwritten in rural areas as on March 31, 2011.
SP/AS