Government of India
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology
11-April-2011 14:18 IST
Progress Report on the 100-Days Plan of Action of Ministry of Communications & It Announced on January 01 This Year
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. Draft National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) 2011 has been finalised. The list of pending applications for spectrum in respect of 2G and 3G have been uploaded on the website on 10.02.2011.
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.
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.
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.
Proposal for establishing Central Monitoring System (CMS) has been put up for approval of competent Authority.
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.
Regarding security template the feedback has been obtained from telecom service providers and vendors which is being examined in DoT.
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.
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:
Policy initiatives for setting up of Semi-Conductor Fabs
Special incentive/package to promote electronic manufacturing
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
[ 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:
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.
Provision of ICT devices in rural post offices with required applications for performing postal, banking, insurance, retail operations.
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.
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:- Customer Interaction Management Solution Mail Operation Solution Human Resource Management Solution and Finance and Accounts Solution Banking and Postal Life Insurance Solution Change Management Establishment of Data Centre Rural ICT Service Integrator Network Integrator (b) Status of compliance 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. Mail Operations Solution
Objectives:
This will provide full article visibility across the supply of chain – from booking to delivery
It will help improve revenue generation through new services/products e.g., Logistics Post.
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. Enterprise-wide Human Resource Management Solution and Finance & Accounts Solution
Objective:
The solution would enable one single source of data across Department of Posts by online data capture and real time reconciliation The solution would enable centralized payroll processing. The solution would help the Department of Posts move from cash based to accrual based accounting system.
The Department Recruitment process would be streamlined. Status:
Vendors have been shortlisted. RFP will be issued by April 15, 2011 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 It enables the complete insurance solution by eliminating delays and errors. This will enable the interaction through multiple channels, 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. 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. 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. 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.
Network Integrator
Status
RFP has been issued on April 06, 2011
COMPUTERIZATION OF 9,600 POST OFFICES Orders have been placed for supply of computers to 9,600 post offices. Supply has commenced.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
