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Chauhan announces new IT policy

Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Tuesday announced in the Assembly a new Information Technology (IT) policy. It is aimed at improving the life of the common man by leveraging the strengths of e-governance, Mr. Chauhan said.

The policy would be used to attract investments in the IT sector. It would help in creating a pool of highly skilled professionals as well as creating a scenario to transform resource-based economy to knowledge-based economy.

Addressing newspersons later, the Chief Minister said the drawbacks of the IT policy announced in 1999 had been removed. The new policy has been framed after taking stock of the earlier policy, which was aimed at creating employment opportunities for 400,000 to a million people in IT/ITES-related activities. It was also meant to provide information access to all citizens at an affordable cost and achieving IT literacy in all high schools and colleges by 2003 and in all schools by 2008.

It has now been concluded by the State Govenrment that the 1999 IT policy could neither attract IT industry nor help the common man with employment opportunities. Under the new policy, there would be emphasis on e-governance and efforts to promote IT industry, IT education and common infrastructure. A Cabinet Committee will be set up to ensure successful implementation of the policy and it would be meeting every three months.

The State department of Information Technology will develop a common template for websites within a month and all departments using the templates would reconstruct their sites in English and Hindi with relevant content for the user groups. The progress on this front would be reviewed by the Chief Secretary after six months.

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Chauhan announces new IT policy

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